Remember the concept of the "star" car?

[Franklin]

Remember when drivers were not the only thing promoters had to work with because the cars had not become pasteurized homogenized cookie-cutter clones? Remember the Novi? Remember the STP turbine cars?

[Crash Test]

No i can't

[Hyacinth]

I suggest you take it up with Mr. Anton George of Indianapolis, In.

[Crash Test]

Now what are we suggesting here? A return to the anything goes days of open ended rules? You can st there and say that you can build the world's fastest race car on a budget, but people will always puch the limits. Pushing the limits costs money. If a part of a car can be made by steel cheaply, but it would be more beneficial o use a costly composite and the rules permit it, people will go down that route.

There is a clas of racing here in Australia where anything goes. It's called sport sedans. There is a wide range of cars from 6 litre V8 chevs or clevelands, 13Bs, 20Bs, turbos, supercharged cars, with little restrctions on chasis design. The problem is that nobody has the money to build the ultimate car.
Another problem with the class is that the star robot drivers drive in another class, so support for sport sedans is only a fraction of what they should be. With modern day motorsport and the media, the people get a whole lot more air time. When was the last time you saw an interview in victory lane with a car?

[Lizzerd]

Yes, I remember them. And your point is...

[Crash Test]

Another thing, did they have promoters as such back then?

[KC]

The datys you are referring to are quite a bit different that today. I've seen the Novi, the Zink Special, and Granatelli's turbine car. The reason that so many remember them is that it was very rare to see them on the television. During those days TV sports was just beginning. Any race was usually only seen in a 1 hour or 1/2 hour highlight film on ABC's Wide World of Sports. Indy got a lot of attention but was almost never seen live on TV and was usually seen a week later in highlights only. The romantic figures and rocketship race cars of the day could only be heard live on radio. The radio announcers did much to build up the bravado and personalities of the drivers. These days the drivers are forced to bite their tongues for fear of insulting a sponsor or supplier. They have become mopre like politicians than their true life personas. The cars are now so similar that it is not easy for the non-dedicated race fan to tell them apart.

[slicktoast]

Like the original Can-Am. Check out Lyon's books on it. Trouble was a guy named Penske got it right but took it too far. The series self-destructed. The same would happen to any current series if the design parameters were lifted. Some series have trouble anyway as it is. Franklin maybe you should design a road luge or something.

[This message has been edited by slicktoast (edited 05 May 2000).]

[Franklin]

It's not the "exotic" big leaps that are expensive. It's the endless amount of money spent seeking the next marginal increase in performance where costs really add up. Outside of their turbocharging technology, the Porsche 917/10 and 917/30 Can-Am cars were not radical groundbreaking designs.

[Green_man4421]

I don't remember or know but can sortof work out what you are talking about andI think if I am thinking right that the idea is crazy no restrictions nothing to hold the cars back to much speed to dangerous.
Am I way lost or is this somehow relevant to the topic???