Outlaw open-wheel series

This is partly an exercise in trying to shrug off a serious case of writers block. You see, I have been working on a ten page paper for one of my classes at IUPUI that is due in about 10 days. And of course, like most other things that have to be done, it is always easier to do something else. Hence the blog update, because its not for a grade therefore the thoughts are flowing freely. On a serious note though, the thoughts below have been on my mind for some time, so here goes.

2011 IndyCar season is over and there are dozens of Dallara chassis that are ready to hit the vintage racing circuits. But wait... is there/could there be, a competitive alternative for them? I have a solution, but please allow me to set it up.

First Some Random questions

Are you tired of the same old cars in open-wheel racing?
Are you saddened by the the lack of innovation in the top open-wheel series in the US?
I was just wondering the other day what impact the current spec racing formulae have had on the development of race car designers in this country? Ben Bowlby stands alone for radical innovation, Swift, BAT, they all have designers. There have been a few others along the way; Dan Gurney and his AAR Eagles, Foyt's Coyote, Riley and Scott, Swift, Panoz made an effort, but they have all faded.

Why? I believe it is, in part, because of the spec racing formulas. By "spec" I mean where the rule makers and sanctioning bodies dictate the minutia of the race car designs, even to the point of specifying components, by part numbers, from specific manufacturers.

Right now, there are dozens and dozens of students (myself included) enrolled in motorsports engineering programs across the country. IUPUI has just graduated it's first group of engineers this year from the only 4 year motorsports engineering (specific) degree program in the country. (a program which I am proud to be a part of). There are a host of other motorsports related programs at various colleges and universities around the country.

Where are all of these newly graduated engineers going to go? All of them can't be race engineers. Some of them should be race car designers, aerodynamicists, engine engineers and so on. The problem being that one-make (spec) rules don't really call for race car designers and engineers in any great numbers at the manufacturers level. Dallara has several I am sure, a few who actually design the car, and any number of CAD jockeys to draw the components and sort out the details.

So what to do? Economy aside...How are we going to revive innovation and creativity in open wheel racing in the US? Is it the Delta Wing? It could be I guess. But whose to say, there is not a similarly creative and innovative IndyCar design sitting an an engineers drawing table (errr CAD file)

We must bring back innovation, we must bring back creativity, and we must allow for and create a competitive environment for a revitalization of this industry to occur.

IndyCar had chosen its path, and that is great for them. No ax to grind here whatsoever. The series I would like to see is different.

Some numbers
Lets take all of the money that will be spent on the new Dallara chassis in 2012. Chip Ganassi has ordered 10 from what I have heard, Penske will probably be 6 or 8 cars, Andretti Autosport would be 8- 10 cars, all together (I recall that someone told me) Dallara is building 60 new cars and the first year they will sell all the bodywork kits too. Hmmm, very interesting.

A Dallara rolling chassis is capped at $349,000 and a bodywork kit is capped at 70,000. OK, let's all be honest here, that is not going to get that car on the track. So lets add another $50,000 in miscellaneous items, from clutches to any number of other incidental parts. Trust me, that is probably a low estimate. So, the total for one rolling chassis, with body work, less engine, is going to cost $469,000. Lets, for the sake of argument, round it to an even 470,000 per car. (there have been some discounts announced, including a one time credit for $150,000 to your Dallara account for the purchase of a "primary" car for Indy-based teams) Interestingly, the source of that money ($5 million) or parts of it, ultimately winds its way back to the Federal Stimulus package. (Its very interesting to know that the nations taxpayers will be assisting IndyCar team owners to purchase their cars! I will be sure to tell my grand kids where their money is going! I have always wanted to be an IndyCar owner!!) WHAT A COUNTRY!

So for 60 cars, which bear in mind is a rolling chassis and bodywork (no engine), is 470,000 x 60 cars = $28,200,00. That is a heck of a lot of money.
So lets divide that up, in a strictly hypothetical situation, between 3 formula car manufacturers for a (potential) total of $9,400,00 per manufacturer.

So, you are telling me that a car manufacturer, in a free and open market with reasonable and stable rules to regulate things, can't survive on building 20 cars and servicing them. Again a hypothetical, understanding that 20 competitors might not choose a particular manufacturer's product. But my point is that there is one heck of a lot of money being directed toward one manufacturer, with a large number of cars to be built and sold.

Tell you what, give me the $9 million, plus the spares and service/replacement parts for the next X number of years and I will have 20 competitive IndyCars built. Will I get rich,probably not. Could it be a great business? You bet!

A quick aside.
How many years will the used IndyCar market be down? What will the smaller teams do at Indy in 2012, 2013? Back in the 1980's and 1990's. the top teams were buying new cars each year, and therefore there was a large number of year+ old cars available for the small teams to purchase.

The fact of the matter is that even if the small/low budget teams were given the exact same equipment that the big teams were buying, they would most likely be in exactly the same grid position. So, in my opinion, the argument that the smaller/lower budget teams can compete with the same equipment is just not very strong. Occasionally, a small/lower budget team will slip through for a win, but it is just not often enough to argue. Year old equipment, with a stable rules package, is not as uncompetitive as one might think. In fact, year old equipment has been the backbone of the Indy 500 for many years. With the spec rules, used car markets are tight and costs are high

So, I digress once again, What does that manufacture need? Rules stability basically, a chance to innovate, and a chance to develop a package if it finds itself uncompetitive.

So, lets propose a few basic rules to stretch the dollars both for the teams and the manufacturers

1. The series will mandate a certain spec for the tubs. Certain dimensions primarily for safety reasons. The things we already know, such as feet and pedals behind the front axle center line. Certain thicknesses, and specific layers of carbon, kevlar, anti-intrusion panels and the like. And yes, crash testing of tubs and noses and other components will be mandatory. So, just like any other business, the manufacturers might have to go find investors to front some of these initial costs, or there is always stimulus money!
2. Lets say that the spine of the car design and dimensions will have to be frozen for 5-7 years. Here we are speaking of the part of the car that houses the driver, contains the fuel cell, and the part which the engine sub-frame and gearbox will bolt to. So, to clarify the nose, tub, sub-frame and gearbox design frozen for 5-7 years
3. Engines will be non-stressed, max displacement of 2.5-3.0(?) litres, 4, or 6 cylinder, in line or v, turbocharged, some sort of fuel flow/air flow power restrictor
4. Engines must last 4ooo(?) miles. Teams are only allowed 6 (?) engines per year.(MotoGP, F1)
5. Create aero "boxes" The front wings must fit within this envelope. The rear wing must fit within another envelope, so designs are free. Similar box or envelope, for the underwing.
6. How about some "claimer" rules, on engines, gearboxes? kind of short-track stuff, MotoGP is trying something like it for the CRT bikes

More to follow on the rules package as time warrants, I should probably get that paper done first.

So, whats the big plan with all of the old Dallaras?

An outlaw IndyCar series, which starts with the old Dallara tubs, nosecones, and a gearboxes (the spine of the car)for the first year. Allowing the teams and manufacturers to get the outlaw spec tub/spine built. Dallara spines will be grandfathered in for another couple of years until the used car market is sufficient to support the smaller teams.

Much More to follow, if I ever get the paper done
Buddy

"Work for Racers" initiative

This was a Facebook Post, kicking off  "work for Racers", posted on Sept 30.

Okay, project Work for Racers is underway.

For those recently laid off from IndyCar teams, and other racers looking for racing jobs, or related employment.

If you are interested, I am creating a central database of resumes. I already have received one resume.
send them to my email, info@osr2win.com

At the same time that I am collecting resume's, I am reaching out to the team owners, manager

s, and business owners that I know, letting them know of my current mission.

This is a free service, and I hope that people on both sides, those seeking work, and those who need good people to work for them participate.

I have already sent out an email to team owners and racing industry business owners that I have contact with, hopefully they will multiply that by forwarding the message to other business and team owners that they know.

The way that I am envisioning this working is... I receive resumes from people seeking racing related jobs. Team and racing industry business owners will(hopefully) be contacting me looking for candidates for particular positions. I send them the appropriate resumes, and they will, if they choose to, contact the candidate. They (the potential employer) will remain anonymous.

Seems simple enough, no guarantees, no promises of employment, good thing is it wont cost you or the employer anything.

Look forward to helping you guys find a job

Buddy

Significant IndyCar team Layoffs

This is the original Facebook post from Sept 29 when I first heard of the layoffs which came on Sept. 27 at KV Racing and  a couple of other teams

Hello Randy,

I wish there was something the league could do about all the great mechanics, transporter drivers, engineers, PR, and office staff (and others) that get laid off every year at the end of the season. I have lived through a few myself. It is a gut wrenching and life chang

ing time.

This year seems abnormally high. Is it really true everyone from Panther, 26 from KV Racing, 12 from Ganassi B Team were laid off? I believe it is so, and I am sure there are more. THESE ARE YOUR TOP TEAMS.

As a former team manager, and mechanic I have been on both ends of these layoffs, having had to lay people off and being laid off myself.

I know the conversations that go on in the front office, some of them cold, calloused, and uncaring. Others who have had to make these tough decisions are deeply troubled by the reality of what is about to happen.

There are some of your team owners who genuinely care about their people, and strive hard each and every day to keep them all employed. Sometimes, despite their best effort they come up short at the end of the year and have to lay a few people off.

FOR OTHER TEAM OWNERS, a seemingly growing number, this is part of the budget, knowing that after the engines are removed from the cars back at the shop after the last race, the layoffs that come will save the year and make it profitable.

As far as I know your competitors like NASCAR don't do this in such wholesale fashion.

How about instead of rewarding the owners with the 5 million dollars for purchasing the new cars, IndyCar sets up a fund, that the owners have to pay into each year, so that when the mechanics get laid off at the whim of your ever so caring team owners, they have a place to turn to. Maybe all of these mechanics who just got laid off should be given jobs at Dallara to help build all of the cars your going to need in 2013.

How about some fines and penalties for team owners who do not manage their budgets in such a way as to keep mechanics and other staff employed full time.

Please don't tell me its about the economy! This practice happens in good economies and bad economies. IT'S AN ATTITUDE AND A CULTURE that has been developing in the league over the last few years. Although it is gone on for many years, it seems much more accelerated since the schedule was compressed sometime back in 2004 or so.

Randy, as the CEO of IndyCar, you need to work as hard for these guys, the very ones who support what you are doing, as you do for the Hulman-George family.

THIS SHOULD BE embarrassing to you , IndyCar, and the team owners, but its all too often just excepted as part of the business.

I think its time you spoke up, and made some changes to encourage year-round employment for your people. Because they are your people, under your watch.

A Most Ambitious Project

Greetings to all,

Hopefully, everyone out there is having a good summer. 

As for me, this week I will be starting the second half of Pre-Calculus in the second summer term at IUPUI. If everything goes according to plan I should be in Calculus 1 for the fall term.  Calc 1, along with Chemistry 105, and a computer modeling course, (not to mention working full time) should be enough to keep me out of trouble (haha) this fall.

The word "Calculus" has always both intimidated and intrigued me, so I am eager to get through the course. It is a psychological barrier as much as anything and I have this sense that if I can make it through (Calculus 1), I can make it through any math or engineering course. Time will tell.

A couple of quick thoughts on this weekends racing...great F1 race from Spain, pretty good IndyCar race from Iowa, but there is one thing that disturbs me a bit though and that is that the commentators for the IndyCar race have pick-up on Larry McReynold's NASCAR speak.  They talked about "comers" and "goers." Yikes, It is a sad day! 

The Project

Thankfully, there are a few racing endeavors remaining in the world where a team/group with the vision,  ambition and of course funding, can design, build and race a car in the highest category.  This is where my most ambitious project begins.  The organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the ACO,  along with the FIA and the  World Endurance Championship, have come up with the outline for a set of rules for 2014 that will make the LMP1 category very exciting for fans, designers, engineers, manufacturers and all sorts of companies around the world who would like to demonstrate and develop their technologies.

The actual rules won't be out until February of 2013, but the outline demonstrates forward thinking and tremendous opportunity. here is a link to the outline of the 2014 regulations
http://www.lemans.org/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2012/24-heures-du-mans/conference_de_presse/technical_regulation_2014.pdf   
In addition. you can go onto the FIA website and look at the 2012 regulations. Here is a link to the FIA page, http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/regulations/Pages/fia-wec.aspx just click on the 2012 Technical regulations pdf file if you want to learn more.

The basics are that in the LMP1 category the engine rules are very free. No restrictions on displacement, high boost pressures (4 bar), no fuel injector pressure restrictions.  The catch is, or the limiter will be, a restriction of fuel flow per lap, based on the fuel of choice for the thermal engine, (diesel or petrol) combined with the power level you choose for the hybrid electric system. This year the power for hybrid systems is limited to 0.5 megajoules.  In 2014, they list 4 different levels of power for hybrid systems from 2 to 8 megajoules.  These rules require a nearly 30 percent increase in fuel economy. The regulations  for and requires a great deal of technical innovation in the area of efficiencies, with many, many intriguing possibilities.  They also have left the door open in the future for alternative fuels, and other alternative energy technology.

My quick, back of the napkin calculations,  using data found on wikepedia and other sites, one horsepower equals 745 watts. So for example, 150 horsepower requires 112 kilowatts of power. One kw running for one hour, requires 3.6 megajoules of power. Breaking that down into seconds and it would require 0.112 megajoules per second to power a 150hp motor.

This year the LMP1 cars were restricted to 0.5 megajoules between two braking zones.  I am not sure of the 'horsepower" rating of the electric motors that the Audi and Toyota's ran at Le Mans this year, or what the recharge rate is of supercapacitors,(or other energy storage device) but at 0.112 megajoules per second and a 0.5 megajoule limit, the 150 horsepower electric motor I have described could be used to accelerate the car for approximately 4.5 seconds.  Just think what can be done with 2 to 8 megajoules of power available.

I am not guaranteeing the accuracy of my calculations, after all I haven't taken Calculus yet (haha), but I think the numbers are close, and seem to make sense.  I don't believe 150 hp electric motors have been used in hybrid systems for LMP or Formula One cars, I believe they are currently using motors in the 80-90 hp range.  150 hp was to demonstrate the possibility.

To summarize;
Based on the 2014 regulations, what we have here is opportunity.  An opportunity to showcase American innovation and design.  There has not been an American built car to take the overall win at Le Mans since 1969.  National Geographic just revealed their list of the top ten greatest sporting events in the world and the 24 Hours of  Le Mans was listed as number ONE. 

In a follow up blog I will explain more as this post is getting long. But briefly:

My mission is to assemble a team that will design and build an LMP1 car here in America, and take it to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014, to compete against the world's best, with the best from the USA.

This team will consist of corporations large and small, both private and public.  Investors interested in growing, not only a racing team and racing car manufacturing company, but a technology company that will continue to design and innovate all sorts of technologies long into the future.  A team of designers, engineers, technicians, and mechanics with a strong desire to compete against the best in the world.

The project is huge, and the time frame is short (believe it or not, a car needs to be testing by late summer, or early fall of 2013). But I believe it is those very facts that will capture the imagination of the both the American racing fan and the sports fan, as well as corporate America.  Corporate America, not only from an exposure and marketing standpoint, as potentially millions of dollars worth of exposure are possible, but also for the technology and innovation that can come from such an endeavor, and the opportunity to showcase products and technology on the world stage.

As a next step, I am considering a WebEx/conference call type meeting sometime in July or early August for interested parties. This could be corporations, technology companies, engineers, investors, mechanics, marketing and pr companies, and anyone who would be interested in being involved.  I can be reached via email at  buddy@osr2win.com

Until then, I will follow with more blog posts, and hopefully website and social networking information in the near future.

Buddy Lindblom