Neil:
it was Danny Sullivan (driving for Penske) who did the famous "spin-to-win"
while leading at Indy-- sometime between about '85 & '94, I think. (Anyway,
it was whichever Indy 500 that he won.) So it wasn't of the era that is
normally referred to as an Indy "roadster", but a much more modern,
rear-engine car. Coming out of #4 onto to the front straight, if I remember
right.
Maybe Clark or Hill did it too, but I would think I would remember that,
since I was an open-wheel fanatic back in those days, and Jimmy Clark is my
all-time favorite driver.
I saw (TV) Andretti the Elder do a similar trick (after stopping nose-to-the
wall in a traffic tangle) in the much tighter confines of pit road.
Russ, #1226B
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-land-speed@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-land-speed@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Albaugh, Neil
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 3:06 PM
To: 'Keith Turk'; 'LSR List'
Subject: RE: Suspension
Keith;
As drivers, we all try to keep the car pointed in a straight line (more or
less) but that requires constant little steering corrections to go straight.
If these corrections are truly minute, not much is required of the
suspension as far as handling is concerned but given the effects of a little
wind or a moderate course correction, this generates a small (hopefully)
lateral G force and that's when you're in the road-racing realm-- not just
when you've gone off-course or done a 360. The greater the lateral G force,
the better your suspension geometry needs to be.
Was it Jimmy Clark or maybe Graham Hill who did a 360 in an Indy race years
ago? He didn't miss a beat and kept on going like nothing happened. I
thought the radio announcer was going to have a heart attack describing his
"miraculous" achievement. Maybe in those old roadsters in USAC racing it was
unprecedented but in GP & sports car racing it just wasn't that unusual. The
moral to that story is that if you have a good-handling car, driving skill,
and luck, a recovery is possible but not always without drama.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Turk [mailto:kturk@ala.net]
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2003 10:43 AM
To: 'LSR List'
Subject: Re: Suspension
Once it's deviated to any degree the run is over... now it's a matter of
controlling the car until it's off the course... Same thing if the motor
isn't perfect... generally speaking things don't get better with speed...
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