ShovelerLX - 09 July 2008 01:55 PM

I think also the tires that Firestone supplies to the IRL are much more durable than they are given credit for and there isn't that big of a performance drop off during a long run. Compare to F1 where the announcers and drivers say that the soft optional compound of Bridgestone only give one lap at optimum before they drop off and this would make for more pit stops for more frequent tire changes.

All race tires drop off at least a bit after their first full temp lap; ever notice that in Nascar qualifying second laps (other than restrictor plate tracks or when a guy makes a mistake on the first lap) are almost never faster than first laps?

wilmywood8455 - 26 July 2008 06:57 PM

All race tires drop off at least a bit after their first full temp lap; ever notice that in Nascar qualifying second laps (other than restrictor plate tracks or when a guy makes a mistake on the first lap) are almost never faster than first laps?

You're absolutely right and this is why you're not going to see fuel cells large enough to hold a full race's worth of fuel. It is a safety issue, but not because of fire potential. Fuel cells now aren't the rigid tanks that were used in the 60's, they're rupture-proof bladders. When was the last time you ever saw a fuel spill after even the most horrendous IndyCar crash in recent years? Even Quattro's problems at Indy this year weren't because of a ruptured fuel cell, but because of a fill nozzle malfunction. The safety concern is more about the tires. In fact, this is why the league reduced the size of the fuel cell when they made the switch from methanol to ethanol. Ethanol fuel resulted in greater mileage and to prevent drivers from overextending the tires, they dropped the fuel cell size so that tire wear and fuel usage were matched.