I think they should have a skirt for the rear of the car. They have athe front splitter that all but touches the ground. Between the front and rear tires they have side skirts that almost touch the ground, but they don't have anything for the rear end. If they have a skirt for the rear of the car, they might be able to run 220 mph at Talladega without getting airbourne.

mattlakin - 08 November 2009 10:46 PM

I think they should have a skirt for the rear of the car. They have athe front splitter that all but touches the ground. Between the front and rear tires they have side skirts that almost touch the ground, but they don't have anything for the rear end. If they have a skirt for the rear of the car, they might be able to run 220 mph at Talladega without getting airbourne.

Create a rear air seal?

Ok... think this idea all the way though.

Air going into the front of the car has to escape or else... the car lifts going forward as the air continues packing in.

Any other brainiac ideas?

What causes cars to get airbourne is that air gets underneath the car and lifts it up in the air. If the car is sealed all the way around then air can't get underneath the car, thus meaning it can't lift it off the ground.

How is it that Indycars can run 220 mph, and spin out and not get airbourne all by themselves. And what I mean by that is they didn't have help by running over another car, or grass or sometimes they lift because the on the rear suspensions collapase and air gets underneath the opposide front that's sticking up in the air.

It is because Indycars are sealed all the way around. They don't have any part of the undercariage sticking up, like the rear end of a NASCAR. And that's where Ryan Newman's car started to lift.

I don't have a photo handy, but I believe IndyCars have a rear diffuser which sweeps up to vacate air from under the car. (I know F1 cars do, and I have never seen them flying backwards.)

But unless you have photographic evidence, I am not sure I can agree with your claim that "Indycars are sealed all the way around."

As SolidEther points out, air does get under the cars. It needs to be expelled or vented somewhere. If IndyCars were sealed all around, they would fly going forward.

Skirts? Have you not heard of ground effect?
Add that to a Cup car and see what happens when it goes over a bump!
Pretty hard to get rid of the lift, any race car will flip at those speeds.

Maelochs - 10 November 2009 11:29 PM

I don't have a photo handy, but I believe IndyCars have a rear diffuser which sweeps up to vacate air from under the car. (I know F1 cars do, and I have never seen them flying backwards.)

But unless you have photographic evidence, I am not sure I can agree with your claim that "Indycars are sealed all the way around."

As SolidEther points out, air does get under the cars. It needs to be expelled or vented somewhere. If IndyCars were sealed all around, they would fly going forward.

IndyCars don't have rear diffusers, they have Venturi tunnels that suck the car to the ground. F1 has rear diffusers because they have to be flat-bottomed cars this gives a simular effect that Venturi tunnels do

There needs to be some device installed on the cars to greatly increase the drag on the cars and to essentially act as a air brake.

To do this,NASCAR may well have to consider installing something like a drag chute that deploys behind the car at a twenty degree angle when the rear axle leaves the ground or some other device that deploys a shaped cube or ball that greatly increases the drag behind the car.

Air braking plates that come out of the sides of the car if the rear end of the car leaves the track are an option as well.

We want out NASCAR races fast as heck but we want them safe.

Time to put something on the cars that will bring them back down to earth and keep them there if an accident pops them up off the track.

There are definitely solutions that can be done.

Heck,nobody could imagine safer barrier walls thirty years ago would save so many drivers lives and their health too but they have.

Replace the Catch Fence with a reinforced cement wall structure....remove the restrictor plates and let them race. Fans can watch action on opposite side of the track.

Heck,nobody could imagine safer barrier walls thirty years ago would save so many drivers lives and their health too but they have.

Smokey Yunick built one in the 70's but nobody listened.

More ground clearance all the way around. Six inch body height should do it. Make them have to burp the throttle going into the turn. Make them have to do more than hold it wide open and turn.

I think that Lovey is on to something here.

How about a stock ride height,no front spoiler,no rear wing and the cars have to run the actual front outer body grill clip from the stock car with all the openings open-no closed or duct taped openings and the stock side body fender sides ( no lowered sides to conduct air)from front to back from stock car as well.

Furthermore,reduce the width of the tires so,like Lovey said,the drivers have to do more than just peg the throttle all the way around the track.

They would have to pit more and use more tires and simply drive a heck of a lot better.

Funny,sometimes the best solution is the easiest one to get done.