Four corners, four straights
Racecar Engineering|September 2020
Dragonspeed Racing entered the 2019 Indy 500 as rookies, but with a highly experienced race engineer. Paul Thomas takes us through the experience of learning Indy’s unique set-up process
ANDREW COTTON
Four corners, four straights

It is now a long-debunked theory that oval racing is just about making a car turn left around four corners. Preparing the car for one of the greatest races on earth, the Indianapolis 500, is as complicated as any other racetrack, more when you consider the speeds and forces involved in straight running or in an accident. Then there’s the fact the series has a one-make chassis supplier in Dallara, plus a spec tyre from Firestone.

In order to get the most out of the package, a team has to have an intimate understanding of its car and the track, and the relationship between the two, in order to give the driver their best possible chance of success. That was why, when Dragonspeed Racing announced it was going to the Indy 500 in 2019 with a rookie driver, Ben Hanley, it was widely assumed they would have difficulty even making the cut for the race itself.

The fact they did owed as much to the engineering expertise behind the preparation of the car as to Hanley’s driving.

The car qualified on the ninth row of the grid at an average speed of 227.482mph, just over 2mph down on pole-sitter, Simon Pagenaud. That was a huge improvement over the team’s first practice session in the week leading up to the race, when Hanley was more than 7mph slower that the fastest car of Will Power.

In the race itself, the team’s Chevrolet lasted 54 laps before a driveshaft bearing failed and Hanley retired just 45 minutes into the race. However, while several other high-profile teams and drivers failed to make the grade, to have even started was a fantastic achievement for the team.

Expert advice

This story is from the September 2020 edition of Racecar Engineering.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 2020 edition of Racecar Engineering.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM RACECAR ENGINEERINGView All
Racecar Engineering

Talk the torque

More thoughts on in-wheel motors and their effects on twisting force

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

Rolling about

An explanation of the limitations of a previous load transfer article, bringing jacking forces into the mix

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

F1 breaks schedule records

The FIA has confirmed no fewer than 23 races on the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship schedule, the highest number of grands prix ever to be held in a single season, and that has led to criticism from some teams that will be on the road for eight months.

time-read
1 min  |
December 2021
Under pressure
Racecar Engineering

Under pressure

Toyota may have finished first and second at Le Mans this year, but the effort required to overcome a fuel delivery problem and finish with both cars was Herculean

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

Physics at work

Dutch company, Intrax, offers Racecar Engineering an insight into the technologies it employs to optimise its suspension products

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

Williams' 2030 ambition

Williams Racing has committed to becoming climate positive by 2030 as part of an all-new sustainability strategy.

time-read
1 min  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

Diff'rent strokes

Racecar looks at the different types of mechanical differential, their benefits and limitations

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2021
Racecar Engineering

Das Boot

A curious Twitter exchange fired up a unique, hydrogen-powered, cross-country project that will contest the Baja 1000 in November 2022

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2021
Air born
Racecar Engineering

Air born

Every racecar engineer's dream is a blank sheet of paper design. When Hoonigan and Subaru approached Vermont Sportscars about building the next generation of Gymkhana racer, that's just what the company was given

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2021
Remote control
Racecar Engineering

Remote control

Called variously ‘virtual garages’, ‘mission control’ or ‘race support rooms’ is the future of race engineering sitting in the warm back at HQ?

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2021