| Yes, the new IRL formula calls for 4-liter, normally-aspirated,
8-cylinder, production-based piston engines with a maximum rev limit
whose value I can't remember. Also, the engines must be sold to the
teams, not leased, and there is a price cap. The main purpose of
this formula is to contain engine costs. So far, Nissan and General
Motors Oldsmobile Division have signed on as engine suppliers, under
the badge names Infiniti and Aurora, respectively.
There are three IRL chassis suppliers signed up so far: Dallara,
G-Force, and Riley & Scott. Dallara and G-Force have produced cars
so far; the first R&S cars are scheduled to be delivered this summer.
The field was pretty thin at the Walt Disney World race because both
the cars and especially the engines are in short supply. Some teams
are still waiting for their primary chassis.
The crowd at WDW was small--only about 45-55 thousand people. It
always looks like a pretty full house because the stands are
temporary and they can put up as many or as few as they need for the
crowd that shows up. To put this crowd in perspective, New Hampshire
International Speedway used to attract the same sized crowds to their
CART Indy car races and took a lot of criticism for the poor
attendance relative to other Indy car events. CART at NHIS could
attract that sort of crowd to rural New Hampshire in the middle of
the hot days of August; even with all the attractions of Orlando
right nearby, and in the height of the Florida winter season, the
best the IRL could do is to match NHIS.
No question--this series is off to a slow start.
--PSW
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| RE: .1
Regarding attrition during the race, 9 cars were running at the
finish out of the original 16 or so. Attrition wasn't much worse
than in many F1 races. But as Indy cars go, it was horribly bad
attrition. And they didn't even do the full 200 mile distance.
Reliability had better improve before the Indy 500-mile race....
--PSW
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