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The above picture shows Danica
Patrick and Kenny Brack at speed at IMS, with Danica on the
outside. Much has been said about Danica's weight advantage, but
I think this picture best demonstrates the real size advantage
she has, her height and small helmet size. Look at the distance
between the top of Danica's helmet and the bottom of the Panoz
air scoop and compare it to that of Brack. While Kenny's helmet
doesn't obstruct the air inlet, it certainly changes the airflow
pattern. Couple whatever horsepower advantage the clear airway
allows with any weight advantage she has and it might to be
easier understand how she was the fastest Honda qualifier
yesterday at TMS. That doesn't explain why the two Chevy's were
locked into the first row, clearly they were fast at Indy, but
not that fast. On the other hand, Scheckter did qualify for the
pole at TMS last October, but the rear wing was found to be
illegal. For that Chevy sponsored race, Chevy was granted
changes to their airbox/plenum, and the engine has been fast
ever since. While it could be that Panther Racing just has the
TMS setup nailed after all those Sam Hornish victories, I
suspect that Chevy has found some additional horsepower. Funny
that Chevy can keep pace with Honda and Toyota can't.
Look for my
Bombardier Learjet 500 forecast Saturday morning here at O/IRR.
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