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Some people are
amazed to find that when it comes to Indy 500 time, (with the
exception of the awful experience the team had in missing the
500 in 1995), Marlboro Team Penske has to be considered the
odds-on favorite to win "The Greatest Race in the
World" year after year. Not me, I have been up-close and
personal with MTP at Indy for years, I'm used to their attention
to detail and their dedication to the Indy 500. The top two
pictures are an example of such attention. Penske mirrors have
caught the eye of Indy insiders in the past, and this year is no
exception. Mirror design is optional, and it is clear that MTP
takes their options seriously. The MTP mirrors in the top left
picture are lower, longer and more aero friendly than what
appears to be the standard Dallara provided mirrors on the
Panther Racing Dallara of Tomas Scheckter. In addition, recently
one of the MTP cars lost a mirror in the middle of a race, these
versions look far more secure.
While some might
think that the MTP mirrors may only offer a minor advantage,
make no mistake about exhaust headers shown in the bottom two
pictures, also an IndyCar team option. There is a respectable
amount of horsepower to be gained by exhaust tuning, and again,
MTP has gone off in an entirely different direction than the
teams using what appears to be the standard TRD provided headers
on this TCGR Panoz Toyota of Ryan Briscoe. For most of this
season, we have heard claims from other Toyota teams that Team
Penske has better Toyota engines than TRD is giving them.
Perhaps this is one of the reason's why, MTP tries harder. One
team that has made engine disparity claims has a NASCAR team
that builds it's own engines, just the same as Penske South
does, and has engine dynamometers at it's disposal. They too
could design their own exhaust headers and maximize their
horsepower as well, but apparently they don't. I'm
header-centric, having build a racing engine or two in my day,
and I have a photo library full of Honda, Toyota and Chevy
exhaust header pictures. Yesterday, after O/IRR's IMS
reporter/photographer "aXe" sent me these engine
pictures and others, I was surprised to see that when I compared
his Toyota Indy engine pictures with some I took at both the PIR
test and the street race at St. Pete, that the other teams were
using what appeared to be identical headers! Trust me, the
engine power curves required for a street race and those needed
at IMS are vastly different, and to achieve the best results,
would require a different set of headers. This week, when you
see the MTP cars contending for the Indy 500 pole against the
Honda's and Chevy's, when other Toyota teams may find it
difficult to qualify in the top dozen positions, you may be
better able to understand why. MTP goes the extra mile, in the
shop and on the track.
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