|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
As I said on the Home Page, Brian
Barnhart was in a talkative mood today as he showed me some of his
handiwork on the course. As shown above, speed bumps were installed to keep
the drivers from hugging this wall, four others like it and a
chicane. The
course mirrors the track used here by the CART series in 2003
(read more about what Brian said about IndyCar/Cart comparisons
following the final picture). The way Brian explained it,
in that race, if a car hugging the wall made contact, it would
end up in the outside wall somewhere to the left of where the
tire barrier is. In another photo below, you can see the remains
of what was the CART "line," close to the wall. The
tires and others like them will be added to further discourage
taking shortcuts.
|
|
|
|
Brian didn't like the prospects of
that, so he put down the yellow rumble strips to force the cars
into a wider arc. This change, done in five places, essentially
makes the course a little "longer" than the CART
version, and perhaps a little slower. These yellow painted
concrete "bumps" shown in close up below are nearly 3
inches high, and are bolted and epoxied to the track surface so
they won't come loose under the constant pounding of wayward
drivers. I'm not sure I agree though, I am worried that these
store-bought items are abrupt and "tall" enough to
actually damage the suspension or "unsettle" the car
enough to create the wall contact Barnhart wishes to avoid. (In
retrospect, a couple of them became undone, and did some car
damage)
|
|
|
|
Here are other
shots I managed to take of the course before one of St. Pete's
"finest" caught up with me and my daughter-in-law
Lori, and ran us off the track. I had big plans for
"running the runway" until Officer Friendly came by.
|
|
|
|
Someone once said a picture was
worth 1000 words, that is the case here. The building shown is a
sidewalk-away from becoming a parking garage for disabled race
cars. This is another of those "corners" Brian was
worried about. Although the course is "wide" for a
street circuit, this is one area where they will run out of
racing room. In a perfect world, the tire barriers would extend
further up-track, but that would narrow the line too much. The
building shown also represents the "changing face" of
downtown St. Pete, it is getting a much needed face lift. It is a
"condo," and has commanded a great view of the race
course for every St. Pete street race but the last one of the
early 90's, which was relocated to the "dome" area.
This building has hosted many a race party and a
"host" of noise complaints as well. Just wait until
the "fossils" that live in the building hear the sound
of a Honda IndyCar engine at full song!
|
|
|
|
Speaking of tire barriers, I
always thought they were made up of relics gathered from salvage
yards, as you can see from these carefully tied and bolted
together examples, they can be brand new as well. All these had
various Firestone family markings on them.
|
|
|
|
This is the run-off area at the
"top" of the course, where the track makes a 90 degree
right turn. Any driver blowing this corner could visit the
marina that is part of the Historic old St. Petersburg Yacht
Club, shown below, one of the first in America.
|
|
|
|
"The kink," is shown
below, on what is the third straightway and passing opportunity
here, the picture also serves as an example of the concrete
canyon concept that is street racing. The light towers are part
of Progress Energy Park, the Spring Training baseball complex
that houses the Tampa Bay Devil Ray's. The race couldn't be held
until the teams "broke camp" to start the 2005 season.
This "kink" has always been trouble in past races.
|
|
|
|
|
|
In taking the above shot, all I
did is turn around and face towards the Yacht Club corner, There
is a gate there and a temporary barrier, note that you can see a
bridge through the fencing on the right, it serves as access to
the marina. What you can't see is an incline that is the cross
street leading to the bridge. Because this "hump" is
so close to the "YC" corner, there is little chance of
the cars getting up to speed quick enough coming off a very slow
corner to become airborne, but I do think they will become
"light" enough to bottom out once the suspension
catches up with the car.
|
|
|
|
One of the many
almost eye-lever camera positions that will make the ESPN
telecast something worth watching. The photo shows that I'll eat
well this weekend, I love that stuff.
|
|
|
|
As I said, Brian was in a very
friendly and talkative mood, but after I asked him about the
Sebring test results and I noted that the "53 flat"
quick time set by Ryan Briscoe Tuesday related well with the
"50.8" fast CART lap at their 2003 "Spring
Training" down there (Bryan Herta was 2nd fastest). Barnhart
noted that he "hoped that people weren't going to look at
the results of this race as a means to compare the cars of both
series," he said "he didn't care if the cars ran
slower, as long as they put on a better race." That was
when he suggested that the changes he made with the speed bumps
resulted in "longer turns and a slightly longer
track." When I asked about the concrete "bumps,"
we both agreed they could cause suspension damage, he twice
noted how "firm he would be about keeping the cars off them
in the driver's meeting. I then questioned how well anchored
they were, because we have the exact product at the casino I
work at, and I can assure you, I stop and ease the car over
them. That said, the beating of even slow traffic has caused
them to come loose. That is when Brian noted that they used
epoxy as well as 4-inch bolts. He also mentioned another aspect
of the test. It seems the test was a Honda manufacturer's test,
but others were allowed in as well. One of the issues looked at
related to Toyota "oil tanks," I wish I followed up on
that one, it puzzles me. There is so much I could have asked
him, but I never expected to see him and have him spend the time
with me. In several of the shots, you can see the huge temporary
grandstands erected along the course, in talking to Brian about
that, he told me "that he had been assured that they will
be full." You could see his excitement about this event.
Brian used to work for Marlboro Team Penske, and you can tell he
still has a little road racer left in him, I think this is his
"baby," and so far he likes the results.
One more thing, after I threw
the baseball to Buddy Rice on a short hop, I asked him about the
test at Sebring as well, he seemed very excited that "they
had a good result there, and "hoped" it means they
will do well here too.
|
|
|
|
