Turk’s Tracks: A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

By Gene Turk

During the beginning of the 20th Century, the American public was becoming fascinated with that new crazy invention called the automobile. There was time when a new automobile company would start up every month. Each manufacturer would fight for every sale by trying to prove that their car was better than everyone else’s. To prove their point, cross country races were planned between towns and major cities. Needless to say, the term “crowd control” was not in use as people would line the roads as the cars speed by. But racing was about to experience a major change as the nation began the second decade of this new century.

In 1915, gold baron and entrepreneur Spencer Penrose turned his attention to Pikes Peak and widened the original primitive road and converted the road into the Pikes Peak highway for the small fortune sum of $500,000. Upon completion of the road, Spencer created an automobile race to the 14,000-foot summit. The first race took place from August 10-12th in 1916. The race was a huge success with newspapers from all around the world covering the race. Rae Lentz won the first race in a custom-built car in a time of 20 minutes,55 seconds. I can only imagine how the early engines were wheezing for oxygen at those lofty heights. I bet more than one heavy smoking driver was also wondering where all the oxygen had gone. Another important fact was the large number of motorcycles that competed in the first race. 29 motorcycles were entered, with over 60% of them being the Excelsior make. This was just the start to the popularity of motorcycles, and sidecars, in the hill climb.

Because of World War I, the race was not run from 1917 to 1919. In 1920, the race picked up where it left off. 1926 was an important year when the famed Unser family began racing with Robby Unser, who was the father to Bobby, Al and Jerry. Another major event happened in 1929 when stock cars were allowed to race. Prior to this time, only open wheeled cars were allowed to run. For whatever reason stock cars were dropped in 1935, only to be allowed back in 1956. Ironically, this division was very popular in the 60’s with USAC and NASCAR drivers competing. Famous drivers like David Pearson, Paul Goldsmith, Parnelli Jones, Wally Dallenbach, Roger Mears just to name a few that ran the hill climb.

For many years, the car of choice to win the race was the Sprint car. Here you had a front engine, rear wheel drive car with the driver in an upright, erect driving position. But like the Indy 500, change was coming in the late 60’s to the rear engine car with the driver in the reclined, laid back position. NASA calls that the “launch position”.

During the 50s and 60s one name stood out as the “King of the Hill’. That name is Bobby Unser. During his reign, Bobby amassed 13 Pike Peaks victories. Actually, the Unser family was so dominant during this period that some people thought of renaming the mountain “Unser Mountain.” This was also a time when more divisions were added and by 1981 the Rally division was added.

Early into the 21st Century, the race course underwent a major change. The dirt and gravel was now being replaced with asphalt. In 2007,46% of the track was paved. By 2011, it was up to 76%. And finally, in 2012, it was completely paved. Now this paving did allow for faster times, but it also made the track more dangerous. During my research, I found that 5 people had been killed at the event since 1916, but many, many more had been injured. There is no crowd control as such. People are still allowed to stand or sit anywhere and everywhere along the track. Most recently, a little 5-year-old girl was badly injured when the rock she was standing on was hit by a racing Mustang. Here are some excerpts of what a day at the race was like and the danger involved along what a driver observed: eight red flags, three flight for life helicopter trips, five ambulance trips, over a dozen drivers’ visits to the hospital and at least one injured spectator. The main reason for this increase in accidents is the reduction in practice time due to the large number in entries. Normally, the drivers would be allowed five to seven practice runs per day for a total of 15 to 21 before the timed race. Now it was reduced to only two passes every morning.

So what makes this hill climb so popular that drivers come from all over the world to compete? First off, it may be the only race where you can “run what ya brung.” There are so many divisions that there is something for everyone. In theory, you can design a race car at your kitchen table, build it in your garage, head out to Colorado and race up the hill with no previous racing experience.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is the second oldest race in America and has a long-standing tradition in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region. The race starts at 9,390 feet and ends at 14,110 feet. The course is 12.42 miles long and has 156 turns. What you can expect on any day or even during the race is brutal winds, snow, rain, ice, hail, fog and lightning. The race is now changing rapidly and it’s future never looked brighter. The number of racers is growing and a global interest is mounting fast.

The 2018 race was a major milestone. A new race record was established at 7.57 minutes with a specially built car by Volkswagon. The car was electric powered and weighed 2,400 pounds. To move this up the mountain was 671 horsepower with a huge amount of torque. It looks like the writing is on the wall and after 101 years of internal combustion dominance there just might be a new way to beat the mountain.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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The last article I wrote was about the dominance of the Offy engine in the Indy 500 for four decades. During this time another engine was also a legend at Indy, but not for the same reasons. That engine was the supercharged V-8 Novi. Even today, this engine possesses a mystique about it; even though it never won a race. The wail of a Novi engine at full song is a sound that will never be forgot in the history of the Indy 500.

The Novi story starts in 1941 when the engine was originally called a Winfield V-8. A business man and racer named Lew Welch entered a car in the 1941 Indy 500. The car was a front wheel drive older 1935 Miller-Tucker Ford racer with a very advanced V-8 under the hood. The engine was a double overhead cam V-8 with a huge 10 inch supercharger mounted in the back of the engine. The supercharger was geared to turn 43,000 rpm. It now became more of a siren than a supercharger. The engine was 183 cubic inches and put out an amazing 450 horsepower at a- for the time-lofty 8,000 rpm. This output was a full 50% higher than the Offys at the time.

Now considering that the chassis for this racer was designed for only 160 horsepower compared to the Novi’s 450, the handling of this car was a hand full is an understatement. To keep the car drivable, the mechanics used every engineering concept at their disposal. They put a wooden block under the throttle pedal to limit the engines output. Ralph Hepburn started the race 10th and finished in 4th place. A very good start, and the Novi legend was given birth. However, there is one fact that I do find very ironic in that the components for the engine were made in Fred Offenhauser’s shop in California.

After World War II, the engine was officially named a Novi after Welch’s hometown of Novi, Michigan. In 1946, Hepburn was back in the Novi and set a new track record of 133.944 mph, though not on pole day. On race day, he started in 19th place, quickly drove through the field and led for 44 laps. He retired on lap 122 with a mechanical failure. This was the beginning of a trend for the Novi. Always fast, but unable to finish.

During the late 40’s and early 50’s, on any given year, the Novi powered cars were the fastest, the loudest (you always knew when a Novi was on the track), but failure prone. They were hard to handle, mostly because the tall, skinny tires just couldn’t deal with a sudden rush of power when the driver needed to accelerate out of a turn. The cars developed another reputation at this time – that of a widow maker. Hepburn lost his life in 1948 in a practice accident. Chet Miller was killed in a Novi crash in 1953 and Duke Nolan was badly burned in a Novi crash in 1949.

By the mid-1950’s, front wheel drive cars were falling out of favor and were being replaced by the rear roadster chassis by Frank Kurtis. Unfortunately, the Novi cars failed to make the race in 1954, 1955, 1959 and 1960. But 1961 was a major turning stone in the history of the Novi. Mr. STP, Andy Granatelli, bought the rights to the Novi engine and embarked on a major program to improve the Novi’s output. One of the big changes was to use a modern Paxton supercharger in conjunction with many internal changes. The net result was an astonishing 742 horsepower at 8200 rpm. Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, I sometimes wonder if they should have slightly reduced the engine’s output to gain reliability.

1963 was probably the best year for a Novi win. Bobby Unser qualified his Novi car in 6th place at 149+ mph. But his race lasted only a minute and a half when he spun on the second lap. Unser was back in 1964 with an advanced four wheel drive Novi and qualified very well in 5th place at 154 mph. But again, a black cloud hung over the Novi car. Unser was caught up in the horrific crash and fireball that took the lives of Dave MacDonald and fan favorite Eddie Sachs.

1966 was the last attempt to qualify a Novi car at Indy. The car was crashed in practice by Unser and was parked. But by now the writing was on the wall and the reign of the front engine roadster was ending, only to be replaced by the rear engine Indy cars powered by turbo Offy’s or Ford V-8’s. During its 25 years at Indy, the best finish of a Novi powered car was third in 1948. But one can only wonder, what if the engine was put in a light weight, rear engine car with an advanced aero package with wide, low profile tires? What is ironic of all of this is that there was a sketch done of a very advanced rear engine Novi powered car in 1964. But it was deemed too radical and not pursued. Maybe we would have had a different ending to the Novi story, but then again, we’ll never know, will we?

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lugnuts from Pit Row

By Gene Turk

When I think of famous engines that were designed and built in the last hundred years, names like Rolls-Royce, Merlin, Allison, Pratt and Whitney Cosworth, and the small block Chevy V-8 all come to mind. But one engine stands at the top of the list, the four-cylinder Offenhauser. The engine simply known as, “The Offy”. This little engine dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular with vintage midget and sprint car racers today.

Ironically, this engine did not start out as a race car engine or was it called an Offenhauser. About 100 years ago, Harry Miller built his first four cylinder, double overhead cam, four valve engine of 220 cubic inches(3.6 liter) for marine use. This engine was very powerful and was used by many boat builders to set new speed records. Then in 1930, some car builder installed one of Miller’s 151 cubic inch marine engines in his automobile and set a new international speed record of 144.895 MPH. Quite amazing for 1930. However, the country was in the midst of The Great Depression and Miller and Company went bankrupt in 1933. But like they say, fate stepped in.

In steps Fred Offenhauser, Harry Miller’s chief mechanic and bought the rights to the engine, tooling and drawings. He then opened up a shop only one block from Miller’s company. Fred made changes and refinements to the engine that would lead to the engine becoming the indomitable Offy. Just about the time the engine was proving it’s way by winning races, another big change took place – World War II started and all racing activities came to a screeching halt as the country put all its efforts into war production. But the story does not end there. Actually, the biggest changes in the history of the Offy where just around the corner.

In 1946, Lois Meyer and Dale Drake bought the engine and design. It was under these two individuals that the Offy became the engine that dominated the Indy 500 and midgets for years to come. To be accurate, the engines at this period could be called Drake Offys. From 1934 through the 1970’s, the Offenhauser engines won the Indy 500 27 times. From 1950 to 1960, Offy powered cars won the Indy 500 pole 10 of 11 years. But it even gets better. In 1969 Lime Rock Park held its Formula Libre race. Roger Ward shocked the expensive and exotic sports car by winning the race in an Offy powered midget on a road race course. The story of this legend just keeps getting better.

A big change for the Indy 500 came in the mid-1970’s with the advent of turbo charging. This engine really came alive with 44.3 PSI of boast. They could now put out 1000 HP. The final Offy was 2.61 liter (159 cu in) and was restricted to 770 horsepower at 24.6 PSI of boast at 6600 RPM. This year’s winning Indy 500 Chevy 2.2 liter V-6 engine puts out about 710 HP at a very lofty 11,000 RPM. The Offy’s final victory came in 1978 in a car driven by Gordon Johncock.
Besides its high output per cubic inch-as high as 3 HP per cubic inch – the Offy was very reliable. It was of a monobloc construction. This is when the cylinder head forms both the cylinder and head in one unit. This eliminated the problem of blown head gaskets and cylinder head stud failure. This also allowed for lofty compression ratios of 15 to 1. The design also allowed for many different sizes of engines as rules were changed. Bores and strokes could be changed to give many ranges of engines. However, the following is a list of the most popular sizes:

1. 97 cu in. (1.5L)
2. 220 ” ” (3.6L)
3.270 ” ” (4.4L)
4. 255 ” ” (4.18L)
5. 252 ” ” (4.13L)
6. 168 ” ” (2.75L) Turbo engines to 1968 for Indy
7. 159 ” ” (2.61L) Turbo engines to 1969 and later.

So there you have it, just some of the great race history of an engine that started out in the fertile mind of one man who just wanted to power boats almost 100 years ago.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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The post OFFENHAUSER: The Engine That Became a Racing Legend appeared first on RacingNation.com.

Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

By Gene Turk

Last year, I wrote an article about the increased interest in Formula E racing by some major racing teams, specifically Porsche and Mercedes. It now looks like Maserati has shown interest in joining the Formula E racing series in season 5. Presently, the current season four manufacturers include Audi, Citroen, Jaguar, Nissan, Renault, and BMW. The United States has two teams that are well represented with two cars each by Penske and Andretti. Season 4 was off to good start and season 5 will have some very interesting changes coming.

Season 4 got off to a start on December 2nd, 2017 with a double header in Honk Kong, China. The season will include 12 races with the final race being in New York City on July 15th, 2018. This year’s schedule has been expanded with new races added in Santiago, Rome, and Zurich. Uruguay will also sponsor the Punta del Este. At the end of the season, two champions will be crowed. One for the driver with the most points, the other for the team whose two drivers accumulate the most points combined. The drivers can win points in three ways. The pole sitter will receive 3 points. The driver who records the fastest lap during the race will receive one extra point, providing that he finishes in the top 10 places. The points for the race are as such. 1st -25 pts. 2nd -18 pts. 3rd -15 pts. 4th -12 pts. 5th -10 pts. 6th -8 pts. 7th -6 pts. 8th -4 pts. 9th -2 pts. 10th -1 pt. As you can see, the point breakdown is favored to winning. As example, if the second placed car is also the pole sitter and turns the fastest lap, he would obtain a maximum of 18+3+1= 22 points compared to 25 for the winner.

Some of the biggest news for this year is that FOX Sports will now broadcast the races on their FS1 channel. They have brought in some well know commentators to call the race. They include Ralph Sheheen, Brian Till, and Steve Matchett. If you saw the race from Rome in early April, you would have seen Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti interviewing the winner of the race. Now, a spokesperson for the series claims an increase of 8% in ticket sales. With Fox Sports now involved, I can’t help but think that viewership will also be on the increase.

If you have a chance to watch a race on the TV, you will see something rather unique on the screen as the race graphics are displayed. During the race, Fox will show the position, car number, driver’s name and seconds behind the leader. As the race progresses, you will see the percentage of battery charge remaining on the right side of the display. During the Rome race, the lead Jaguar seemed to have the win in hand with four laps left. His battery charge showed 12%. Only a few turns from the finish line, he ran out of electrons and fell back to 9th place as he coasted across the finish line. This is kind of ironic-just like an Indy 500 car running out of gas on lap 199 going through turn 3.

Season 5 will have some big changes coming. First off, there will be an all new car design. The chassis will be designed by Sport Racing Technologies and will be called SRTO5e. The car will be a major departure from the present design. The present car has a very narrow body with small sub-wings along the cockpit side along with a rear wing. The new design will not have a rear wing. Instead, it will have side pods that will direct the air over the back end. The nose is very pointed and the front wheels will have an aero package that covers the front and back of the tire.

The other big news for next year is that the battery size will increase from 200 KW to 250 KW. This will increase the motors output from 270 BHP to 330 BHP. This will not only allow for higher speeds, but will allow the car to the finish the race on one charge instead of having to change cars half way through the race as is currently needed. Presently, the drivers do need to be aware of the batteries charge remaining in the closing laps. However, the cars do have electronics on board that will change the motor to a generator when the driver backs off the throttle, thus increasing the car’s range.

Formula E racing is somewhat different than races using gasoline powered engines. The race is approached a little different in that power is limited to only 110KW during a “shakedown” session. Here the driver runs at reduced speed to check out the electronics and the car’s reliability. Here is when the software engineers can check everything out. Then practice will start with the full 200 KW of power. The driver can now adapt to the track and car’s setup and make any changes that may be needed prior to the race.

If you are enjoying watching Formula E racing this season, just wait until next year. More manufacturers are entering the series, new teams, new drivers and an all-new car. There doesn’t seem to be any lack of excitement for this newer series.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Lug Nuts from Pit Row

by Gene Turk

By all indications, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018 has seen some major changes in its driver lineup. We no longer have veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Danica Patrick behind the wheel.

They have been mostly replaced by a group of talented, but yet much younger drivers. Now it is true that we still have the veterans like Jimmie Johnson, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard, and Ryan Newman, the percentage of new rookie drivers has seen a significant increase for this season. So let’s take a look into this new batch of drivers.

Chase Elliott is 22 years old and is the son of famous Bill “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” Elliott. He drives the number 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports. Chase had quite a year in 2017 with a number of second place finishes. A little luck here or there and he just could win his first race this year. After five races and a post-race penalty in Phoenix, Chase is in 21st place in points.

Eric Jones is 20 years old and drives the number 20 car for Joe Gibbs. This young man takes over for Matt Kenseth and I believe he has some big shoes to fill. Matt is a past champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner. The good news for Eric is that he does have a team that does know how to win. Eric is now in 13th place in points.

Ryan Blaney is 24 years old and drives the number 12 car for Rodger Penske. Ryan is off to very good start this year and is presently in 5th place in points. This young, talented driver is one to watch in 2018. I expect him to have a good year.

Daniel Suarez is 26 years old and is a native of Mexico. He took over the number 19 car from Carl Edwards and drives for Joe Gibbs. His start in 2018 has been a little rocky. He is presently in 23rd place in points.

Austin Dillon is 27 and drives the famous number 3 for Richard Childress. Austin started off the season with a big bang by winning the Daytona 500. To be quite honest, I thought that Aric Almirola had the race won going into the last lap in Danica Patrick’s former ride, but then again that’s Daytona. Austin has a great team behind him, so I do expect some more good finishes from him. He is presently in 12th place in points.

Darrell Wallace Jr. is 24 and drives for Richard Petty in the number 43 car. King Richard must have seen something special in this young man when he put in the number 43 car. His faith in this man was proven to be correct when Mr. Wallace finished second in the Daytona 500. By the way the celebration went on in his pits, you would have thought that the number 43 car won the race. He is 19th in points. Things have sorta gone downhill since the Daytona 500.

Alex Bowman is 24 and takes over for Dale Jr. in the number 88 car. He drives for Hendrick Motorsports. We know that the number 88 team does know how to build a fast race car and Alex has proven that he can drive the car fast by winning and pole for the Daytona 500 and qualifying well in other races. He is 16th in points.

So there we have a short overview of some of the up and coming NASCAR drivers. From what I see, the changing of the guard looks like NASCAR is in good hands and has a great pool of young talented drivers for the future. As the year unfolds, I’ll keep checking back on how well these new drivers are doing.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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 Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

This year’s Rolex 24 was the start of the Corvette Racing Team’s 20th year in competitive racing. This team has done what no other racing team has done. It has been 20 years with the same manufacturer, the same model car, and the same core team. In its 20 years of racing, the Corvette team has accomplished the following:

• 106 total wins since 1999 in 398 starts
• Won at 21 tracks
• 3 Rolex 24 wins in 7 starts
• 12 Manufacture and Team championships
• 11 Driver titles
• Completed 263,074 racing miles since 1999

This is quite an impressive accomplishment and this team ranks as one of the most successful sports car teams in the history of the motor sport. So, I was curious as to what made this group’s winning ways.

In 1997, Corvette introduces it’s all new fifth generation C5. This car was a major departure from the previous generation Corvette. It had an all-aluminum V-8, a rigid chassis, new suspension and brakes, and a new transmission that was moved to the rear of the car. The car now came very close to meeting that ideal 50/50 weight distribution. Then in 1999, Corvette introduced the C5R and went racing. They knew that they had a winning combination from the get go. Here was a car that could compete and beat any sports car that Europe or Japan could build. The C5R let to the C6R after 2005 and then to the present C7R after 2014. Now that we have the car, what else is needed to win?

A good car can only be as good as its drivers. The Corvette team has had some of the best drivers in the world. Here is just a partial list: Justin Bell, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ron Fellows, Jan Magnussen, Simon Paganaud, John Paul, Jr. Oliver Gavin, and Tommy Milner. As a side note, 20 drivers have driven for the Corvette Team in the Rolex 24.

One of the drivers that have been key to the team’s success is Tommy Milner. In 1999, Mr. Milner was driving for the Rahal/Letterman BMW team. He joined the Corvette Team in 2011 as a full time driver. In his seven years with the team, he has earned 11 wins, 2 victories in the 24 hours of Lemans and two class driver championships. Quite an impressive resume for a young man!

So we have the car and the driver, let’s look at the team. The Corvette Racing Team is like no other team in the racing world. The core team has been together for the entire 20 years. Mr. Milner believes that one of the important things that makes this team so good is that everyone now has a huge wealth of knowledge and experience in all kind of scenarios. He believes that level of experience and cohesiveness just doesn’t exist with other teams. This team is known for developing excellent race strategies that have allowed them to win races when they may not have always had the fastest car. Ironically, I could find only two times when the Corvette was on the pole for a race.

Finally, let’s look at the pit crew. Without a doubt, those guys are great. There are many examples when the Corvette would come in for a late pit stop while in third or fourth place only to leave the pit in first place with a big lead. So how good are they? The team recently set a new record for the fastest brake change.

So there you have it, winning ways when all the key elements come together to work for a common goal. Who knows, this team could just keep winning for the next 20 years.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

By Gene Turk

Last year, I wrote an article on the accomplishments of K&N series racer Julie Landauer. Well, it seems that 2018 just might have another female racer that has the potential to follow in Julie’s footsteps in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Her name is Hailie Deegan, and the Temecula, California native is only 16 years old!

Hailie Deegan’s new ride for the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season. [photo courtesy Hailie Deegan]

Hailie had to work hard to earn her ride by passing a number of test trials with both Bill McAnalley Racing and Toyota in 2017. It seems that she must have impressed the folks at the trials so much that she has been scheduled to not only compete in the K&N West series, but will also compete in some K&N East series races. Most impressive for a 16 year old. So, how did Hailie get to where she is today?

This young lady started driving when she was only 8 years old in off-road racing. She then became the first female to win a race and championship in the Lucas Off-Road Championship Racing Series. Her accomplishments include Modified Kart Regional champion in 2015. Then in 2016 she won the Modified Kart National Champion. In 2017, she won the driver of the year. What was also unique in 2017 is that she was the first female in the Pro Lite division of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series to have multiple podium wins in her rookie year. But her accomplishments were not done yet. She went on to win the NASCAR Diversity Young Racer award.

Looking to the future, Hailie has two major goals. The first is to follow in the footsteps of her father, Brian Deegan. It just so happens that the elder Deegan has multiple championships in the Lucas Oil Pro 2 and Lucas Oil Pro-Lite series. Her second goal is to drive in the NASCAR Monster Energy Series. Sounds like we just might have a future Danica Patrick coming along.

Speaking of Danica, it looks like things are not going all that well for her in securing a ride for the Daytona 500 this year. By her own admission, getting a ride has not gone as quickly as she had hoped for. To be quite honest, time is running out for her to get a ride. If she is going to drive in the Daytona 500, something has to come together in the next two weeks. A sponsor needs to be signed on, a car needs to be prepped with the sponsor’s logo and paint scheme. A pit crew needs to be hired and a crew chief found. I wonder how many crews are willing to sign on for a one race deal only? Then Danica needs to get some practice time in on the track, the pit crew needs to practice pit stops, and finally Danica needs to have her qualifying run and then run in a twin 150. Let’s not forget the all-important media events with photo ops and interviews. Now she does have a little more time to get a ride for the Indy 500, but here too, I haven’t really heard of owners lining up to offer her a ride. The real issue is that the car owners now expect the driver to bring a sponsor with then to insure a ride in the race. I guess we’ll just have to wait a few more weeks to find out if Danica Patrick is in the starting grid.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

by Gene Turk

As I am writing this column, it is now late-December and there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, and the temperature is in the single digits with a wind chill of -2. Kinda a bummer! Thus, our racing season as all but come to a screeching halt. But, it is now summer time in Australia and racing is going on in the land down under. So, I decided to do some research to find out if Australian racing is like racing in the U.S.A., or what the differences might be. What I found was some good news, and then some not so good news.

To start, motor sport racing is very popular in Australia with a rich history that dates back to the 1920’s. The oldest race is the Alpine Rally that dates back to 1921. Then closely behind that is the Australian Grand Prix that was first run in 1928.These races are very popular with the Grand Prix being attended by 300,000 spectators. This attendance is right up there to our Indy 500.

The most watched races are the Super cars or V-8 Super cars (supercars.com/). These events take place in all states and the Northern Territory. The average attendance is over 100,000 with the Clipsal 500 having 250,000 fans at the race. What I really found interesting is that these events are broadcast to 137 countries. Boy, that has to be one tall radio tower! These race cars are based on 4 door Saloon cars with a 5 liter, normally aspirated V-8 (Remember the Ford 289/302 engines). These are road going cars that are basically bought of the show room floor, had the sheet metal modified along with a upgrade to the suspension. Popular cars are the Ford Falcon, Holden Commodores, Nissan Altima, M-B E63 and Volvo S60. Somehow I picture Mel Gibson in Mad Max tearing through the country side in a modified Holden.

Another interesting fact is that Australia is a host nation to many International events. Some examples are: FIA Formula One World Championship, Rally Australia, FIA World Rally Championship’ Moto GP Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Champ Car, and World Super Bike Championship. I did find another race that was interesting. It is the Australian Safari Off Road Motorsport. It takes place in August (their winter) and covers 5500 kilometers, mostly through the Outback. It is sort of like our Baja 1000, but is only open to cars and cycles, no trucks.

One of the pleasant surprises that I found is that the “shrimp -on-the -barbie” fan is much like the American race fan in that they both like to do in the dirt. World Series Sprint Cars are the riches and best known series in Australia. This series is based on our World of Outlaw (WoO) sprint car series and is open to any and all drivers from around the world. This series is only 12 rounds and runs from December to February. American drivers take part in this series and here are just a few drivers that you may have heard of: Steve Kinser, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson. Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, and Jason Johnson. As a side note, Tony Stewart was racing in New Zealand in his #14 sprint car at the time of this writing, so he just might zip over to race yet this year in Australia.

There is another Sprint car series in Australia. It is the Lucas Oil Australian Sprint Car Championship. It is for Australian drivers only and has a single championship meeting in late January or early February.

Now for some not so good news. It seems that racing in Australia is very expensive. The article I read made a point that there are fewer competitors compared to other sports. This may have something to do with a rather short racing season as noted in only 12 rounds of the sprint car series. Then there some other facts about Australia that have an effect on its racing future. Australia has a population of just under 24 million. But most of the population lives in five major cities along the South East coast. 88% of the population lives in an urban area with vast areas of the land being sparsely populated or not populated at all. The end results are that there aren’t that many race tracks. My research found only about 80 active race tracks, and that number included drag strips and hill climb tracks. I also found 28 closed/inactive race tracks. But in spite of it all, Australia has a very active and avid racing fan base that should only continue to get stronger.

In closing, who is the most successful Australian driver? That would have to be Jack Brabham in Formula One. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Here’s looking forward to a great year of exciting racing in 2018!

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts from Pit Row

by Gene Turk

Earlier this year, I wrote an article about Formula E racing series and how the series was growing. Well, it looks like Porsche will now be a major player in the Formula E series. Porsche made the announcement just a few weeks ago that is to be competing in the 2019 season. Porsche management stated that their strategy for 2025 includes battery powered sports cars like the Mission E car that is due for production and sales to the public in the near future. But there is a second part to their announcement.

Porsche also released a statement saying that they are pulling out of the LMP1(LeMans Prototype 1) series, but will continue being active in the GT series. Now, what is behind this is that many of the sports car builders believe that they have gone just about as far as they can go with the piston engine. We know that Porsche is an innovator and has had a stellar career in sports car racing and has been successful with many of their race cars. Thus, one can only think that Porsche’s racing division management did not make this decision to go into Formula E on a whim. I have to believe that Porsche is in it to win it.

Although Porsche will end its involvement in LMP1 at the end of the 2017 racing season, it will keep its LMP1 team intact and active as they prepare for their 2019 Formula E debut. In fact, they already have a car under development. This team will be kept busy due to some major rule changes for the Formula E series 2019 season. The biggest changes include the fact that each car builder can now develop their own chassis. The other new rule change is that the manufacturer is now free to design and build their own batteries, motors, control units, etc. What I found the most interesting news from Porsche is that they believe a new battery technology will allow them to complete the full race on a single charge. Then we add the fact that Audi, Jaguar, and Renault are also involved in Formula E. 2018 has to be an interesting year with all of these talented and unique engineers working on all new electric race cars.

The 2019 racing season in Formula E will require a major change in how the teams approach a race. First off, the pit stops can be very fast. It should be just a tire change, no fuel. Worse case would be a minor chassis adjustment. Secondly, tune-ups won’t be done by twisting wrenches or turning screw drivers. It will now be done by plugging in a laptop. Also, engines will no longer need to be torn down for rebuilding after a race. Thus a major cost savings for the teams. As a side note, the electric motors that are presently flying in electric power airplanes have an estimated service life of 250,000 hours-that’s hours, not miles before they need any maintenance done. I can’t help believe that the days of blown engines with a connecting rod going through the oil pan just might be numbered.

Porsche may not be the only one who believes that they have gone as far as they can with the internal combustion engine. An east coast custom motorcycle builder recently made a statement that he has hit a ceiling in any future development of his high horsepower motorcycles. His special custom cycle’s engines produce 155 HP and 165 LB-FT of torque. It says he will only build electric motorcycles from now on. His new bikes will produce 175 HP and a whopping 290 LB–FT of torque. He is now selling his $155,000 motorcycles for a bargain basement price of $150,000 (some big savings!).

What I am finding the most interesting aspect of these announcements is the fact that what is learned on the race track does slowly find its way into the cars that you can buy off the showroom floor.

Historically, battery improvements have been slow with no major break-through within a short period of time. We used the heavy lead acid battery for 100 years in our cars. We have Nicads, then nickle metal hydrate, then lithium polymer and lithium ion. What has happen over time is that the batteries have gotten lighter, the capacity has gone up (amp-hours) the discharge rate (amps) has increased and the charging time has gone down. The future for electric cars sure looks exciting. I wonder who will be the first driver to be given the nickname of Sparky?

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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Turk’s Tracks
A Few Loose Lug Nuts From Pit Row

by Gene Turk

If you are a parent with a child between 5 and 16 years old that shows an interest in motorsports racing, you have many options to get that child involved in racing. You can chose racing on four wheels, two wheels, on a dirt oval, paved oval, road race course, or even a motocross circuit. You can race outdoors or indoors. You can even choose your engine option of a 4 stroke or 2 stroke engines. So, let’s explore four of the most popular racing options for your child. We’ll start with quarter midgets.

The concept of racing quarter midgets was a simple one. Take a full size midget, shrink it down to 1/4 size, place a small 4 stroke engine in the rear, and go race on a 1/20 mile oval dirt race track. Now the earliest quarter midgets had their beginnings in the very late 1930’s. However, the onset of World War Two in 1941 curtailed any further racing. But, by the mid 1950’s, quarter midget racing found a renewed interest. The oldest quarter midget race track in continuous operation is located in Terra Haute, Indiana which has been in operation since 1958. One of the earliest clubs was the Greater Milwaukee Quarter Midget Club that can trace it roots back to 1955. This club did race on a section of the front stretch of the famous Milwaukee Mile track before it was paved.

Presently, there are over 4000 registered quarter midget racers in the U.S. The Quarter Midgets of America has divided the country into 13 regions with a listing of the clubs in each region. The majority of the clubs are in the Midwest, California, and the far Northwest. They have broken the racing into two main classes – 5 to 8 year olds and 9 to 16 year olds. Then they have a sub group. The child is weighed with their clothes on and less than 100 pounds is one group, over 100 pounds is another group. This is to try to keep the racing as fair as possible. So, what is this all going to cost to get into quarter midget racing?

There was a dark period in quarter midget racing when the cost of building a race car got out of control. Special racing engines could cost $6,000. Chassis could exceed $9,000 due to the use of exotic materials. Luckily, wiser heads prevailed when they standardized on the 7 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine to keep costs down. Today you can buy kit chassis in different stages of completion for $1,900 to $3,000. A quick check on ebay finds race ready used units for $2,000 to $4,000. These cars are capable of going 35 MPH, but do not attain these speeds on a dirt oval. However, higher speeds are obtained on a banked paved track. Now, let’s move on to another popular form of racing for the kids, Go Karts.

Here we have a very simple concept. Take a welded tube frame, add four small wheels, a seat and bolt on a small 2 stroke chainsaw engine driving the right rear wheel. Find a big parking lot, put down some orange cones to form a road race course, and go race. Thus, this is how it all began in California in the mid to late 1950’s. From these humble beginnings, Go Kart racing spread rapidly throughout the United States. The use of Go Karts in amusement parks was a major factor in its popularity.

Go Karts allow many options as to how you want to race. You can begin racing at 5 years old and continue all the way into your adult life. You can start with a small 4 stroke engine and move up to 90 horsepower 2 stroke engines. A big advantage that Go Karts have is that you can race indoors with electric go carts. If you live in a section of the U.S. where it rains two days out of every third day, you might want to consider this. You can chose between two basic cart designs. They are open-no roll cage and caged carts -full roll cage.

As far as costs go, you can start your young child in a clone class of go cart for $1,500. The clone class uses a 6.5 horsepower 4 stroke engine and is ready to go. Just add gas. Full race used units are very close to a quarter midget cost -$2,000 to $4,000. Before your child is allowed to race, he or she must have the proper safety gear. This includes a full face Snell SA2005 or K2005 approved helmet, a racing Balaclava, driving suit, driving gloves and boots. Now, let’s move on to two wheels with the dirt bikes.

With the advent of mini dirt bikes from the four major Japanese manufacture’s, this form of racing on a motocross style track is becoming more popular. Here again, your child can start racing as early as 4 years old. Classes are divided by engine size. Staring with 50 cc, 65-70 cc, and 85cc. This includes 4 stroke or 2 stroke classes. One thing is unique about this type of racing is that the 2 stroke class is divided into an oil injection class and a pre-mix class. This is because the premix engines tend to be a little faster than the old injection engines. Best to check what type of engine is popular with your local club before you dash off and buy a dirt bike. As with the G Karts, your child will need the proper safety gear. This includes goggles and a chest protector besides the helmet, boots, gloves, and riding suit. Make sure you factor these additional costs into your budgets beyond just the dirt bike.

With this form of racing, the parent must be aware that some time along the way, your child will fall off of the dirt bike. Hopefully, all of the safety gear will do its job and the child will not be injured. But, this can be a traumatic experience for a young child. Some children will shake it off and get right back on the dirt bike. Others won’t. Don’t force your young child to get back on the bike. They will get on when they are ready. So, onto our last option – ATV or better known as quad runners.

Quad runners are one of the newer options for the little tykes. Again, we have age ranges from 4 to 16 years old. Engines can range from 50cc to 450 cc. All of the big four motorcycle builders have quad runners in their lineup, so you have many options. Older used units are also in that $2,000 to $4,000 range. The racing courses for quad runners are very diverse, so that does make this form of racing very special. The course may include trails, footpaths, roads, hills, motocross tracks, or any type of terrain that may be negotiated by a motorcycle or ATV.

So there you have your options to get your son or daughter involved in racing. Here is a great opportunity for your child to learn good sportsmanship, make new friends, learn how to maintain their race car, dirt bike or quad runner and just have fun. A side benefit, you will be creating memories that will serve them a lifetime.

Gene Turk

Gene Turk was born with racing in his blood. At age 8 he started racing Quarter Midgets as member of the Great Milwaukee Quarter Midget club. For five years he raced the #7 car that his father built. He then graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Internal Combustion Engineering.

While in college he obtained his Private Pilot’s License.

Along the way he has attended numerous Indy car and stock car races at the Milwaukee Mile during the 60s, 70sand 80s along with area Midget car races. He would also frequently fly to the Brickyard to watch the Indy 500 time trials in the 60s and 70s and more recently attended the 2014 Indy 500.

He has also attended numerous sports car and NASCAR races at Elkhart Lake Road America. Finally, Gene has owned many classic cars including his present 1990 Corvette and is a self-described “Gear Head.”

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