Davis Racing Preps for Unknown Track

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Davis Racing Preps for Unknown Track
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
How CART teams prepare for Gateway without on-site tests
Teams on the PPG CART World Series rely on previous experience when setting up a car for any circuit. Engineers have notebooks crammed full of data and settings from years of previous visits, all designed to make sure the car is close to perfect when it comes off the trailer.
For Davis Racing, the initial setup is the responsibility of chief engineer Chuck Matthews. A veteran of CART and Indy car racing, Matthews has engineered cars for a number of teams, including Hemelgarn, Morales, Hall/VDS, Raynor, Dick Simon and Hall Racing, and is now with Davis Racing in its first year of competition. His resume includes several wins and pole positions, and his notebooks are inches thick from several Indy car tracks.
But what do the teams do when they visit a track for the first time, such as the new Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.?
For Matthews, there are several challenges in determining an initial setup, but there are also several sources of information to rely on:
"We've actually been working on the problem for a couple of months. At Long Beach, we received a large map of the facility that allowed us to determine straight lengths, corner radii and banking. We take that data and enter it into a computer simulation program and then tweak our combinations around until we find something that works.
"The simulation basically allows us to determine the downforce we will have and the gear ratios we need.
"We also get the same information from Reynard and sometimes from Goodyear, who have their own simulation programs. In many cases, the numbers are very close, but there are always times where the numbers don't agree. Those are the critical numbers that we have to watch closely when we finally get to the track.
"The one factor we don't know yet is the type of tires Goodyear will supply to us, but with the rest of the data we can make some pretty good estimates of ride height and spring rates and base it with data from similar tracks that we know about. For Gateway, a lot of the data will be similar to Phoenix with its banking and Milwaukee with its grip and tight radius corners. I then run the simulation on a known track — for this race I chose Homestead — and see how the simulation performs."
Goodyear Tire engineers will also play a critical part in the success of its teams at Gateway. Goodyear has the task of creating a tire for a track it has not tested that will be both safe and fast. But creating tires for a new track is not a new challenge for Goodyear.
Doug Swift, Goodyear's group leader for CART development, said
"Our engineers take the track blueprints and put the vital information into the computer, where we determine the angles the car will use around the track. We then have a good car model that we insert into the program and several tire models that we've developed over the years and see what the numbers say.
"For Gateway, we are also adding in date we've acquired from other tracks. We've found it to be similar to Phoenix in many respects, although the corners are a bit tighter.
"The final ingredient is the pavement compound. Gateway is using an asphalt mix that we are familiar with, so we have that factor in the final equation as well."
CART tire manufacturers are limited to two compounds per race, so the develop a primary compound and an option compound that will work for Gateway is the critical decision for Goodyear. "We have to be right before we even leave Akron," said Swift. "We have to make our decisions early and live with them, but they have to be the correct decisions."
Even with the computer simulations and development that goes on before the CART teams see Gateway, the data received is only a base for the initial setup.
"We still have to juggle spring rates, front and back, and anti roll-bar settings to get the balance correct," said Matthews. "A lot of that comes back to the driver and the information he gives us each time he is on the track.
"Gualter is one of the best drivers I've worked with for receiving usable information back to us and has actually developed a 'rating' system for each corner that's pretty effective in letting us make decisions. You can see the improvement just in the qualifying efforts we've made in the first five races."
Source: CART News Service


		JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Davis Racing Preps for Unknown Track ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. How CART teams prepare for Gateway without on-site tests Teams on the PPG CART World Series rely on previous experience when setting up a car for any circuit. Engineers have notebooks crammed full of data and settings from years of previous visits, all designed to make sure the car is close to perfect when it comes off the trailer. For Davis Racing, the initial setup is the responsibility of chief engineer Chuck Matthews. A veteran of CART and Indy car racing, Matthews has engineered cars for a number of teams, including Hemelgarn, Morales, Hall/VDS, Raynor, Dick Simon and Hall Racing, and is now with Davis Racing in its first year of competition. His resume includes several wins and pole positions, and his notebooks are inches thick from several Indy car tracks. But what do the teams do when they visit a track for the first time, such as the new Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.? For Matthews, there are several challenges in determining an initial setup, but there are also several sources of information to rely on: "We've actually been working on the problem for a couple of months. At Long Beach, we received a large map of the facility that allowed us to determine straight lengths, corner radii and banking. We take that data and enter it into a computer simulation program and then tweak our combinations around until we find something that works. "The simulation basically allows us to determine the downforce we will have and the gear ratios we need. "We also get the same information from Reynard and sometimes from Goodyear, who have their own simulation programs. In many cases, the numbers are very close, but there are always times where the numbers don't agree. Those are the critical numbers that we have to watch closely when we finally get to the track. "The one factor we don't know yet is the type of tires Goodyear will supply to us, but with the rest of the data we can make some pretty good estimates of ride height and spring rates and base it with data from similar tracks that we know about. For Gateway, a lot of the data will be similar to Phoenix with its banking and Milwaukee with its grip and tight radius corners. I then run the simulation on a known track — for this race I chose Homestead — and see how the simulation performs." Goodyear Tire engineers will also play a critical part in the success of its teams at Gateway. Goodyear has the task of creating a tire for a track it has not tested that will be both safe and fast. But creating tires for a new track is not a new challenge for Goodyear. Doug Swift, Goodyear's group leader for CART development, said "Our engineers take the track blueprints and put the vital information into the computer, where we determine the angles the car will use around the track. We then have a good car model that we insert into the program and several tire models that we've developed over the years and see what the numbers say. "For Gateway, we are also adding in date we've acquired from other tracks. We've found it to be similar to Phoenix in many respects, although the corners are a bit tighter. "The final ingredient is the pavement compound. Gateway is using an asphalt mix that we are familiar with, so we have that factor in the final equation as well." CART tire manufacturers are limited to two compounds per race, so the develop a primary compound and an option compound that will work for Gateway is the critical decision for Goodyear. "We have to be right before we even leave Akron," said Swift. "We have to make our decisions early and live with them, but they have to be the correct decisions." Even with the computer simulations and development that goes on before the CART teams see Gateway, the data received is only a base for the initial setup. "We still have to juggle spring rates, front and back, and anti roll-bar settings to get the balance correct," said Matthews. "A lot of that comes back to the driver and the information he gives us each time he is on the track. "Gualter is one of the best drivers I've worked with for receiving usable information back to us and has actually developed a 'rating' system for each corner that's pretty effective in letting us make decisions. You can see the improvement just in the qualifying efforts we've made in the first five races." Source: CART News Service