Who wins in the Formula 1 drag race against Champ Cars?

From time to time I am asked what the differences are between a Formula 1 chassis and a Champ Car. However, how many people really know what a Champ Car is? (As I am often asked to explain what they are)

Unfortunately, most of today’s non-racing public only know what “RASSCAR” (Nextel Cup) is… So my simple answer is: Do you know the cars that race in the Indianapolis 500? Those are “Indycars”, which vaguely resemble a Champ Car.

Although technically speaking, the Indy 500 is the sole domain of the Indy Racing League, which is NOT Champ Cars. This is because the current state of Open Wheel racing was split between two opposing sanctioning bodies when the CART-IRL split occurred in 1996…

The most notable visual difference between a Champ Car and IRL chassis is the rear engine hood. Turbocharged Champ Cars do not use an overhead air box. The IRL cars feature a “Formula 1-esque” airbox to introduce air into the engine’s induction buried within the carbon fiber enclosure…

And yet, this year’s new Panoz DP-01 Champ Car will appear to be a hybrid of the series’ old Lola B2K chassis and a current-spec Formula 1 competitor with its new front wing treatment. The new Panoz will also use similar F1 steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters and a host of new electronic engine management features, including the removal of the ubiquitous “pop-off” valve…

Providing an interesting twist on the theme of the terminal velocity of Open Wheel racing cars was the announcement that F1’s BAR-Honda would attack the Bonneville Salt Flats in October 2006 in an effort to break 400 km/h. .

More details became known while watching Formula 1 qualifying last July at Silverstone. (Saturday, 09/07/06) when SPEED Channel’s Bob Varsha made some interesting comments during the 5am broadcast

Varsha noted that BAR-Honda’s “jalopy” was expected to top out at over 250mph on a modified Formula 1 chassis with front and rear wings removed and using a parachute…

This brings us to another question I am often asked: Which is faster: “The chicken or the egg. The Coyote or the Road Runner?” ERR, Formula 1 or “chUmp carZs”?

This naturally leads to a comparison of rival machinery. The 2005 BAR-Honda 007 chassis is powered by a 3.0-liter normally aspirated V-10 engine,
rumored to produce 955bhp @ 19,200RPM… However, in July 2005, BAR-Honda was in the LAST place in the F1 constructors’ standings.

Meanwhile, the 2005 Champ Car, the Lola/Cosworth turbocharged 2.65-litre V-8 produced 750bhp at 37″ boost. Using Cosworth’s “Push-to Pass” technology, it allows drivers 60 seconds of “turbo boost” creating an additional 50bhp to be applied for a maximum output of 800bhp.

During the later years of factory-supported Champ Car (CART) racing, engines were rapidly approaching 900bhp. And in 2000, Gil de Ferran recorded Honda’s fifth consecutive CART driver’s championship and set a new closed-track world record speed of 241.428 mph at California Speedway. (Fontana, CA: 2.5 miles Tri-Oval)

Meanwhile, the F1 circus has reached “terminal velocity” speeds of over 221mph along the Indianapolis mainstretch while taking a long drive down the straight sprinting for 21 seconds… (! ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ Thankfully, I was attending the Portland GI Joes Champ Car race instead…)

This was before the Formula 1 engine was downsized from a normally aspirated 3.0-litre V-10 to a 2.4-litre V-8 by cutting two cylinders in an effort to reduce power that threatened to exceed 1,000bhp.

This had occurred in the mid-1980s during the Turbo era of F1, which had seen over 1,100 bhp during qualifying from the tiny 1.5-litre V-6 and inline-4 turbocharged engines. The skyrocketing increases in power led the FIA ​​(Formula 1 sanctioning body) to opt to return to normally aspirated engines with the introduction of 3.5 liters of maximum displacement in 1989, with a reduction to 3.0 liters in 1990… (This engine formula remained in force from 1990 to 2005)

The all-time behemoths were known as the Can Am, which competed between 1966 and 1974. This saw the evolution of the almighty German Panzer, also known as the Porsche 917/30, whose turbocharged flat 12 engine was rumored to exceed 1300bhp. .

However, by the mid-’90s, Porsche’s direct descendant of the 917: the 956 followed by the dominant 962 vs. The Jaguar XJRs (Lemans prototypes) were zipping down the 3.0-mile Mulsane Straight at just under 250mph. (246+ mph) This led to the addition of two chicanes to split the straight…

Of course, top speed is simply relative to vehicle application…

On October 15, 1997, the British Thrust SSC became the first jet-powered “car” to exceed the speed of the SOUND. (Mach 1) The twin-engine land jet achieved an average two-way speed of 766.609 mph…

And where do the maximum speed limits end?

For example, the Lockheed SR-71 flies FASTER than a speeding bullet (3000 mph), while the XB-70 Valkerie broke ALL records with a top speed of Mach 5. (3700+ mph)

So which is ultimately faster: Formula 1 or Champ Cars? Unfortunately, this will NEVER be truly answered, as the two different forms of Open Wheel cruise missiles adhere to different engine formulas, rule packages, different tires, weights, fuels, gear ratios, etc. And the biggest limiting factor is the different aerodynamic rules imposed by Formula 1 vs. Champ Cars.

Even the races are slightly different. While both compete on traditional road courses and apply the same “Point ‘N Squirt” racing theory. F1 chassis are better suited for outright corner-to-corner acceleration, whereas Champ Cars were able to achieve higher top speeds while continuously cruising down the track’s banked ovals in the late 1990s or as evidenced by the race Current Indy 500…

However, during the 2006 Champ Car World Series held at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villenuve, home of the Canadian Formula 1 race, their lap times were almost 7 seconds SLOWER than F1 cars… ( Lap time comparison: F1 = 1:14.942 vs. Field character = 1:21.856)

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