Motorsports Archives - Page 2 of 2

Monaco is Not a Racing Circuit

May 25, 2016 by Shane Walters

When was the Last Successful On Track Pass for the Lead at the Monaco GP?

Monaco is not a racing circuit. By definition a F1 racing circuit requires passes or at least some side by side racing. Following the leader, it’s more along the lines of a high speed traffic jam.

Monaco is a narrow stone-age, street circuit traffic jam. I think you have to go back to the 80’s or 90’s to find the last on track pass for the lead. In 20-30 years, we have not seen as pass for the top spot on the podium at the biggest event on the F1 calendar, that’s crazy.

Despite all the technology advancements to improve passing in recent years, it hasn’t helped at Monaco. We’ve added DRS, KERS and increased passing by some 300% at the other tracks, yet drivers still can’t get by at Monaco. In order to make a pass you need to touch, touching is a sin punished by fire in the world of F1.

It’s not just the top spot either. In the last 10 years I honestly don’t believe I’ve seen a single on track pass in the top 5 positions, not one pass. Sure, I’ve seen many passes during pit stops. I guess that’s the only way to pass in Monaco.

Qualifying is the peak of excitement for me this weekend. The race is won in qualifying. As a racing fan, I’m far less entertained from that point on.

You risk your car and your life to make a pass at Monaco. The barriers are right next to the track, “the drink” is just on the other side of that. Safety was brought to our attention in the last decade or two of F1, but Monaco has no room for improvements. It’s truly an unsafe place to drop in some rocket ships on wheels.

I’m not sure why F1 goes to Monaco. It’s not good for the sport. It’s the most watched race of the race, which means the Monaco GP catches the eyes of many people who watch casually as well as many first time viewers.

Monaco doesn’t help at all for retaining these viewers and converting them to fans. They must think we just watch cars follow each other in circles. I’m a huge fan but this race is my least favorite on the F1 schedule.

It’s more of an off track show. A-list celebrities walk the paddock with sunglasses. Camera’s flash as the celebrities gaze at the “Indycar’s”. Or so they think. After all, they aren’t racing fans, for all they know it’s an Indycar. Most of them are there for the press and the party.

The wow and glamour factor of the Monaco GP doesn’t impress me. I’m not into celebrities, I’m into motorsports.

Change or die. The track is a Dinosaur, virtually unchanged in decades. It’s time to move on. The track can’t by modified and F1 has no business on a one line hillside road.

I’m a racing fan, where’s the racing?

Written By: Shane Walters

Mercedes F1 Inspired Oil Painting 2015-4 (14)

May 22, 2016 by Shane Walters

Modern minimalist Mercedes F1 inspired oil on Canvas painting by St. Louis based artist Shane Walters. This large 30″ x 48″ oil on canvas painting features all the colors of the Mercedes Formula 1 car in the style of motion blur.

This artwork was created using only the highest level of oil paints and professional grade canvases available. The art should last more than a lifetime when handled, displayed and preserved correctly.

MEDIUM
Oil Paint

SIZE
30″ x 48″

DEPTH
1.5″

Click here to purchase or learn more about the modern triangle painting shown above.

Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 Flood Water Photos

December 30, 2015 by Shane Walters

Flood Water near Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55

Get out the boats and lets go racing! I took some Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 flood water photos for you to view. The water levels have been slowly rising near the fan favorite dirt track and now the track is surrounded.

Missouri and Illinois have been hit with record flood levels this week. The Mississippi River now surrounds the dirt racing track in Pevely, MO.

I took these flood water photos from outside Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 just today. The album of photos from the flooded dirt track have been posted below.

Other than floating race tracks… A lot of crazy things have been happening regarding the St. Louis flooding. Today, I saw an entire house just floating down the river. On my way to the track I saw Meramec River water nearly swallowing the entire I-55 highway, just 1 foot short of it.

Valley Park which is 30 min from I-55 Raceway saw a mandatory evacuation as the waters reached 40 feet. The water levels were projected to reach 43 feet.

Valley park is near where I took most of these Fenton, MO photos in 2008.

Most of the water in St. Louis, near the racetrack, is at it’s crest point. Meaning this is the highest the water levels are planned to rise in the area.

It’s looks as though Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 is safe from the flood waters. Track workers have already planned ahead. As you can see from the photos below all the I-55 Raceway vehicles and track excavating equipment have been moved. They are all placed at the highest level of the complex.

The dirt track itself has not been effected, other than the parking lot and pit entrance booth. However, The SLKA track is completely underwater. The St Louis Karting Association is located in a section of the parking lot of Federated Auto Parts Raceway. It’s a section of land rented for the karting facility.

The roads are buried in water in all directions entering the track. The only way to the speedway is directly from the I55 highway.

The track flooding photos were all taken from outside the facility. I called the track office to try and get permission to walk amongst the raceway grounds for some better photos. I was denied.

Unfortunately, the filthy dirty lawyers of America have stripped that from you. I was told I could take photos from outside the complex but I couldn’t walk free from inside the fence. I understand completely, I was told they didn’t have the insurance for it if I was to somehow get hurt. Valid point.

I will say that Federated Auto Parts Raceway owner Ray Marler didn’t like the idea of me posting these. His concern was that if people see the photos they would think that the track was always like that.

So, in fairness to Ray… I’ll say I’ve lived in St. Louis my entire life. I can only remember one time where the waters were this high near the track. That was the Flood of 1993 and nearly everything in the midwest was below river current.

I can’t think of another time the track was closed due to water, usually it’s only covered in dirt late models and other things on 4 wheels. Though I could be wrong. However, it’s not closed today either, the dirt racing season ended a few months ago so it wasn’t open with proper cause.

I come from the school of thought that all publicity is good publicity. So, for the sake of dirt racing I hope you saw these photos and then circled a few of the Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 events for 2016.

Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I55 Flood Water Photos

Photos: Shane Walters Twitter

Imaginary NASCAR Debris Cautions Are A Problem

November 30, 2015 by Shane Walters

Imaginary NASCAR debris cautions are a problem and the phantom debris caution chart below shows it’s a new problem

NASCAR debris cautions have spiked since 2005, more than tripled. It’s no secret that a lot of the imaginary NASCAR debris cautions have been used to manipulate the race. It’s purely a poor attempt to make the races more exciting via phantom debris that only the NASCAR officials can see. So, let’s fix it.

In 2000, the number of debris cautions thrown was .4 per race. Basically one debris caution every two races. 2015 is a much different picture. The average NASCAR debris cautions per race in 2015 was 2.0. That’s a massive increase to 2 debris cautions per race. So what’s changed?

In 2003, Brian France took over as chairman and CEO of NASCAR. Since that time debris cautions have more than tripled. As you can see from the NASCAR Debris Cautions chart posted below the caution numbers tell a story. There’s a certain shift in the chart right at the point Brian France took over.

Part of the increase in NASCAR caution flags for debris is simply a safety mechanism. All forms of motorsports have been pressured to make the sport safer. F1 driver Felipe Massa hit a 2 lbs spring in Budapest a few years ago. That put him in the hospital for quiet awhile. That was an open cockpit situation and NASCAR has enclosed cockpits.

Even with enclosed cockpits, debris on the track certainly isn’t safe. Especially a piece of actual physical debris. I understand that and I don’t really dispute it. The only exception being a yellow flag for a paper napkin or 200mph tape, which we see often.

However, what I do dispute is a consistent number of these cautions for debris coming toward the end of the NASCAR event. If the same piece of debris is laying on the track for half the race why are we waiting until 10 laps to go to remove it?

It’s simply an excuse for throwing a caution to bunch the field up. They want to create a short track shootout scenario. NASCAR Executives want to make the races more exciting. That’s fair enough but this isn’t the way to go about it. If there’s really debris on the track, remove it. Don’t wait until 10 laps to go to remove it.

Sometimes the plan for an exciting finish backfires entirely. Such as the case during the NASCAR finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Larson had been running inches from the wall, banging the right side against the wall.

Larson was faster and desperately hunting down Brad Keselowski for the lead and his first career NASCAR win. He had just passed Kyle Busch for 2nd, he was coming. It was going to get very exciting. Yes! This is what we all hope for, a great race at the finish… Caution for debris.

The certainty of a great finish was thrown out the window. The debris wasn’t anywhere close to the racing line either. So why? The answer is simply NASCAR wanted something different at the front of the field.

Kyle Larson was only fast on old tires, when the high grove was in it’s prime. With that caution the fast cars would transition back to Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. I’m not going to speculate on who NASCAR wanted to win that race but it wasn’t Kyle Larson.

This isn’t the right way to go about making the races more exciting. NASCAR shouldn’t be the one to dictate who runs up front via imaginary debris or debris way off the racing line. Days of practice and who tuned their car the best should be what determines who runs up front.

If that’s what they really want NASCAR officials have other options. I’m not just here to complain about the sanctioning body and point out the irritating and blatant race manipulation. I’m also here to offer a better solution.

The first solution… is to cut the races in half. A lot of fans will strongly disagree with cutting the race distance in half. They would be outraged, as they are now just reading the idea. Another NASCAR boycott wouldn’t help short term.

However, I could argue that by making the races much shorter we’d have a larger fan base in the future. Shorter races would strongly increase the chances of the younger audience giving their time to watch the event, becoming a fan. The future of the sport is under the thumb of NASCAR ability to grab the attention of a new generation.

These races are too long and people don’t have the attention span for 4 hour races anymore. The first 1/2 of these races the goal of drivers is simply to survive. We hear often, “It’s too early to be racing him that hard.” What? Why exactly aren’t we racing hard every lap. That sure sounds like things could certainly be improved to make the race as a whole more exciting.

The other problem with the first solution of shorter NASCAR races is TV advertisements. Networks will have less time to air the precious commercials that we fast forward through, like really fast.

The problems don’t stop there with solution one. Another issue is the high priced sponsorship dollars put into these teams. The ROI with racing sponsorship is dependent on TV exposure. The NASCAR team sponsors will suddenly have their TV exposure cut in half, that’s an issue. Teams are already scrambling for sponsorship dollars, shorter races might mean a sharp decline in their rate cards.

Short term, shorter races would certainly hurt the sport. However, I believe shorter races would pay dividends 10 years down the road. Brian France has discussed the idea previously. While I think this is one solution it doesn’t exactly mean the end of the race will be exciting. What we want is the final ten laps to be nail biters, all the time.

The second solution… is to issue a mandatory caution with 10 or 20 laps to go. This idea I really like. It’s basically what NASCAR has been doing on a regular basis since 04-05 anyway. The difference is it’s not a caution for imaginary items on the race track. NASCAR also wouldn’t be giving one driver or another an unfair advantage. Every driver would know a caution is on the way, it’s fair.

It would create the exciting shootout scenario NASCAR is looking for. It would certainly make the end of the 4 hours races more exciting. It would also lift NASCAR criticism of phantom debris cautions. NASCAR officials could get back to throwing debris cautions for actual real life debris, as they should be.

Author: Shane Walters

Caution Data Source: PitRHO

BLOG: F1 Korean Grand Prix An Eye Soar On The Formula One Tour

October 16, 2011 by Shane Walters

Formula 1 returned to Yeongam, South Korea for the Korean Grand Prix hosted at the Korean International Circuit. The track has taken some criticism over the past two years, it’s one of the newest tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, a virgin to F1 just last year and yet it’s appearance and major design flaws such as it’s unsafe pit exit would say otherwise.

Most new tracks are designed with a magnitude of run off room which provide safety and damage control given an off track venture from one of the the multi millon Formula 1 machines. In the case of the Korean International Circuit the eye soar of unpainted concrete walls are placed just inches to the outside of the track for a large majority of the lap. The complex itself appears to be more of a construction site over a glamorous F1 facility and it has been reported after last years F1 event the gates were locked and untouched until one week prior to this weeks event. The circuit lacks the angelic beauty we expect to see from any modern F1 event when compared to recently built tracks like Dubai, Singapore or even India which might also explain the lack of spectators over the weekend.

It was the first time all year a car other than a Red Bull would start on the pole. Lewis Hamilton who started P1 grabbed the early lead heading into turn 1 as Vettel slid into an unfamiliar 2nd with Button trailing. The two Ferrari’s who made up row three also failed to make up any ground at the start.

As lap 1 continued tiny raindrops began to fall as Vettel worked the McLaren Mercedes of Hamilton. He dove to the inside several times for failed attempts but before the lap was complete he would take away the top spot. Massa the Ferrari teammate to Alonso worked his way to the top 3 as Button locked up his front tires forfeiting the position but Webber quickly took both positions away and found himself in 3rd, it was the first time all year Webber advanced his starting position on lap 1. Meanwhile, at the front as if we have all viewed this movie before, Vettel pulled a 1 second gap on Hamilton as they crossed the line to complete the first lap of the 55 scheduled.

As the teams anticipated rain they would all avoid pitting as long as possible on the already relatively short lived Purelli tires. By lap 17 most front runners had made their pit stops. Unfortunately, 7 time F1 champion Michael Schumacher would bring out a safety car leaving parts all over the track as Petrov drove clear over his rear wing and nearly took out Alonso as well. Schumacher with his calm and collected personality was interviewed shortly after the incident, “That’s Racing” and said he had no idea Petrov was coming. As the safety car pulled in Vettel again resumed as the leader with Hamilton in pursuit.

By lap 31, Webber teammate to Vettel had put his Red Bull back into the show, latching right onto the rear wing of Hamilton. This put the top three machines under a blanket which was a somewhat unfamiliar sight thus far during the 2011 season of the Vettel show. The rear tires began to quickly fall apart on the McLaren Mercedes and Webber saw his opportunity to pounce. As the two began swapping inside to outside, corner after corner Hamilton was able to hold off the position just as the team reported, “box this lap” instructing Hamilton to pit for tires.

As Hamilton pitted the Red Bull of Webber also hit the box. Usually, the Red Bull team is untouchable when it comes to pit stops. However, this time Hamilton would beat him to the end of the pit lane holding the position. The battle would resume right where it left off before pitting as the two sliced and chopped each other all the while swapping positions. In the distance you could see the 4th place car of Button closing as these two slowed.

20 laps remaining, Vettel pits and returns to the track in a league of his own turning the current fastest lap of the race. The gap was 9.9 seconds back to Hamilton.

As the battle for the 2nd spot on the podium resumed Hamilton radio back to his team for more front wing, as the front of his machine was losing grip to the racing surface. “You’ve got everything we’ve got” replied the McLaren Mercedes team. Implying the max front end downforce adjustments had already been made.

10 laps remaining, Vettel ahead by 11.2 seconds. Webber still pressing Hamilton for 2nd with Button pushing hard to join the battle. The Red Bull machine reached 312 KPH compared to the McLaren at 292 KPH at the straight’s end, showing the massive performance or gearing difference in the two machines. Again, Hamilton began to see the rear tires degrade impairing the performance of the McLaren.

7 laps remaining, Button has closed to within 1 second of Webber allowing him to use the DRS (Drag Reduction System), a new piece of F1 technology introduced to facilitate more passing in the competitive F1 series. It allows a transformable rear wing to open, essentially removing the downforce of the rear wing for more straight line speed over the car ahead. However, as Webber saw Button closing he forced a move to the inside of Hamilton grabbing the 2nd position, moments later as the two crossed the DRS zone the rear wing slid open on the McLaren and Hamilton regained the position.

4 laps remaining, Vettel in his own zipcode. Webber sets the fastest lap of the race and still stalking Hamilton. Button and now Alonso in 5th following closely emulating Button’s style. 2, 3, 4 and 5 all under a blanket as the end starts to appear and lapped traffic comes into view. Radio from Ferrari team to Alonso, “Use it up.”

2 laps remaining, Radio from Alonso to team, “I give up, I give up.” He is still in the DRS zone under a second behind Button.

Final lap, Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race and continues to hold off Webber as they both pull a gap on Button and Alonso. Vettel crosses the line to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap and grab his 10th win with Red Bull this season. Hamilton holds off Webber for 2nd and Alonso fails to reach Button.

At the end of the day the track may not be as spectacular visually as we expect to see from the highest division of the motorsports industry. However, as race fans all we should carry anxiety about is the quality of racing itself and while Vettel dominated the event the rest of the field showed a fair share of hair raising action. At the same time the racing complex has the opportunity to add to the intensity of the racing such as the case of Monoco or Singapore where multimillion machines are racing through city streets or in Dubai where the building structures themselves give the appearance that we are racing in the future on a faraway planet much like the actual design of these dream machines. Many will ask as they did last year, “Should we return to Korea?”

Written By: Shane D Walters

Grand Prix of Korea Results

1 Sebastian Vettel • RBR-Renault

2 Lewis Hamilton • McLaren-Mercedes

3 Mark Webber • RBR-Renault

4 Jenson Button • McLaren-Mercedes

5 Fernando Alonso • Ferrari

6 Felipe Massa • Ferrari

7 Jaime Alguersuari • STR-Ferrari

8 Nico Rosberg • Mercedes

9 Sebastien Buemi • STR-Ferrari

10 Paul di Resta • Force India-Mercedes

11 Adrian Sutil • Force India-Mercedes

12 Rubens Barrichello • Williams-Cosworth

13 Bruno Senna • Renault

14 Heikki Kovalainen • Lotus-Renault

15 Kamui Kobayashi • Sauber-Ferrari

16 Sergio Perez • Sauber-Ferrari

17 Jarno Trulli • Lotus-Renault

18 Timo Glock • Virgin-Cosworth

19 Daniel Ricciardo • HRT-Cosworth

20 Jerome d’Ambrosio • Virgin-Cosworth

21 Vitantonio Liuzzi • HRT-Cosworth

22 Pastor Maldonado • Williams-Cosworth

23 Vitaly Petrov • Renault

24 Michael Schumacher • Mercedes