The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, which will be held this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will mark a 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500 (1911). Even casual fans know to win the prestigious Indy 500 racers need a fast car, strong team and nerves of steel. However having a fast car is not enough, precision adjustments to the height of the car combined with a keen insight into physics play an enormous role in deciding whether a driver leads the pack or is left in the dust.Saying the height of the car is important is a huge understatement. Beyond the distance from the ground to the car, also a careful balance needs to be struck between the height of the front of the car verse the height of the back. To add another layer of complexity, these distances are adjusted in terms of fractions of an inch. An adjustment of just 1/50 of an inch (which equates to the width of 5 sheets of paper) could make a world of difference. Furthermore, the sensitivity of this height needs to be constantly monitored. According to Popular Mechanics.com, “Lasers mounted front and rear of the car measure the distance to the ground 1000 times per second, and potentiometers on each shock absorber capture the minutia of how the car sits at all times.” Teams must then balance the driver’s expertise with that data and make adjustments accordingly.
Who knew, after 500 miles of racing, the person that gets to hoist the Borg-Warner Trophy could be determined by the width of 5 measly pieces of paper? Ref. popularmechanics.com, wikipedia.org
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