Video games + V8 supercars

I've recently been playing Forza Motorsport 4, and I've found what seems to be the least drivable car of the game -- an Australian V8 Supercar (Holden Commodore, but anyway).

This leads me to wonder whether I need to be paying more attention to V8 Supercars in general. Why?

Because I've played a LOT of racing games (Pole Position, anyone?), and I've never met a car quite this uncontrollable... It requires a level of finesse, even with supporting systems (including some not actually available on the car)... Now, I realize that this isn't necessarily evidence of the ACTUAL drivability of the vehicles. Indeed, it's in my job description to know the limits of driving simulation (we call it fidelity, but anyway). Still, when a game includes NASCAR stock cars (also V8-powered beasts with little electronic support to keep them in line), and THOSE vehicles are more easily tamed than a Supercar? Even relative validity (which is supported by simulation) suggests that Aussie racers are crazy.

With apologies to Marcos Ambrose (aka the Tasmanian Devil).

And as for whether video games are actually 'simulations' (indeed, I've made the argument against that position many times) -- In this instance.... Meh.

One more day.....

....before the Daytona 500, and things are already getting interesting.

On the Sprint Cup side, Danica got wrecked out in the first Duel Thursday, on the last lap. After winning the pole in the Nationwide Series, she got wrecked on lap 49 by her teammate (whoops).

Both the Truck and Nationwide races ended with relative unknowns winning after late accidents mixed up the running orders. It sets quite a stage for tomorrow's feature.

Some random thoughts while I'm procrastinating....

1) While it's merely bemusing now, Danica's probably going to have to tone down the frustration and attitude on the radio... Her language was colorful even to me, and they can only redact so much. Her reputation had taken a hit in IndyCar for her temper, but if it continues along that vein in NASCAR, eventually she'll be viewed more like the Busch brothers than like her bosses, Junior and Tony.

She can't be fined for what she says over the radio (at least not for profanity-laced rants), but NASCAR's social structure can be a bit sensitive. Also, because she is such a popular subject for the media, any judgment by the masses may have a major impact on her future marketability.

Maybe I'm over-analyzing it (after all, that's more or less my job), but there is a tendency for women to be held to higher standards than men... want references for that?

2) Although it's unlikely, I have to wonder if I'm partly to blame for the wreck-fests this weekend. A distracted driving researcher (me) in conversations with NASCAR's director of safety MIGHT have had an impact on the restriction of cross-team chatter. Or not. Regardless, it's definitely played a role in the racing (combined with smaller radiators, lower water pressures, etc). On one hand, it's nice that the drivers are back to typically chattering with their crew chief and spotters, rather than other drivers, spotters, and who knows who else. On the other, while spotters are back to making and maintaining deals, verbal communication is just not quite as fast when you add in extra links (i.e., the reason drivers started communicating directly in the first place).

Restrictor plate racing makes these cars more sensitive to the dynamics of airflow... to take advantage of said dynamics, they have to run close together, either in tandem or in packs (we've seen both throughout the past week). Running close together pretty much guarantees contact between vehicles, which pretty much guarantees someone will at some point wreck, and wreck a few others in the process.

Drafting will be a necessary evil for the major superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega). I can see several reasons for why NASCAR chose to restrict communication as well as airflow through the throttle body. It makes for a more entertaining show, especially compared to the "two-car tango". Still, from a cognition standpoint, dependence on verbal communication is hardly optimal when performance is critical. It will be intriguing to see what workaround the teams find this time.

Two months later....

....give or take a week, and enthusiasm is still running high.

This could be dangerous.

Also, McLaren's new car (MP4-27) is a beautiful piece of machinery. Best of luck to Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button behind the wheel. There's been some interesting changes to the tech specs for Formula 1 this year (as occur every year, usually throughout it)... we'll have to see how they play out. But I'm still cheering on McLaren most loudly. ;-)

It's now pretty much official that a trip to Road America, a fabulous road course facility up in Wisconsin is in the works. I've attended a few oval races, from dirt to asphalt short tracks to the massive Talladega Superspeedway, but this will be my first road course event to attend in person. Having the opportunity to actually see race operations up close and personal should be AWESOME!! but I'm just guessing here.

I've decided to stick with stock cars for now, because I know the most about them (F1 comment above notwithstanding)... but in the end, I really like the challenges that road courses offer. Next step (maybe) will be to see a street circuit in action. Those, however, will require expanding from stock cars into open-wheel. IndyCar, anyone?

Yeah. Being a Chick Speed Geek is starting to pay off. Now, if I can just remember to post here......

Motorsports Geek Level Up.

Okay, just to be clear, the International Motorsports Industry Show was amazing. Amazingly awesome. And fantastic. Yes, most of my time was spent in the Safety and Technical Conference, but a lot of the attendees are THE brains among the sanctioning bodies, the technical advances, and SAFETY advances of course... It was awesome.

Even better? They didn't think I was crazy. Admittedly, they've never really seen me in action outside the conference. It was a bit overwhelming to know that what I said actually had an impact on these guys, who are masters of their craft.

And I'm in with them now??

Is it completely inappropriate to giggle and grin like a fool?

Oh, and based on (not terribly secret) insider information, Austin race is still on.

But it's F1, so nothing is really guaranteed until at least after qualifying.

See? Some real information is here too! (Now, back to grinning like a fool)

In Indy. For motorsports. Woo!

So.... in the morning I'll finally have the opportunity to present my ideas about human performance research in motorsports to (in theory) a group of motorsports engineers.

This is both exciting and a bit freaky. But hey, what else would you expect someone to be doing in Indianapolis? (okay, yeah, Lucas Oil Stadium is across the street, but this isn't really the year to watch the Colts).

Anyway, more on what's actually at the IMIS Safety and Technical Conference tomorrow.

Some follow-up.... Austin's new facility is still up the air. Steve Addington will be Tony Stewart's crew chief next year, and a different Busch brother (Kurt) is looking for work. For a very Busch-like attitude problem.

More craziness later; just because it's the off-season doesn't mean things slow down.

Darian Grubb -- in or out?

As already covered, the combination of Tony Stewart and Darian Grubb brought home a Sprint Cup title.

But by that point, so it appears, Grubb already knew he was out of a job.

Some perspective is required to make sense of firing (and then reversing?) a now-championship crew chief.

Tony Stewart is a hard-charger, driven to success and quick to strike when frustration mounts. Frustration brings out both the best and the worst in Tony, and prior to the Chase itself, this season was almost nothing but frustration for the #14 team as a whole.

It looks like maybe Grubb, like his driver and employer, also excels under pressure.

Grubb has argued that the team rallied together, closer than before, once word came down that he was out. It happens, but now the real questions begin...

...given the position he was in before, would he *want* to stay at Stewart-Haas Racing, in any capacity? Is this family man willing to walk what he now knows is a knife's edge?

Tony is enough of a man to own up to what now appears to be a premature, if not outright bad, call. But he's still Tony. When the frustration mounts again, the same situation might rear its ugly head.

I greatly respect Tony, and I greatly respect Darian. But there are definitely two different personalities in the mix here. How willing to forgive (no option to forget)?

...And on the geeky side, what exactly is it going to take for motorsports teams to start looking at interpersonal relations in some fashion that isn't akin to shuffling a deck and 'defined' by vague terms like 'chemistry'?? (Why yes, I am teaching industrial psychology next semester; what gave it away?)

Smoke wins in Homestead-Miami

...and brings home the Sprint Cup trophy for the third time (although really, it's only been the 'Sprint Cup' trophy twice, I think? -- but that's another ramble).

What makes this time special, given that Tony Stewart's done this three times before?

1) His only real chance to win the championship was to win the race. He did so.
2) He won on a tiebreaker based on number of wins... 5-1. A tie. In the Sprint Cup series. Seriously??
3) All those wins came IN THE CHASE. He won 1/2 of the Chase races. After going winless prior to the Chase, he dominated the 'playoff'.
4) First owner-driver to win the championship since Alan Kulwicki in 1992, although there are some major differences in the level of outside support provided in the current sport.

Given that Tony is one of the major investors in the International Motorsports Industry Show, I'm sorta hoping the Sprint Cup trophy makes the trip to the Indiana Convention Center, despite the fact that potentially seeing it in person doesn't really mean anything (for a lowly, if geeky, spectator like me)... Regardless, I rather doubt that it will... ah, well.

Hmmm....

...so drama in Texas may kill the return of a Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in 2012. Was it triggered by the New Jersey announcement, delays in decision making, disagreements in negotiations? Does it really matter? Where Formula 1 is involved, these sorts of disagreements usually don't end well for the facility management. F1 has money, leadership that surpasses even Bruton Smith in sheer stubbornness, and the ability to be even more frustrating at times than NASCAR leadership at its worst.

The facility currently on hold in Austin (Circuit of the Americas) was designed specifically for F1, although both MotoGP and V8 Supercars are also scheduled to race there (both premier series in their respective markets, of which the US is not part of anymore than it is currently part of F1's).

We'll have to see how this plays out, whether it's 2012, 2013, or a big gravel pit in South Texas while the real racing goes on in New Jersey (?)

Rowdy, part deux

So M&Ms is gone off the #18 (at least for the next two races), but Kyle Busch remains... It's probably about the best anyone could hope for, given the circumstances, and hopefully it's the triumph of cooler heads prevailing.

Whether Busch truly is repentant or not is less relevant than whether he reins in his reactions and plays within the accepted constraints. The current stage is set for "one more last chance," that all involved, including Ron Hornaday, Jr. (the recipient of the intentional crash that spawned all this) is willing to offer.

As an American, Busch can express himself however he wants; as a NASCAR driver, he needs to keep his emotions from wrecking his career. Joe Gibbs Racing's faced some PR challenges before in their drivers (as described previously), and they'll manage this one... Here's hoping Kyle Busch doesn't force them to handle any additional ones; else he might finally find himself out of rope.

Has Rowdy gone too far?

It's no real surprise that Kyle Busch got parked for last weekend's Nationwide and Cup races after intentionally (and brutally) wrecking one of the championship contenders in the Truck series race. "Have at it, boys" has to have limits, even in the mercurial world of NASCAR.

In order to rank the 'slap on a wrist' that Carl Edwards got after putting Keselowski into the fence at 'Dega, he have had to had a relatively clean slate for the year; he doesn't. Kyle's been facing both NASCAR and legal probation for various acts of stupidity. Hey, stupidity happens to the best of us, but that doesn't keep it from piling up, and when it does, the consequences aren't pretty.

Based on some reports, it might cost Rowdy, perhaps the single best raw talent in NASCAR right now, his ride. NASCAR is very, very sponsor-driven (ask David Ragan and David Reutimann about that), and when your sponsors are looking to replace you, that means so is the team owner.

Even when the team owners are Joe Gibbs and his son JD, and your team is recognized for its handling of the occasional trouble-maker (e.g., Tony Stewart, and yes, even Denny Hamlin, who has been requested by the #18's Nationwide sponsor to replace Busch in the car). Busch's string of inappropriate behavior has now surpassed both Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, and perhaps even Robby Gordon, all well-known troublemakers for the NASCAR officials and administration at some point in their careers.

NASCAR is a professional sport, with standards for professionalism (even if those standards are at times a bit hazy to the average spectator). It's a privilege to race in the national series, and although NASCAR seems to have dished its punishment, it looks like not everyone involved is quite so forgiving this time around.

It's baaaaaaaack...

...Formula 1 racing in the United States, that is.

There's been talk for a while about F1 in Austin, TX, at the new Circuit of the Americas (which still has what looks to be an awesome Turn 1, but anyway).

Now, F1 in New Jersey starting in 2013... Comparisons made to Spa-Francochamps (Belgium), although the local leadership apparently wants to put people more in the mind of Monaco with a city course (and based on quotes from said leadership). But then, I suspect the references to the premier city course in the world (sorry, St. Petersburg, FL) are more to distinguish it from driving the Jersey Turnpike than anything.

Two major races in a country that hasn't really been motivated to support one in decades, in a ridiculously expensive and technical sport. This could be interesting to watch.

Godspeed, Dan.

I haven't posted in a while, although I've actually made some progress in weaseling my way into motorsports.

But it seems appropriate to say a bit today, after the tragedy in Las Vegas, if there are any words that truly capture it. Maybe it's just a selfish catharsis, but if so, here's hoping the Internet will indulge me, for the moment.

No matter how many safety innovations the engineers make (and trust me, they're always working toward it... Indeed, I was scheduled to attend a motorsports safety and technical conference later this year), there will always be that incident that brings reality back: Motorsports will never be entirely safe. Neither will football, or law enforcement, or any number of other fields where safety engineers and applied researchers (myself included) invest our time.

There are those who will say that Dan Wheldon knew the risks. And they would be right, as much as anyone can know the risks of any activity that s/he engages in.

Dan knew the risks, and so did all of us; the drivers, the crews, the fans, the research geeks, the engineers, and the safety and officiating personnel.

It doesn't change the fact that it's a tragedy, and a horrific loss.

No, there was nothing Dan could have done in this instance, and there was nothing that IndyCar could have done either. People (including drivers) argue that the speeds were too high; those same individuals will always want a faster car. They'll argue that the field was too large (one larger than the previous max of 33 cars, a limit set for a larger track), but no one wants to be the odd man out, and no one could question Dan's right to be there (starting last and already working his way through the field).

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that this will be to IndyCar what Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001 was for NASCAR. It has shaken the sport to its very core, and it will never be the same.

A colleague said that because this was the season-ending race, rather than the season-opener (as in 2001), that the time will give more time to recover. Perhaps, but it also gives more time for doubt and fear. My heart is broken for Dan's family, his friends, but also for the sport.

Newman wins at PIR

...and it's probably the best thing that could've happened to Stewart-Haas Racing.

No one can really doubt that Tony Stewart's going to win races. For Ryan Newman, it's been a very. long. time in making it back to Victory Lane. Making the Chase last year was great for him, and for SHR, but in the end, racing is about *winning*. As good as SHR was last year, the possibility was there for it to become a one-sided team. For his part Tony's received kudos for what's been going on since he became co-owner of the former Haas-CNC team, but having wins for both cars, and as both a driver and an owner separately as well as driver/owner... it has the potential to really take the relatively small two-car team (which yes, gets a LOT of technical support from the megateam that is Hendrick Motorsports) to the next level.

Congrats to Ryan, Smoke, Tony Gibson, the #39 crew, and also to Gene Haas, who probably didn't really anticipate this sort of thing when the idea of giving Smoke a 50% stake in his team.

Whoops....

I've sorta let this slip a bit, but since it's a NASCAR off-week, it's as good a time as any to look at some of the other series going on (and let the smoke and debris die down from Atlanta).

Formula 1 gets off to their start in Bahrain, as does IndyCar in Brazil. Maybe.

See, IndyCar has already had to delay qualifying because sections of the Sao Paulo course are too slick and bumpy to control the cars. Seriously... I understand that they really only had a few months to get everything ready, but a part of me still wonders why they even TRY when situations like this come up. These are safety-critical conditions, so they're not really the thing you put off until the end, and yet, it's a pretty common thing for new/revamped facilities and events to have a track or course that isn't drivable.

This. Isn't. Good. Texas was so fast a few years ago that IndyCar canceled the race. Tire issues for Michelin at Indianapolis preceded the loss of the only American Grand Prix. Now, the strengthened IndyCar circuit is hitting the streets of Sao Paulo, only to find that they can't actually drive them. Seven Brazilian drivers are in the field, so this is more than mildly embarrassing. With all the engineering and technical expertise in these sports, can we really not find some way to prepare, or at least evaluate, these courses prior to everyone arriving? Sure, once some rubber's laid down, the courses will probably come in just fine... but I seem to recall some processes for doing that that DON'T involve waiting until the last moment, even when weather comes in and wreaks havoc. There are things that can be done, and again, at least knowing what to expect BEFORE putting drivers and equipment at risk, would be nice.

But such is life. Maybe they just ran out of time in rushing to get things ready. Or maybe they never really took the concept of time seriously in making promises to the sanctioning body. But let's remember: a successful event is dependent on the quality of racing; the quality of racing is dependent on the quality of the course.

Say it with me: The Tach is your friend.

You know, I really shouldn't be amused at the fact that Danica couldn't seem to manage pit road speed.

But the psychologist in me is greatly amused at the evidence of perceptual feedback gone awry. See, ride height impacts the perception of speed; Danica is familiar with Auto Club Speedway.... in an Indy car. Basically, what this is going to translate to is an underestimation of speed in the stock car, because it's going to seem slower (the same phenomenon led to some issues back in the day with taxiing Boeing 747s).

But in the end, the lesson learned: USE THE TACH!! The tachometer is your friend. Maybe someday they'll put speedometers in those cars, but really, would you want to know just how fast you're driving with 42 other crazies? Let's think about this...

As it happened, though, Carl Edwards seemed to have the same issue; the difference is, he knows stock cars... however, he does have good reason to have other things on his mind. Hooray for the Nationwide Series.

Daytona 500, Endurance version....

...well, not exactly... Drivers didn't swap out, they didn't need to; the red flags provided opportunities for rest. But one good thing about it was that the red flags weren't for 'The Big One' or any other major accidents.

Instead, they were caused by a hole on the apron. Yes, Daytona International Speedway formed a pothole, made worse over time throughout the race. A lesson can be learned by all road engineers. And NASCAR, and ISC, because this isn't the first time this has happened.

Asphalt Cracks + Precipitation + Temperature Changes = Potholes. Even in race tracks. What a concept.

But seriously, couldn't we have some better method for determining how to fill said holes, because they DO occur...

But anyway, beyond that, the new larger restrictor plates seemed to do the job, didn't cause any more chaos than usual, and maybe even helped avoid 'The Big One', since more horsepower was available to keep control of the cars when the draft got a bit unpredictable. The drivers seemed to keep their cool, and so NASCAR had no trouble keeping their word to let them police themselves. The race arguably finished under Green, thanks to the second of three possible Green-White-Checkered restarts, which means that the new rule changes might actually work out... at least they did for one race of thirty-six.

Oh, and congratulations to Jamie McMurray for coming through with a win for EGR.

Daytona Short Stuff

...yeah, it's another one of those... I should feel guilty. But I don't.

1) Mark Martin and Dale Jr make the front row for the Daytona 500, and then don't really do much in the Duels... can't blame them though, really... they didn't need to do anything at all. But really, damaging the car wasn't cool, Junior. =P Since I didn't see it, I'll have to go with the claim that it was "body" damage, and Lance and Co. will take care of it. We'll know soon enough (Sunday, if you lost track).

Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne went on to win the duels (beating out Kevin Harvick, the Bud Shootout winner, and Tony Stewart, respectively).... So, basically five of the top six starters in the 500 are Chevrolets, with a lone Petty Ford in the mix, and of the five, four are Hendrick-powered..... Hmmmm.....

2) A chick speed geek is required to be a Danica Patrick fan, right? Well, either way, I am. The ARCA race was her first real stock car test, and she came through it in one piece and won some respect. A top-10 finish may not seem that impressive, but the races at Daytona are always crazy, the ARCA one is no exception, and Danica had to pull off some major moves to keep her car intact for that run to the front.

Due to holding her own in the ARCA race, her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series has been stepped up to be Saturday... That race is always interesting to watch, and it'll only be more so with Danica joining a field of Sprint Cup regulars. It'll be a real test of her skills, and Tony Eury Jr's crew chief skills to make it through... but then, Tony Jr's had such cases before.

3) NASCAR's upped the number of Green-White-Checkered attempts from one to three, in an effort to finish the races under green... which is why they added the G-W-C in the first place. =P Of course, then they started wrecking under the shootout conditions it created.... Hmmmmm.... Me wonders what might happen this time... current prediction: three times the chaos. but hey, I've been wrong before.

...and that should more or less catch everyone up for a bit, or at least get you traveling over to NASCAR.com to see what I didn't mention. =P It's Daytona, there's always more side stories than laps to the race.

Ferrari leads Valencia testing....

Bleh. Just bleh.

Yes, I'm completely biased. Yay, McLaren. Btw, Hamilton ran third yesterday, and Button ran fourth.... behind de la Rosa (Sauber) and Schumacher (Mercedes), but Mercedes had their own problems.

Nevertheless, so long as Ferrari's setting the pace, one of my colleagues at the university will be smug. =P Ah, well, preseason testing is just setting the stage. We won't really know who's competitive until Bahrain in March.

Grand Am: Team wins debut race!

...as I've already rambled on a couple of times, this was opening weekend for two very different race series of interest to me... I've already covered how the Rally America opener ended, but the Rolex 24 at Daytona ended a couple of hours ago as well... with a new team, Action Express Racing, winning in their debut... how much of a coup is this? Well, it's endurance racing, they beat a Ganassi car, a team that has a number of victories in this particular race, by better than 50 seconds (which in an endurance race such at this isn't really that large a margin). It's pretty impressive... even the Brawn GP dominance at the opening of last year's F1 season was based on a previous team and a very experienced executive at the helm. I'm not sure on the background of Action Express Racing, but I suspect there's a lot of head-scratching going on in the Daytona International Speedway garage right now.

Pastrana wins SnoDrift Rally....

...which apparently was all about the ICE. Yay, Michigan. Seriously, if you've never really checked out rally racing, you're missing out on some of the craziest guys in motorsports. There's a reason most of the younger drivers (e.g., Travis Pastrana) come from extreme sports backgrounds.

Also, the Rolex 24 at Daytona is ongoing... another bunch of crazies, for completely different reasons. Twenty-four hours of road course racing; I'm not sure that even four drivers to swap out is enough.

Add in drivers that make decisions to drive injured (like a torn ACL, that will be repaired AFTER a season that hasn't started yet... Really, Denny? Really??)... it's obvious dedication is required for these series schedules and everything else required off-track at the top levels, but good grief. I sold my soul to Science and she's a less demanding mistress!!

Ah, motorsports... how I love the new definitions of 'crazy' that it provides... Almost makes me look sane. At least comparably.