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 frequently asked to explain what they are)

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

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

The most noticeable visual difference between a Champ Car and IRL chassis is the rear engine hood. Turbocharged Champ Cars do not use an overhead airbox. 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 topic of Open Wheel racing car terminal velocity was the announcement that F1’s BAR-Honda would attack the Bonneville Salt Flats in October 2006 in an effort to exceed 400 km/h. .

More details emerged while watching last July’s Formula 1 qualifying 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 with a modified Formula 1 chassis with front and rear wings removed and using a parachute…

This brings us to another question I’m often asked: Which is faster: “The chicken or the egg. The Coyote or the Roadrunner?” 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 were in LAST place in the F1 constructors’ standings.

Meanwhile, in the 2005 Champ Car, the Lola/Cosworth 2.65-litre turbocharged V-8 produced 750bhp at 37″ of 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 last few years of factory-backed Champ Car (CART) racing, engines were rapidly approaching 900 hp. And in 2000, Gil de Ferran recorded Honda’s fifth consecutive CART drivers’ championship and set a new world closed track speed record 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 221 mph along the Indianapolis mainstretch while making a long haul down the straightaway running flat out for 21 seconds… (! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately , 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-liter V-10 to a 2.4-liter V-8 by cutting out two cylinders in an effort to reduce power that threatened to exceed 1,000 hp.

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

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

However, in the mid-1990s, Porsche’s direct descendant of the 917: the 956 followed by the dominant 962 vs. The Jaguar XJRs (Lemans prototypes) were flying down the 3.0-mile Mulsane straight at just under 250 mph. (246+ mph) This led to the addition of two chicanes to split the straight…

Of course, top speed is simply relative to the 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 reached 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 (3,000 mph), while the XB-70 Valkerie broke ALL records with a top speed of Mach 5. (3,700+ mph)

So which is ultimately faster: Formula 1 or Champ Cars? Unfortunately, this will NEVER be really answered, as the two different forms of Open Wheel cruise missiles stick 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 circuits and apply the same “Point ‘N Squirt” racing theory. F1 chassis are more suited to outright corner-to-corner acceleration, while Champ Cars were able to reach higher top speeds while continuously cruising around the track’s banked ovals in the late 1990s or as evidenced by racing Current Indy 500…

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

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