FUMES

Monday

Jan172011

Monday, January 17, 2011 at 03:02PM

January 19, 2011

Change or die for racing.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. I've written constantly about relevance and racing and the need for racing to get back to its roots of developing advanced automotive technologies ever since we started this publication back in June 1999. And the discussion has become particularly more urgent over the last five years. Once enthusiastic fans are walking away from the sport in droves and worse, new and younger fans aren't gravitating to the sport at all. Needless to say, this downward spiral cannot continue.

As racing stumbles along in fits and starts while wrestling with which direction to turn to, one thing is becoming crystal clear. And that is that the status quo cannot continue if this sport is going to survive well into the new century. What does that mean? It means that finally - finally - the powers that be in racing across the board are paying attention to the fact that meaningful changes have to come to the sport, and fast.

Will we see the Delta Wing concept in IndyCar in 2012? No, but I haven't ruled out the fact that it might eventually get there either. Randy Bernard would be wise to open up IndyCar to other engines besides twin-turbo V6s, and if a Global Racing Engine 4-cylinder turbo in a Delta Wing chassis can be made to compete equitably with the 2012 IndyCar formula, then I say go for it.

Will we see NASCAR embrace change, really embrace change? I believe the tide is turning in Daytona Beach and I think we'll see the NASCAR brain trust finally make some serious, substantive moves in the direction of production car relevance. I think some moves may still tend toward the gradual side of things of course, but I think other moves will surprise the NASCAR faithful in their scope. This will definitely be interesting to watch, I can assure you.

And of course it will be interesting to observe the transition to 4-cylinder turbos in Formula 1, because I expect that this fundamental transformation will yield many other changes, too, or at least one can hope, anyway.

One thing I am certain of and that is that sports car racing - in the guise of the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans - will continue to lead the high-performance with high-efficiency bandwagon, and I expect even more radical ideas and technological applications to be brought forth in this form of racing as well.

I believe that the next five years in motorsport will determine the future health of this sport one way or the other going forward. We must see seismic shifts in terms of applications of technological relevance in this sport if we hope to see it continue, because standing in place, or recyling the status quo, will ultimately kill the sport altogether.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Monaco, 1964. A factory-supported Ford Falcon races through the snow in the Monte Carlo Rally.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out ford.artehouse.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.