FUMES

Monday

Sep192011

Monday, September 19, 2011 at 08:16AM

September 21, 2011

The Unlimited Racing Championship: Exercise in nostalgia, or viable alternative for the "blahs" in racing?

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 9/19, 8:30 a.m.) Detroit. Last week the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón announced its association with the Unlimited Racing Championship (URC) in presenting a new “Heritage Series” for the 2012 season and beyond. The URC will feature identically built NuArt CanAm cars, very much reminiscent of the “glory days” of the Can-Am series, but "reimagined" and updated with modern safety equipment and technology. Pupose-built from the ground up and engineered for safety, aerodynamics, driver comfort and speed, the new racing machines feature 700+ horsepower, big-block Chevrolet V-8 motors and state-of-the-art aerospace quality components with an emphasis on driver safety.

“This project was years in the making,” said Richard Nauert, founder of the Unlimited Racing Championship and designer of the NuArt CanAm car. “We analyzed the original Can-Am cars, remaining true to the visual (see below), as well as spiritual concept. Components like big-block engines, 12-inch steel brakes, and Can-Am intakes were just some of the historical elements we maintained in the NuArt CanAm car. Despite the tribute to the originals cars, at the same time, they are particularly relevant to the American Le Mans Series because we loaded them with modern technology. The technology is specifically to make them safe, have longevity, and be flexible for a wide range of driver skills.”

The Unlimited Racing Championship Series will feature identically prepared NuArt CanAm cars racing against one another on original historical Can-Am circuits around North America. The format includes a total of eight races made up of two 30-minute heats on four American Le Mans Series circuits beginning in 2012. Cars will be fully prepped for the owner/driver by the URC series organizer and ready to race at each venue. Initial cars are offered at $485,000.

Ask any vintage racer about wrestling a period-correct Can-Am car at vintage racing weekends today and they'll tell you about the thrill mixed in with more than a little trepidation, because the Can-Am cars are absolute beasts that require consummate skill to wheel at a rapid pace. And when you look at the cars up close you realize that there is little margin for error, and compared to contemporary racers, they offer little in the way of protection to the driver should there be an on-track incident.

Even though the NuArt cars look shockingly reminiscent of a kaleidoscope of several old-school Can-Am cars, they feature many modern enhancements including one very key improvement: A longer wheelbase allows for the driver's feet to be positioned behind the center line of the front wheels. Believe me if you've ever looked at a Can-Am car with its body panels removed you'd know that this is a very big deal. Other improvements? A removable safety seat with wraparound headrest is used to accommodate the use of a HANS device, modern crush structures are used on the sides and front, and hot engine fluids are routed outside the driver's compartment. And by the way, the NuArt cars use traditional H-pattern gearboxes minus the paddle shifters, and 12" steel brake rotors. How cool is that?

But I have to ask, is this a good thing? Do we really need to be looking backwards instead of moving the sport forward? Really?

On the one hand the Unlimited Racing Championship is an exercise in nostalgia and I have to ask, how many times will we keep going to that ancient Can-Am and Trans-Am well? How many times will we keep dredging up the "glory days" instead of writing new chapters? As I've said repeatedly in this column the current racing in the GT2 class in the ALMS is the best racing of its kind since the Trans-Am, even better, as a matter of fact. Let me be even more clear: The racing in the current GT2 class in the ALMS is better than the glory days of the Trans-Am, by a long shot. With better teams, a deeper field of drivers and more closely matched racing, the GT2 class in the ALMS is the greatest road racing ever seen on this continent.

When you bring up the Can-Am we're talking a much different story, because there simply was nothing like the Can-Am series and as much as racing has tried since (the Formula 5000 series came the closest and that was over 35 years ago), there just hasn't been a road racing series in North America that has approached the sheer visceral appeal of the Can-Am. So when I first digested the release of information about the URC, I was more than a little skeptical.

But after perusing all of the details I have to say that I get it, and the series has more than a shot to succeed. I just think they may be aiming too low with it. I like the fact that they're starting out slowly, but an "arrive and drive" type of series may be too limiting. All I can say is this: Could you imagine the two heats on each race weekend made up of the best of the traditional road racers, as in Scott Dixon, Dario, Graham, Marco, Will Power and other IndyCar and ALMS stars, with the NASCAR contingent comprising the other heat? With an all-or-nothing shoot-out at the end of the season?

I have to say that seeing 40 of these cars with the best drivers from IndyCar, NASCAR and the ALMS going at it at Road America, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, etc., with no paddle shifters and an emphasis on pure driver skill in play would be pretty spectacular. If it can't be a new professional series, it could certainly make the old "IROC" concept exponentially more interesting, that's for sure.

“The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is thrilled to welcome the Unlimited Racing Championship, which will be joining a number of ALMS events in 2012,” said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the ALMS. “This ‘Heritage Series’ will provide more variety and a modern day link to the past for our many fans next year. The new initiative establishes a direct connection to the history of sports car racing in North America with the sights and sounds of an era of extreme speed and power – the revolutionary Can-Am Challenge Cup of the 1960s and 70s. The spectacle of these massively powerful racing machines with a bridge to the past of American racing will surely evoke many fond memories for some and attract new fans as well.”

Scott Atherton actually mentions attracting new fans, and that is both desirable and laudable - and very possible with this series as well. If you've ever seen a fairly representative field of Can-Am cars at a vintage race weekend and witnessed the people of all ages lining the fence to get a better look, you can imagine that a whole field made up of the URC cars could be just as compelling, if not more so.

I wish the URC effort well and if handled properly, I think it has a real shot at succeeding. But instead of allowing the series to be comprised of lady and gentlemen racers who "arrive and drive," I'd aim higher and get some pro drivers in these machines. I believe the results would be spectacular.

No, you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime - and turn back time just a little - you get what you need.

(NuArt)

More information is available at www.unlimitedracingchampionship.com.

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)
Brooklyn, Michigan, September 28, 1969. World Champion Jack Brabham sits in his Agapiou Brothers-entered Ford G7A before the Can-Am race at Michigan International Speedway. Brabham qualified the 427 cu. in.-powered Ford Can-Am car in 10th, but encountered issues in the race and DNF'd. Team leader Bruce McLaren (No. 4 Gulf/Reynolds Aluminum/McLaren Cars M8B) would win that day, with teammates Denny Hulme (No. 5 Gulf/Reynolds Aluminum/McLaren Cars M8B) and Dan Gurney (No. 1 Gulf/Reynolds Aluminum/McLaren Cars M8B) sweeping the podium in a dominant 1-2-3 finish.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.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.