Interesting Obit added to Bob Harkey Passes thread

[BobPalma]

Update: Interesting Obituary added for those interested: See Post #11, below. BP

Probably not too many people here know of Indianapolis Motor Speedway personality Bob Harkey, but I'm sure a few do.

He passed away yesterday January 16, 2016) at age 85. Here is the Press Release from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

IMS statement on the passing of Bob Harkey

INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016 - A statement from Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles about six-time Indianapolis 500 veteran driver Bob Harkey, who died at age 85 on Jan. 16.

"Bob Harkey competed during one of the most transformative times in Indianapolis 500 history as the cars moved from rear-engine to front-engine and from no aerodynamic devices to wings and downforce. But what made Bob Harkey special was his continued involvement in and around the Speedway each May after his racing years. He always had time for our fans, young and old, and his passion for the Indianapolis 500 was evident in every fan interaction. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family."

[t walgamuth]

I attended a dinner meeting as a teenager where he talked. I remember someone asking him about braking for the turns....this was in the offy roadster days. He said he never touched the brakes except when coming in the pits. The guy said How do you slow down for the turns?/??? Bob said "you lift off the gas".

[Lark Parker]

I attended a dinner meeting as a teenager where he talked. I remember someone asking him about braking for the turns....this was in the offy roadster days. He said he never touched the brakes except when coming in the pits. The guy said How do you slow down for the turns?/??? Bob said "you lift off the gas".

From the Lark Parker Performance Driving School (and AJ Foyt) : Touch the brakes to drop the front end a little. This tip for more modern race cars.

[stupak]

Shouldn't the press release have said....moving from front engine to rear engine...? Stupak

[t walgamuth]

From the Lark Parker Performance Driving School (and AJ Foyt) : Touch the brakes to drop the front end a little. This tip for more modern race cars.

AJ did say that.

- - - Updated - - -

Shouldn't the press release have said....moving from front engine to rear engine...? Stupak

Indeed!.....

[BobPalma]

Shouldn't the press release have said....moving from front engine to rear engine...? Stupak

There's no guarantee they consulted IMS Historian Donald Davidson before writing and issuing the Press Release.

Had they done so, the Press Release [about any driver] would have been several pages long! BP

[jnormanh]

AJ did say that.

- - - Updated - - -



Indeed!.....

AJ and probably others talked about getting on the brakes to push the nose down. I first heard it explained by Parnelli that air built up under the front on the roadsters and you had to push the nose down to get front end grip going into the corner. If you look at some of the old footage, you can see that the front end rises as the car gains speed down the straights.

This problem was first measured by Colin Chapman when he equipped an Indy Lotus with real time ride height sensors. He found the car rose nearly two inches at speed. On some cars the problem was so drastic the car became undrivable. At least one observer has said that Dave McDonalds car exited turn four with the front wheels a foot off the track, triggering the horrible wreck in 1964.

Nowadays modern aerodynamics generate so much downforce they can run flat footed completely around the Indy track at 220 mph.

[t walgamuth]

Tapping the brakes also works on a winged car as the front wing gets lower under braking the down force will increase. Also there is weight transfer.

As for McDonald's car I read that he was hanging the tail out through the corner and they said "just like he liked it"....just before the crash.

The aerodynamics of those Thompson cars were squirrely though because they had been designed for low profile 13" tires and the speedway banned them for 1964. The adjustment of the car to accommodate the bigger wheels and tires affected the suspension geometry and the aerodynamics so they put fenders over the wheels causing a lift situation.

I can imagine the front end getting light on the straightaway.

[jnormanh]

As for McDonald's car I read that he was hanging the tail out through the corner and they said "just like he liked it"....just before the crash.

The aerodynamics of those Thompson cars were squirrely

Right after the "big one" in 1964, Dave McDonald was blamed for causing the wreck by being too aggressive...in over his head.

That has been repeated so many times over the years that it is taken as Gospel. I'm not so sure. One thing that is true is that Masten Gregory told Thompson that the car was unsafe and walked away. And Gregory was neither a rookie nor a coward.

The real story is here: a long read, but worth the time if you're interested.

http://www.davemacdonald.net/gallery/racing/indySD.htm

[t walgamuth]

Thanks for all that! Good read. Sounds like the little cars were lifting right up front and rear. In the final accident, it appears the the car to his right front juked down and he had to also to miss him but the car started going sideways.

Bad deal.

I blame the speedway changing the rules to make it hard on him. Although it was not their intent they forced him into a design configuration which was completely unstable, with the much larger wheels.

[BobPalma]

Here's a larger obituary from our little, local Hendricks County Weekly newspaper. Bob Harkey had quite a few adventures, it would appear:



BP

[t walgamuth]

Sounds like a very good man along with being a skilled racer in a time when deaths of drivers were so extremely common due to the complete lack of safety concerns.