How Car Racing Can Save the Environment

    The article that I referenced in this blog post can be found here.  It was written this year, and was featured in a well-known racing magazine.
    Car Racing has contributed greatly to many green technologies. The current system on which most electric or hybrid vehicles operate was first researched for racing cars. A few years ago, KERS systems were implemented in formula one, after years and millions of dollars in testing were completed. KERS stands for kinetic energy recovery system. Formula one cars can reach speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour on the straight parts of a track. A momentous amount of energy is taken away by friction in the braking system. The KERS system uses some of the heat the brakes produce to produce electricity, which powers an electric motor, along with the gas or diesel motor the car already has. If all of that research was not done by sponsor-funded racing teams, we may have never seen it on the street. Another area that racing has helped with is aerodynamics. Many modern cars save fuel by using aerodynamic designs, first pioneered by racing teams searching for speed.

Why is Your Car Different Because of Racing?

    Information is from this article. The source being timely does not really matter, because racing cars have been contributing to technology for over 100 years, and the source does not have to be the best, as it just contains some general information.
   For the next two blog posts I will focus on the impact racing cars have on the cars that you and I drive every day on the street. Racing teams spend millions of dollars every year to make their cars faster. To do this, they try to maximize power, handling, braking, fuel efficiency, and every other aspect there is of a car. One thing that racing teams contribute to the most is safety. A car on the street is much safer if it can stop quickly, handle well, and perform well in a crash. Braking power and handling also have a large effect on how fast a car is on the track, and crash safety ensures the well-being of race car drivers. Tire companies are always competing to produce the most grip while still lasting a longer period of time. Even though these tires are very different from the tires on a street car, this technology can then be used on street tires. The car manufacturers also spend time developing brakes that perform well, and do not overheat, even in the most extreme situations.  These features help a car on track, but they also make a street car that you would want to buy. Another area that racing has helped develop is materials. Carbon fiber, and other super light, but strong materials, were first used on race cars to save weight, but are now seeing use in street cars to improve structural integrity. Weight savings on the street also effect another issue that has become important, fuel efficiency and the environment.

How Do I Get Sponsored?

                                         photo credit- geograph.org.uk

I covered previously how sponsorship is huge in auto racing. A question still unresolved is how you go about getting a sponsor, or get hired by a team. The Road Racing Driver's Club and the FIA, who is in charge of safety in major race series across the globe,  put together a great resource for aspiring racers. Here is their page about sponsorship, but they cover a wide range of topics. I apologize for referencing a video, as if you wanted to watch, you would probably have to do it at home, but it really is a great resource. The videos feature reporters from SPEED channel and owners of prestigious racing teams giving their advice. These people all work in the field currently, and the video was made recently. When you sign a contract with a team or sponsor, you are signing a buisness agreement like any other. Also, you become the face of their team or brand. Because of this, it isn't always the fastest driver that gets hired. If you're the best racer in the world, but all the fans hate you, then no one would want to associate you with their team or brand. Conversely, even if you are an average racer, but have very good personal relations, then you are more likely to be hired. Sponsors want people to buy their product because you do, not the opposite. Another important factor is how you deal with the press. The reporters from SPEED admitted that they do like dealing with some drivers more than others. When you are respectful and go along with reporters, they are more likely to interview you more, which means more media coverage for you and your sponsor. Companies would be more likely to sponsor you if they were going to get more coverage by paying you instead of a competitor. What would you do to make yourself more marketable as a driver?

Becoming a Racecar Driver, Part 2

                                               Picture credit- indycar.com

So, you've raced some karts, club raced a bit, and decided that you would try and follow the Road to Indy. Getting to the top of the ladder is simple. Win in one division, and you can win a ride in the next series up. This is simple, but it is no easy feat. To race for free all the way into Indy Car, you would have to win the Skip Barber championship. Then you would have to win all of the rest of the championships as a rookie, which means winning USF2000, Star Mazda, and Indy Lights, the first year you are in them. The series' official websites talk about drivers and teams in the series and how competitive they are. If this feat is even possible, it would take a tremendous amount of skill and luck to accomplish. In short, that isn't going to happen. Your best bet is to get as high as you can on the ladder and then try to have a team at that level hire you the next year. Getting anywhere will take some amount of skill, and being a "good driver" on the street isn't going to cut it. You need formal training. Luckily, the Road to Indy starts at a racing school, Skip Barber. Start off with a few classes taught by professional driver coaches to strengthen your skills. The most important thing in becoming a better driver is seat time, so race whenever you can. There really isn't much more to say about becoming better, other than to practice, and get the advice of more experienced people. Hopefully, after a few schools, you will have the necessary skill to compete in the Skip Barber Racing Series, and continue to gain skills in preparation for F2000. Without being able to practice every day like you can in some sports, how do you maximize your gain from practice time?

How to Become a Racecar Driver

                                                       

    This is a picture of me. Photo credit Frank Siracusa


When you're a little kid, you want to have a cool job when you grow up. Maybe an astronaut, or a rock star, or a professional athlete. Or, you could want to be a racecar driver. Say you want to become a racecar driver. Your friend also wants to become an athlete, but he prefers playing football. Your friend already knows what to do to accomplish his goal. He'll start playing in high school or before, and try to get onto a college team. If he is good enough in college, then a scout from a pro team may hire him. Your career path is not as simple. Where does one begin to become a professional driver? The first step is commonly known. If you are too young to drive, then you must begin in go-karts. Find a local track, and go to a race. People there can offer you advice on where to begin. If you are at least 16, although some exceptions are made for younger drivers with karting experience, you can club race cars. A great place to start club racing is with the Sports Car Club of America. On their website, they have instructions on where to start for a new racer. Club racing can be very competitive and fun, but it is not the same as being paid millions to travel the world racing as a pro. Making that transition is the hardest thing to do in racing. Where do you begin, now that you have some experience? Until recently, there was no definitive answer. Now, there are a few ladder systems in place to train new drivers. The ladder system that is gaining a lot of publicity, and is the one that I am attempting to enter, is the Mazda Road to Indy. It is a ladder system of many race series that a driver can move up through, eventually ending at the IndyCar series. It all starts at Skip Barber Racing School. With a ladder system like this in place, you can at least have some direction in which to go with your career. How would you try to get a job if you do not enter a ladder system like the Road to Indy?

Synthesis and Plan

So far, I have focused mainly on the business side of racing. I explored how sponsors can make money from racing, and how car manufacturers can benefit, along with consumers, from a spec series. For my next blog posts, I plan on changing my focus to single people. I want to explore how an aspiring racer can obtain a sponsor, or how you should get into racing, or what the fastest path is to the top. These topics are very interesting to me, as I am trying to figure these answers out, and begin my career.

A Monopoly That's Good for Consumers

                                          fotopedia.com

       Usually, monopolies are bad for business and consumers. When there is only one manufacturer or service provider, they set the price. Competition makes companies compete for the market, driving down prices.
       There is a very unusual situation in racing, called a spec series. One manufacturer makes all of the cars, and everyone has to use them. Simple economic logic would suggest that this is a very bad thing, and the costs would be astronomical. But it is widely known in the racing community that spec series are very affordable. How can this be?
        This happens because there is still competition. Not inside the market, as there usually is, but competition for the market. What I mean to say is that one customer cannot choose a Chevy to race in a Honda spec series. This means that Honda has no competition in the series. But if Chevy introduced a spec series with a car that cost a good amount less and that offered the same performance, everyone racing in the Honda series would switch to the Chevy series.
        A real example of this is the IndyCar series. It is more or less a spec series. The only supplier of chassis is a company called Dallara. Before the Dallara was used, there was a different spec chassis. They chose to move to the new chassis because it was cheaper and offered better performance. In this instance, Dallara competed against the previous supplier without being able to sell any product.
        An IndyCar chassis right now costs $385,000. That number is from " IndyCar's New Chassis Will Reduce Costs, offers teams more freedom" by Tim Tuttle, a writer from Sports Illustrated.
        In contrast, a new price cap was introduced to Formula One in 2010. The cap is at $640,560,000. This included everything but transportation, engines, and a few other things. More info can be found on Formula One's official website. Even though the numbers are for 2010, the staggering costs of F1 are relatively the same, and 2010 offers the closest comparison to IndyCar, when engines were not counted. Formula One teams have 2 cars. so we can multiply the cost of an IndyCar by two. Then we can multiply it by two again because the price cap includes more than the car. The difference is still immense.
        But why do Formula One cars cost so much more? The answer is research and development. Dallara tested their product before selling it to consumers. Ferrari, on the other had, had to design their own car. As did BMW. As did Mercedes. As did Renault. When these major companies with major sponsors are competing so fiercely, it turns into a spending battle. They all try to develop the best car that money can buy. Which is why the price cap was set at such an insanely high number. The teams were spending more than that. And other, smaller teams, couldn't keep up. The idea in a spec series is that everyone has a more or less equal car, and cannot win by spending more.
        This all sounds great about spec series, but many claim that they hurt innovation and technological advancements. If you were going to make a top level race series, would you make it a spec series? I, personally, do not, as I believe top series should have top level cars.

 

Reaching customers through sponsorship

     

                                          Photo from indianaracing.net


        Large corporations pay millions of dollars for their name to be on a racecar. Why? because it is a very effective way to advertise to millions of people. I think it has a lot of advantages over conventional ways of advertising.
        One reason for this is simply because by sponsoring a famous racer, you are backed by a famous person. Using celebrities in commercials is commonplace. Having a famous person back your product full-time is less usual. The image of the famous person is then associated with the image of the company.
         A great example of this is Marlboro cigarettes. They sponsored Ferrari in Formula one for years. When laws against advertising tobacco were made, Ferrari changed the Marlboro logo to a bar code. The fans still knew what it meant, because the sponsorship was synonymous with the prestigious team.
        The best reason to sponsor a racer is because your advertisement reaches so many people. The most-attended sporting event in America is the Indy 500, followed by 2 other racing venues, then the Kentucky Derby, a few more races, then Baseball's largest turnout in history. These statistics are from the article "
Indy 500 tops the list of America’s most-attended sports events" by Jay Busbee. He is a writer for Yahoo sports, so he is an expert on the topic. The article was written early this year, so the information is current.
        The numbers for television viewing are hard to come by, as the most popular form of racing is Formula One, and it is shown worldwide. To get the number of viewers for the Superbowl, for example, would be easy. It is shown on one network, and the grand majority of viewers are in America. Formula One is shown in many countries, and on many different networks. According to Wikipedia, though, 600 million people watched every formula one race in 2008. Formula One also does not have one big race that attracts all of the viewers, so it is hard to compare to other sports or other racing series, that all have one all-important venue.
        If you owned a corporation, would you think it would be worth it to sponsor a driver? Even if it cost millions of dollars, much like TV ads during the Superbowl? Why or why not?

How do economics affect auto racing?

I am interested in this topic because I plan on making a living in the industry, and love racing. I know a bit about the topic, especially in the non professional section of auto racing. I know that sponsorships affect racing greatly and that racing is extremely expensive