Penske and Chevy II

[jmart]

Posted below, I'm bumping it up to get clarification.

Penske's going to test Chevy II before comitting for the final two races. Anyone know who his Chevy II builder is? Is it Ilmor? Also, has he had these all year long or are these recently acquired? Are these GM spec or do they have any go fasts?

From recollection, this is a pairing of winners, engines and builders so far this year. I am looking for confirmation or correction. Bottomline is I don't think Ilmor's won anything with a Chevy II this year except for maybe Naz, and that and that had a real high percentage of Yellow.


Homestead -- Sam, Chevy II (Speedway)
Phoenix -- Helio, Chevy I (Ilmor)
Fontana -- Sam, (Speedway)
Naz -- Sharp, Chevy II (Ilmor??)
Indy -- Helio, Chevy I (Ilmor)
TX -- Ward, Chevy II (Comptech??)
PPIR -- DeFerran, Chevy I (Ilmor)
Richmond -- Sam, Chevy II (Speedway)
KS -- Dare, Chevy II (Rousch)
Nashville -- Barron, Chevy II (McClaren or Speedway??)
MIS -- Schekter, Infiniti (TWR)
KY -- Giaffone, Chevy II (Speedway??)
St Louis -- DeFerran, Chevy I (Ilmor)
Chicago -- TBD
TX -- TBD

jmart

[crispy]

Barron got "good" AFTER the engine switch.

[jmart]

Barron finished 4th at Indy running McClaren didn't he?

jmart

[CamKing]

I know Team Penske is good, but there is no way they can win with a 1964 Chevy II.

[rrrr]

[DonnieB]

Ah, the trust ol' midget powerplant making a comeback, eh?

Hey, if yer gonna give us a barrel full o' fish and and shotgun, we got no choice but to oblige ya.


DB

[Mackie]

yes jmart it is Ilmor, the good people at Ilmor Don't just build Penske's Auroras and stick a Chevy sticker on them, they build the Chevy II's for Nunn and Kelley, Penske now has four Aurora wins, I'm calling a spade a spade here, but two wins with Chevy II's. Penske cars on the fast tracks are easily passed if he doesn't luck out on the "economy run," all Sam needs is two good finishes with Penske using the old engine, with two or three cars between him and the Penske team will end up 2nd and 3rd in the points. Penske HAS to run the Chevy II, but needs to test, the CG is lower in the car and the engine is lighter. Besides, there are rev limiter issues to learn. Where did they test, Chicagoland?

[Kaaveh]

Originally posted by Mackie:
<STRONG>yes jmart it is Ilmor, the good people at Ilmor Don't just build Penske's Auroras and stick a Chevy sticker on them, they build the Chevy II's for Nunn and Kelley, Penske now has four Aurora wins, I'm calling a spade a spade here, but two wins with Chevy II's. Penske cars on the fast tracks are easily passed if he doesn't luck out on the "economy run," all Sam needs is two good finishes with Penske using the old engine, with two or three cars between him and the Penske team will end up 2nd and 3rd in the points. Penske HAS to run the Chevy II, but needs to test, the CG is lower in the car and the engine is lighter. Besides, there are rev limiter issues to learn. Where did they test, Chicagoland?</STRONG>

Why change something with two races to go that worked just fine the entire season? 1-2 in points doesn't seem that bad using OLDs engines...then again, I don't know the exact number of top 5s Penske has to really make a solid point...

[Mackie]

because he gives away 25 HP, remember the last tekas race when Helio was in the lead and was passed by three cars in one lap. Penske can't be in a position where two or three cars are between his cars and Sam, with Sam ahead, not and win the championship. Understand now "K"? That is why he is testing, I would love him to use the "old," that way he is not a factor in the win. Look back at all the high speed tracks, the Penske's were slow. Their wins, Phoenix, PPIR and Gateway, besides Indy, all handling tracks, Chicagoland and Texas are speed tracks, get it?

[tjgje]

Will Penske, or any team, be allowed to test at Texas before the race? Do they just pay for track time or are there league contraints on testing?

[Indyfan4ever]

I'm suprised it took Roger this long to contemplate the switch.

Why give up the horses?.

Unlike Penske not to take every "advantage".

Tj

[nm]

As for testing at Chicagoland and TMS, Sarah said after KY that D&R would test at every track left.

[tjgje]

Are they testing today? Anybody live near the track?

[Kaaveh]

Originally posted by Mackie:
<STRONG>because he gives away 25 HP, remember the last tekas race when Helio was in the lead and was passed by three cars in one lap. Penske can't be in a position where two or three cars are between his cars and Sam, with Sam ahead, not and win the championship. Understand now "K"? That is why he is testing, I would love him to use the "old," that way he is not a factor in the win. Look back at all the high speed tracks, the Penske's were slow. Their wins, Phoenix, PPIR and Gateway, besides Indy, all handling tracks, Chicagoland and Texas are speed tracks, get it?</STRONG>

Whoa! What's with the sarcasm? Horsepower is big in racing, yes, I completely agree, however, it's not the ONLY thing...I'd just like to point out here that I can confirm Helio finished in the top 5 at Texas (4th) while Sam Hornish Jr. didn't even place in the top 15 (18th). So, as you see, much more goes into this besides horsepower...not to mention that Chicago is going to require a good handling car...Penske will be fine with either engine they use...

[Sam Fan]

Originally posted by Kaaveh:
<STRONG>I'd just like to point out here that I can confirm Helio finished in the top 5 at Texas (4th) while Sam Hornish Jr. didn't even place in the top 15 (18th). So, as you see, much more goes into this besides horsepower...not to mention that Chicago is going to require a good handling car...Penske will be fine with either engine they use...</STRONG>

But Eddie took Sam out of the race, so it wasn't a question of Sam's car not running. If I remember correctly, they had a wheel come off after a pit stop, but before and after that, Sam had one of the fasttest running cars on the track, and was passing left and right to make his way back up front. So your reasoning has a flaw ...