Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Now Jim Hall...Re: RIP Phil Hill

[red5hilser (red5hilser]

My two favorite Smokey stories both concern the Daytona 500:

1. One year Smokey's car was 3 to 5 mph faster than anybody elses. NASCAR 
couldn't figure out how he was doing?it, so?they checked the engine and all 
other parts, and found that they were within the rules. Finally someone trotted 
out the body templates and found that Smokey had built a 7/8 scale model of the 
full sized car. Less wind to cut through gave him the unfair advantage.

2. One year Smokey was getting far better gas milage than anyone else. 
Suspicious of foul play, NASCAR confiscated the gas tank. Before they could 
impound and inspect the car any further, Smokey drove the car out of the 
speedway, and back to his garage in downtown Daytona Beach. WITHOUT THE GAS 
TANK BEING?IN THE CAR! Go figure.

Did you see Smokey's radical Indy car? It consisted of two P-38 belly tanks, 
side by side. The engine, transmission and rear-end fit into one tank, and the 
driver and gas tank in the other. Believe it or not, the car fit all existing 
rules and regs. One of the Yarburough brother. was scheduled to drive, but 
after the Mickey Thompson 'Flying Rollerskate' fiasco, Indy rejected the entry 
as being, 'Too potentally dangerous.'

I loved that guy, yer pal, Ferrari Bubba


-----Original Message-----
From: LS lashdeep [at] yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Now Jim Hall...Re: RIP Phil Hill



I am reading Mark Donohue's Unfair Advantage and he describes his data logging 
efforts as among the first ever.

It was interesting to see the pics of the equipment strapped inside the car.

Hall's innovations were amazing. The wings, ground effects, moveable aero aids, 
etc.

It's interesting that in T/A, many of Donohue's "advantages" were outlawed not 
because they were against the rules, but because they were essentially too good!

LS



----- Original Message ----
From: Hans 
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Now Jim Hall...Re: RIP Phil Hill

The answer is: Lots.? Certainly not to take anything away from Hall,
as he was quite the innovator.? I think that's why GM favored him
with parts and info - they knew that he would make the best use
of the help.

Hall and GM essentially invented real time data telemetry.? They
had a phone link to Detroit where engineers were able to monitor
vehicle data in tests from Rattle Snake Raceway.

Hall received an early version of the big block Chevy a year or 2
before it showed up in the 1965 Corvette.

Hall's "secret" automatic in the early '60s was a preproduction
version of the TH400.

GM had their "favorites" that received lots of parts and tech help.
For a while, Smokey Yunick was a favored son and the combo
produced such innovations (for the time....) as the small block
angle plug heads.? I think that we can assume that such "back
door" engineering still goes on in Nascar, and it happens in a
very public manner with the Pratt & Miller Corvette team. The
7.0L C5R motor was derived not from the production motor, but
from an experimental truck casting that GM was developing.
That casting never made it into trucks, but it's now used in the
new generation Z06 and presumably the ZR1.

Hans.

On 8/29/08, LS <lashdeep [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
> How much influence/innovation did Chevy provide for Chaparral?
>
> I know Jim Hall is a smart dude...was he as smart as the Chaparral 
> innovations 
would suggest?
>
> LS
>



      
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