Sam Schmidt gives thumbs-up to new Indy car design

He was talking auto racing and carrying on another conversation at the same time Wednesday, a hallmark of Sam Schmidt, the IndyCar team owner based in Henderson. Schmidt was not only asked about IndyCar, the series, which begins its 106th season at St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 12, but also about Indy car, the machine.

A new one is on the drawing board for 2018. Based on artist renderings, it will look a lot like the sleek cars of the 1990s.

What do you think of the new #IndyCar #Aerokit #concepts? #IndyCar2018 #racecar #design #tech #becauseracecar pic.twitter.com/LVSkbxs3Sq

— Slipstream Network (@SlipstreamNET) January 12, 2017

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That should come as good news to fans who were slow to accept the current model introduced in 2012. “I’ve never seen a racing lawnmower that I didn’t like, but it hurts my eyes to look at those ugly cars,” one remarked on a website comments section.

Today’s Indy car has more of a sports car design, with nearly covered rear wheels and tires. Gone also will be expensive aerodynamic kits, which were supposed to make the current cars different in appearance but never caught on with fans. That will come as good news to car owners such as Schmidt.

“When these cars came on board in 2012 after the accident and all the chaos, they were sort of long overdue,” Schmidt said. “Everybody was really excited about something new.”

The accident to which Schmidt referred was Dan Wheldon’s fatal crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011. Wheldon, the popular two-time Indianapolis 500 winner who was driving for Schmidt, was killed when his car became airborne and was launched into the Turn 2 wall.

The car adopted in 2012 featured rear bodywork that greatly reduced those types of crashes.

The aero kits were far less successful. A universal aero kit will be used on the 2018 cars.

“With the aero kits, the initial feeling was each manufacturer would have a bigger box in which to develop, and that would be more attractive to fans,” said Schmidt, whose driver James “Dancing with the Stars” Hinchcliffe qualified on the pole position for last year’s 100th running of the Indy 500. “But the rules are written in such a way that (the aero packages) were hard to differentiate for 99 percent of fans.

“It was one of those things that was well intended but just didn’t work out.”

What did work out was the type of racing the boxy cars produced at the Indianapolis 500. It was spectacular, to say the least, with the cars carving big holes in the air that enabled drivers to race close together in a draft and swap positions on virtually every lap.

The new design will transfer track-hugging downforce under the car, instead of generating it at the top with wings and spoilers. The hope, Schmidt said, is that the new cars will be just as racy at Indy — and much more racy and easier on the eyes on the street and road circuits. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

LVMS

Have you ever wanted to drive your personal vehicle around Las Vegas Motor Speedway and pretend you were Jimmie Johnson or one of the Busch brothers?

You will have the chance from noon to 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 during the annual Laps for Charity fundraiser at the big oval north of town.

It will cost $35 for three laps during daylight hours, and $45 for four laps under the lights. Additional laps are available at a discounted price.

All vehicles must be street legal — so no Formula 1 McLarens — and drivers must have a valid license and proof of insurance. Speeds will be limited to 75 mph behind a pace car, so those pretending to be Jimmie Johnson or one of the Busch brothers will have to make believe they are driving around during a caution period.

LAPS 4 CHARITY! Drive on @LVMotorSpeedway's superspeedway 1/29 & raise $ 4 kids in need. https://t.co/eWW9oy19MU @TheCWLasVegas @News3LV pic.twitter.com/HSIquzll8W

— SCC Las Vegas (@scclasvegas) January 17, 2017

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ELSEWHERE

The NHRA long has been considered the most diverse of the major league motor sports, so it should come as no great surprise that three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown would post a photo of himself on his Twitter account on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the following homage: “Thank you MLK! I have a dream! I’m blessed to live it everyday!”

Thank you MLK! I have a dream! I'm blessed to live it everyday! @Oprah @BET @NHRA #Ihaveadream #MLKDAY #3XNHRAchamp pic.twitter.com/ri24isE0m4

— Antron Brown (@AntronBrown) January 17, 2017

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Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.