Who knows if the writer knew what he was talking about, or just repeating what some street turkey told him?
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Henry 'Smokey' Yunick was one of motorsport's most cunning race mechanics. These seven bizarre designs prove he wasn't afraid to bend the rules as far as possible
If you’re not a fan of Nascar, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Henry ‘Smokey’ Yunick before. But when it comes to building race cars, few people were as naturally talented as Smokey. Despite very little formal training as a mechanic, Smokey’s ‘Best Damn Garage In Town’ became a fixture of Daytona Beach, Florida. He was so good that he eventually attracted the attention of stock car racing teams. With multiple automotive patents to his name, Smokey Yunick is undoubtedly a racing legend.
Despite his sheer brilliance as a designer, Smokey is probably best known for his cavalier attitude towards the rules of professional racing series. His outrageous ‘solutions’ to racing regulations have earned him a reputation in the eyes of some fans as a cheater. However, Smokey always insisted that his bizarre designs were completely within the letter of the rules, even if he bent them as far as they could go. Here are seven Smokey Yunick hacks that prove just how much of a cunning genius the man was.
Cold petrol
As you’ve probably learned in school, many substances tend to contract when they get very cold. Petrol happens to be one of these substances. This is why you’ll often see a statement on gas pumps stating that the volume has been corrected to a certain temperature (usually around 10 degrees centigrade).
For a time, there were no rules regarding the temperature of racing fuel in Nascar. Smokey knew this and would often cool his fuel so much that it was nearly frozen when it entered the fuel tank. As the race went on, the gasoline would heat up and expand, resulting in fewer pit stops. Of course, that all came to a stop when Nascar set regulations for fuel temperatures.
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I never heard of a temperature that NASCAR racing gasoline is regulated to.
Maybe the street turkey writer has.
Smokey's "Capsule Car"
Designed for the Indianapolis 500, the 1964 Hurst Floor Shifter Special was one of the most bizarre open-wheel racers of all time. With the off-centre cockpit shifting the centre of mass to the left, the car’s natural habitat was the oval track. However, in order to offset the mass of the rear-mounted engine, Smokey again resorted to his unique philosophy of the rules.
At the time, there were no regulations for how much fuel an Indy 500 car could carry on board. So Smokey decided to balance the ‘Capsule Car’ by putting a massive fuel tank in front of the radiator. Essentially, this gave the car three masses that would ensure constant weight distribution throughout the race. Although the car was ultimately unsuccessful in competition, it wasn’t long before the United States Auto Club (USAC) instituted fuel capacity regulations on Indy 500 racers.
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The street turkey writer doesn't understand that as gas is used up, the weight distribution of the car is not "constant" by any definition.