I USUALLY DON'T REPLY TO FORUMS..... BUT THIS ONE DEALS WITH DESIGN, OF WHICH I HAVE A DEGREE IN........ SO I'LL TRY AND REMAIN CONSTRUCTIVE IN MY CRITICISM.

I FEEL ITS THE ESTHETICS OF THE GOLD CROWN CAR....AKA....OLD NEW SILVER CROWN CAR THAT MAKE IT UNPOPULAR WITH ME AND OTHERS, MUCH OF THAT IS BECAUSE ITS A MUTATION OF IDEAS AND FORMS THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PERMITTED TO MATE..... INDY CAR GETS IT ON WITH SILVER CROWN CAR

I LIKE THE STREAMLINING OF THE MAIN BODY FROM THE NOSE CLIP BACK TO THE TAIL,BUT THATS BECAUSE IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE WATSONS OF THE 60'S



THE DESIGN GETS SCREWED UP BY MAINTAINING THE OLD NEW SILVER CROWN CAGE,PARTIAL NOSE CLIP AND THE INDY CAR SIDE PODS .... SAFETY, AERODYNAMIC MAYBE... BUT NOT A CONGRUOUS DESIGN.



I'M CURIOUS IF THE AERODYNAMIC DOWN FORCE COULD BE DONE WITH AIR DEFUSERS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CHASSIS, LIKE HIGH PERFORMANCE EXOTIC CARS ARE USING... THERE FOR MAINTAINING THE TRADITIONAL CROWN CAR DESIGN, WHICH WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE.

BUT....IF YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN THE SIDE PODS YA MIGHT AS WELL UTILIZE THE THUNDER ROADSTER DESIGN WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU HAVE NOW JUST WITH A DOWN TUBE.



NOW IS THE SERIES GOING TO BE LIKE INDY.... HOMOGENEOUS AND LACKING INDIVIDUAL INGENUITY?
OR WILL INDIVIDUALS BE PERMITTED TO EXPERIMENT?

NOW.... IF IT WERE ME DESIGNING THIS THING... I'D TAKE IT IN ONE OF TWO DIRECTIONS.

1.
A CONCEPT INFLUENCED BY CLASSIC DESIGN ELEMENTS AND NOSTALGIC FORMS REINTERPRETED IN A MODERN WAY, THREW AN OPEN COCKPIT CAR.....TO "FEEL" LIKE AN INDY CAR ONLY WITH THE POWER PLANT UP FRONT AND NO PODS.... ITS THE PODS GET ME.

2.
DESIGN A CAR WITH NO CONNECTION TO HERITAGE OR ANY PREVIOUS SERIES.... TOTALY NEW.

AND GET RID OF THE GOLD CROWN NAME AND GO BACK TO CHAMP CARS, NOW THAT THE NAME IS NO LONGER BEING UTILIZED.


HUFF
http://huffster.com/

I think Bruce could answer your questions because this is what his specialty is in and why things were done the way they were as for the construction of the car.

Lynn, I was also watching the Whelen Modifieds, Donny Lia after the win was appologizing for the race not being as good as it could have been and plugging away for the chance for the Whelen Modifieds to be back there and do it again.

I had the chance to see the new generation cars run at Phoenix, Kansasa, Loudon, and ORP, I personally never found them ugly and can't wait for them to get back to racing. I hope the Gold Crown series is very successful. I would love to see the IRL, USAC Gold Crown, USAC Silver Crown, USAC Sprints, USAC Midgets and Supermodifieds back at PIR, a true open wheel dream weekend. I am also realistic enough to know in todays eceonomy you may never see the return of Copper Classic to PIR.

To all the naysayers, I say if you have never gone to a race to see the new generation cars run keep your negativity to yourselfs. Open wheel racers need to be on the larger tracks for the exposure, an with exposure will come higher purses. They need a new level of open wheel racing to move up to rather than going to Nascar.

Bruce Ashmore, I applaud you for all your time and effort trying to get the Gold Crown series up and running.

The last new generation SC race held at PIR had 21 cars attend, I find it both ironic and sad that USAC's Sprint and Midget divisions only had 22 cars total at Salem last week. If USAC doesn't want to sanction the Gold Crown Division once it is up and running sanction yourself, another poster mentioned that an used Oswego's small block supers as an example. They are a division that was born to race at Oswego as a support class to the supers, the owners formed their own sanctioning group and now run a number of tracks.

Promote, promote, promote that is the best way for a new Gold Crown series to be successful, I can't wait.

Patti

For the past 4 decades, Indy Racing has tried to become a US version of F-1. They've fallen increasingly further behind. Just compare the current cars (& crowds).

NASCAR has been the ultimate beneficiary. They've demonstrated that US race fans will flock to big ovals and roadcourses to watch front eng/rear drive, tube framed, generic spec, relatively low tech, purpose built race cars, powered by traditional sounding, production based V-8's, ...that less resemble "stock" cars with each iteration.

I see the Gold Crown Series as the start of a way to bring US racing fans back to open wheel racing on big ovals. Not enough US fans are interested in F-1 to support domestic rear engined racing on a massive scale like NASCAR now (& Indy/USAC of the past).

These are difficult economic times to even sustain what we have, let alone start something new. If all the rear engined F-1 wannabes that have been tried in the past were the answer, they would have evolved & progressed like F-1 & NASCAR have.
US racefans aren't interested in a watered down, minor league US F-1 series. I think the Gold Crown group is on to something. We should be supporting & encouraging them. The knock on the "new" SC car was that it didn't look racey enough & rendered traditional SC cars (& investment) obselete - both issues have been addressed.

Thanks & Good Luck to all involved in the Gold Crown Project.
Randy Radeackar (just a fan).

I hope the series works. If I'm able to do so, I'll be checking it out for sure. I don't understand why any race fan would want it to fail. If you don't like it, don't go. Seems pretty simple to me. Some people don't like pavement racing at all. That's their right....just don't go. But don't wish bad on something just because you don't like it.

In the 30 years I have been going to races, I have been to two Cup races. I don't like stock cars much, didn't grow up around them, so I don't go. Simple people. I don't want it to fail though. That is the livelihood for a lot of people....drivers and crews. They are races just like me. Racing is such a niche that I want it all to succeed.

I pretty much like anything that goes in a circle, turns right and left, and goes straight for 4 seconds. So I hope this works and I will check it out.

BRUCE,

HAD YA USED THIS IMAGE US GOOD OL' BOYS MIGHT OF HAD A DIFFERENT OPINION



I FEEL THIS DESIGN WOULD OF BEEN A BETTER DIRECTION FOR THE SERIES AND MORE YOUR SPEED, ESPECIALLY IF THE CARS ARE GOING TO GO LEFT AND RIGHT.... PLUS THE INVESTORS COULD MARKET AND SELL THE CAR AS A ROAD CAR AND RECOUP SOME OF THEIR INVESTMENT.





NOW AS FAR AS THIS GOES.... USAC WOULD BE BETTER OFF SANCTIONING A NEW TRANS-AM SERIES TO HELP THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY... AS OPPOSED TO PUTTING A BOW TY OR A BLUE OVAL ON THE NOSE CLIP OF A GOLD CROWN CAR.





UNLIKE THIS BS.


HAVE A GOOD ONE

HUFF

I knew there was a reason why I liked this Gold Crown thing !

I know Paul doesnt the car look good.