Summer 2000

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For the first time in 90 years, race cars will be making right-hand turns around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the inaugural United States Grand Prix Formula One road race.

And, that’s just one of the many changes keeping Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology alumni Kevin Forbes (Civil Eng., ’85) and David Dusick (Mech. Eng., ’99) busy these days.

The famed Speedway’s changing landscape includes a redesigned pagoda control tower and plaza, a media and press building, a television compound, 36 Formula One garages and luxury suites, complete reconfiguration of pit lane, installation of safety barriers, six large-screen video displays, and even a new Winner’s Circle/victory podium.

That doesn’t even include 1.5 miles of new asphalt twisting through the infield for the Sept. 24 Grand Prix, the first Formula One race in America since 1991.

"We’ll have a completely different look for the Grand Prix at Indianapolis, starting with the cars going clockwise around the track, opposite to what Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 fans have observed," says Forbes, IMS director of engineering and construction management since 1992. The project will cost approximately $40 million when completed in September.

The 2.606-mile F-1 road course utilizes the Speedway’s existing main straightaway, southwest corner (Turn 1 for the Indy 500/Brickyard 400), and a portion of the southeast corner (Turn 2). The new track covers most of the infield inside Turn 4, runs parallel to Hulman Boulevard and twists behind the Hall of Fame Museum before joining the Indy 500’s oval in Turn 2.

"Building the race circuit has been relatively easy," Forbes said. "Scheduling the construction around our two other races has been the biggest challenge." Construction is expected to be 98 percent complete by mid-August.

Work has been under way in the midst of the Speedway’s hosting of May’s Indy 500 and August’s Brickyard 400 during the past two years. At one time this spring, a record eight cranes were inside the main straightaway, installing glass along the east and west faces of the control tower and adding structural steel to the four-story media center.

To prepare for the F-1 race, Forbes visited tracks in Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany and Spain, exchanging ideas with engineers, drivers, team owners and FIA officials.

"I don’t speak French, Spanish or German, but engineers have a common language — ideas. And, since throughout my Rose-Hulman education I studied in SI units, it was easy to talk with European clients," Forbes said. "It took a long time to understand their concepts of entertainment, culture and safety. Hopefully, we’re maintaining the Speedway’s reputation as the greatest race track in the world. We’ve taken steps to improve aspects of road racing."

One example is IMS’ new tire barrier system, covering 8,848 feet of track and requiring 43,864 tires, that was designed by Dusick, the track’s engineering assistant. The main goal was to maximize the amount of energy absorbed by the barrier during impact, spreading the energy across several tires.

The barrier is constructed of rigid tire cylinders, banded together to form a honeycomb pattern. The cylinders are banded with galvanized cable at an average of three bandings per cylinder. These rigid cylinders are composed of five tires vertically stacked and bolted. This rigidity ensures that all five tires are displaced during impact.

A cover (PVC belting material) lines the front surface of the barrier to increase the amount of energy absorbed during impact. The belting disperses the forces throughout several cylinders, increasing the number of affected tires from five to as many as 25.

During tests, the barrier remained intact after being impacted repeatedly by a 1,500-pound block of steel (simulating impact by a F-1 car). In fact, during one impact, the weight actually displaced the tires to their fullest potential without piercing through the cylinders.

"Hopefully, we’ll never see if our designs are effective in a racing situation," said Dusick, an avid short-track racing enthusiast. "Notwithstanding the cars, there’s a lot of engineering that auto racing fans don’t see — or appreciate."

— by Dale Long