How IndyCar and its partners are pioneering use of green technology
LOS ANGELES — Ray Harroun forever changed the nascent sport of auto racing — and by extension, auto driving — when he steered his mustard-yellow car to the starting line for the first Indianapolis 500. His single-seat racer was revolutionary in virtually every aspect, from the narrow, tapered fuselage to the six-cylinder engine, which is why he won that 1911 race in a rout.
However the most intriguing aspect of the design, the mirror Harroun mounted on the struts of his car, vibrated so violently on the brick racetrack it did him no good at all. So designers returned to the drawing board, modified the rear-view mirror and drivers have been looking back ever since.
For more than a century, motorsport has been a fertile testing ground for automotive technology, with race teams perfecting disc brakes, carbon-fiber construction, push-button ignition and suspension systems — all advances that have made the
