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On the byte track Technicians using computers to rev up race-car performance By AFNE SCNMI'rf Ueily nerald IWsincss Wnlar Less than [wo tutL days hetore the race, the MeTlhoro Team ['enske nit crew stands by as the team's slgna- ture redandwhite car screams around the une-mile Chicago Motar Speedway track at speeds better than 155 mph. Mission control for the team is a three-man trailer equipped with five computers-including two IBM . ThinkPads- Soon your car may be setting vcaatl w ere h up its own appointment for an engineers oil change - See Page 4 munitor -------- eng~ne, chassis and tire perfor- mance as Uriver AI Unser Jr. makes his practice run. "This track is so new we haven't had a chance to teat it," says Chris Gantner, Marlbnrn Teai s elec- tronics engineer. As one of the three men n mission control-the team's scoring stand - he's collecting and examining baseline data from the car te measure the effect uf aqiustments before the Target Grand Prix See CARS on Page 4 AI Unser Jr., right, waits for the start of a prectlca session at Chicago Motor Speedway earlier this month. Antennas on the hood send and receive signals from Unser9 two-way radio and transmit data from the car's on-board computer. The thick black antenna just beyond Unser's head collects tire pressure data from sensors on the tlres. Team engineer Chris Gantner, above, holds the hlgh- tech steering wheel used by Unser. nYM t NNd PI Wnt9oE ehw.drN "If there's a leak, we can see that immediately and tell him to back off. The whole idea is to try to anticipate something going wrong." , -Chds Qentner, .rlboro Team Penaka's.lactranlca englnwr

Chiango. Il. Hetatd Rolling Meadoavs Ed. Chicago SAt Arae aay 0 3,289 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-WarrenvHle Weet Chicago Ed. Chicago Mat Araa ly 02,752 - AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-lisle Naperville Ed. Chicago Mat Area -`nay 07.044 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, tL Harald-ges Plaines Elk Grove Village Ed. Chicago Mat Ana ay 010,23E AUG 30, 1998 Chicago, IL Heratd-Mt. Prospect Ed, Chicago Mot Area ..-ai 0 6,074 AUG 30. 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-Cary Fox River Grove Ed. Chio ag a Mel Area ay 0 1,172 AUG 30. 1998 i[II[!11!II I IIII! I(I ill I 11111 .•/~{~''~' N71253 v91w~'~ '~u•.~•PRE.55 CL(PPfNG.S Chieago. IL Herald Arlington Heights Ed. CAloapa Md Araa Monday 0 12,833 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Haraid-ElginlSouth Elgin Chicago Mat Araa Monday 06.496 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago. IL Herald-HoAman Estates Schaumburg Ed. Chicago Mat Arae Monday 0 13,8C6 AUG 30. 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-8uflalo Grove Wheeling Ed. Chicago Mat Araa Monday 0 e,e99 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Herald -Wheaton Glen Ellyn Ed. Chicago Mat Aria Monday 00,406 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Heraid - 9 artietUH anover PaddStraanvwmod Ed, Chicago Mat Aru Monday 0 8.764 . P.UG 30, 1999 111111 It I!111! I('l({ ( ill( I!I (!iiil I llt! ~1®©PRESS CLfPPlG N2306 Chicagc, IL Herald-t{artington Ed. Chicago Mat Arae Monday 0 3 89a AUG 30, 1999 Chicago. IL Hereld-9loomingdale HesaalAo~eRe Ed. Chicago Mat Area Monday 0 e.462 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Hetald-Algonquin Lake in The Hills Ed. Chicago Mei Ana Monday 02,560 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Heraid-Carol Stream Glendale Heights Ed. Chicago Met Arse Monday 04.227 AUG 30. 1999 Chicago, IL Herald - Palatine Inverness Ed. Chicago Met Aree Monday 0 9,173 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-Hawthorn Woods Kildeerilake turich Ed. Chicago Met Arta Monday 0 5 813 AUG 30. 5999 Illll f l! i lilii ll ll(I l il l lflllI ill il !If! [101111 N36945 PRF.SSfLfPPfNG.ti Chicago, IL Herald -Lombard Oak grook Ed. Chicago Met Area Monday AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, CL Herald-gumee Grayalake Ed. Chloaqa Md Arn Manday 0 4,19 AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Haraid - galavMeneva St. Charles Ed. Chicago Met Arta Monday 0 7,3' AUG 30. 1999 Chicago, IL Herald-green Uaks Liiiertyville Ed. Chicago Mat Arta Monday 0 e.49C AUG 30, 1999 Chicago, IL Herald - Carpenteri East Dundee Ed. Chicago Mat A+u Monday 0 3,214 AUG 30, 1999 I _I~Ilillfll[illlllll(i(Ilflill( ~t9519 _ PRESSCL/PP/YG`

AI Unser Jr. climbs out of his car after the Mercedes engine of his car blew early In the race. oeiry Hererd PhnwaoE chwedyk CARS: System sends data wirelessly to pit crew Continued from Page 1 race, run Aug. 22 at the new speed- way in Cicero. Onboard computers collect data from the engine, chassis and tires, all for the goal of improving speed and performance and increasing safety. Sensors throughout the car F rovtde information on everything rom engine temperature and tire pressure to the play of gravity on thecar. Onboard computer logging sys- tems began appearing in the 1980s and have been evolving ever since with new and more sensors and greater computing power, Gantner said. The data acquisition system- Marlbom, Team Penske uses one developed by Pi Research based near Cambridge, England - col- lects information on engine RPMs, throttle, gear shift, pressures, tem- peratures, fuel mixture and flow, even how much the driver has to turn the wheel around a curve. It can measure the force on each ror- ner of the car as it makes the turns, the performance of the shock absorbers and the push of gravity on the car. The loggm g computer is mounted on the nght side of the car. Sensors are placed throughout the car and linked by wires to the computer. During practice, the crew tlount- loads the data during pit stops at the same time they add fuel or ehenge the tires. One of the crew memhers plugs a thick cable into a data port on top a( the car, which sends the information to the scor- ing stand c+omputers, "The data is pulled off the car and quickly analyzed in the pit," Gant- ner said. The information is used to make adjustments to the car to improve its perfotmance. On race day, the 12-second pit stops don't allow enough time for downloading. That's done aft.er the race as part of the post-mortem. Such saphisticated systems pro- duce ample information to analyze. Gantner said he downloaded 50-60 MB of data from the car during two days of practice before last week's race. Chris Gantner, left, monitors Unser's practice run using a communications system called telemetry from Marlboro Team Penske's scoring stand. Norbert Haug of Mercedes, center, and team owner Roger Penske, far right, watch one of several monitors on the scoring stand. omiy aeram PnmmemchweeyF "You don't have to look at every bit of data to look for trends," said Gantner, an electrical engineer, Such systems are standard in cars racing on the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) cir- cuit, Gantner said, The edge goes to teams that can best analyze the tlata. With all that data coming in, the challenge is to determine what information is slgnificant. The Marlhurn Team Penske pit engineers meet witTUser after practices and races to discuss how the car felt during the driv~, Gant- ner said. Based on his comments, the crew will judge the success or failure of certain adjustments to the car, and attempt to identify otherpotentialchanges. "We'll took for things that At tells us about how the car is acting," Gantner said. For instance, during a practice at the Chicago speedway, the team gauged the effectiveness of addmg a wicker, a thin metal strip placed on the car's back wing in order to increase the down force on the car, which improves control, "It's an experiment," Gantner said, "it had more of an effect than we anticipated." The driver also has information at his fingertips, literally. A tiny LCD screen on Unser's steering wheel, backlighted for greater visibility, gives him three pages of computenxed information to choose from. A panel for race conditions reveals such (nformation as right- front and righbrear tire pressures, fuel level, water temperature, gear position, desired and actual boost. The engine start page has battery voltage, oil pressure, fuel pressure, water and oil temperature, desired boost and engine revolutions per minute. Another page, for yellow flag conditions, reports the car's speed, gear position, fuel economy for the previous lap and engine revolutions per minute. Unser can make aqjustments to the car while driving using a series of paddles and buttons on the steering wheel. The team also uses a system called telemetry to send select data wirelessly from the car computer to the pit crew while Unser is doing laps. Once collected by the comput- er, the data is sent via an antenna on the car hood back to the pits. From the scoring stand, Gan[ner knows in real time Unser's lap time (the number of seconds it takes to complete one lap), the car's maximum speed, tire pres- sure, water temperature, gear position, speed, and the tempera- ture under the car hood. The crew also can follow the car's pace around the track. As an example, sensors on the tires relay tire pressure data by radio wave to an antenna on top of the car. The antenna directs the information to the car's onboard computer, which, in turn, sends it via radio wave to Gantner and the pit crew. "If thete's a leak, we can see that immediately and tell him to back off," Gantner said. "The whole idea is to try to anticipate something gmn wrong Though it's technically possible, CART rules don't permit pit crews to make adjustments to the car remotely using the telemetry sys- tem, Gantner said. Of course, in a contest where victo- ry is measured in tenths of a second, technology is only part of the win- ning team's formula. The ear, driver skitl, the race-day preparations all play a role. On Aug. 22, for example, all mea- surements put the car in good shape for racing, By tap 62 of the 215-lap race, Unser had moved up eight positions to 16th. Then the engine blew, sending Unser to the inBeld even before the first pit stop. The onboard data didn't identi the specific cause of the engine ure, Gantner said, but it did provide clues by showing what wasn't at fault. "It provided immediate clues," Gantner said, "but there's still no substitute for pulling the engine parts apart." l

AI Unser Jr. climbs out of his car after the Mercedes engine of his car blew early In the race. Dsily Herald Plwlueob ChwedyX CARS: System sends data wirelessly to pit crew Contfuued from Page I race, run Aug. 22 at the new speed- way in Cicero. Onboard computers collect data trom the engine, chassis and tires, all for the goal of improving speed and performance and increasing safeoy.Sensors throughout the car provide information on everything from engine temperature and tire pressure to the play of gravity on the car. Onboard computer logging sys- tems begen appeat5ng in the 1986s and have been evolving ever since with new and more sensors and greater computing power, Ganlner said. The data acquisition system - Marlhoro Team Peacke uses one developed by Pi Research based near Cambridge, England - eol- Iects information on engine RPMs, throttle, gear shift, pressures, tem- peratures, fuel mixture and flow, even how much the driver has to turn the wheel around a curve. It can measure the force on each cor- ner of the car as it makes the turns, the performance of the shock absorbers and the push of gravity on the car. Thelogg~ngcomputerismounted on the right side of the car. Sensors are placed throughout the car and hnked by wires to the computer. During practice, Ihe crew down- loads the data during pit stops at the same time they add fuel or change the tires. One of the crew memhers plugs a thick cable into a data port on top of the car, which sends the information to the scor- ing stand computers. 'The data Is pulled off the car and quickly analyzed in the pit;' Gant- ucr said. The information is used to make adjustments to the car to improve its performance. On race day, the 12-second pit stops don't allow enough time for downloading. That's done after the race as part of the post-mortem. Such sophisticated systems pro- duce ample information to analyze. Gantner said he downloaded 50-60 MR of data from the car during two days of practice before last week's race. _ _ Chris Gantner, left, monitors Unser's practice run using a communications system called telemetry from Marlhoro Team Penske's scoring stand. Norbert Haug of Mercedes, center, and team owner Roger Penske, far right, watch one of several monitors on the scoring stand. owir Heram Pnvtweoc cmmdrk "You don't have to look at every bit of data to laok for trends," said Gantner, an electrical engineer. Such systems are standard in cars racing on the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) cir- cuit, Gantner said. The edge goes to teams that can best analyze the data. With all that data coming in, the challenge is to determine what information is significant. The_Marlborn Tea Penske pit englneers meet with Unser after practices and races to discuss how the car felt during the driv-. Gant- ner said, Based on his cmnmenls, the crew will judge the success or failure of certain adjustments to the car, and attempt to identify other potential changes, "We 11 look for things that AI tells us about how the car is acting," Gantner said. For instance, during a practice at the Chicago speedway, the team gauged the effectiveness of adding a wicker, a thin metal strip placed increase the down force on the car, which improves control. "It's an experiment," Gantner said. "It had more of an effect than we anticipated." The driver also has information at his fingertips, gterally. A tiny LCD screen on Unser's steering wheel, backlighted for greater visibility, gives him three pages of computerized information to choose from. A panel for race conditions reveals such information as right- front and right-rear tire pressures, fuetlevel, watertemp erature, gear position, desired and actual boost. The engine start page has battery voltage, oil pressure, fuel pressure, water and od temperature, desired boost and engine rnvotutions er minute, Another page, For yelPow flag conditions, repurts the car's speed, gear position, fuel economy For the previmis lap and engine revolutions per mfnute. Unser can make adjustments to the car while driving using a series _„on the car's back wing in order to of paddles and buttons on the steering wheel, The team also uses a system called telemetry to send select data wirelessly from the car computer to the pit crew while Unser is doing laps. Once collected by the comput- er, the data is sent via an antenna on the car hood back to the pits. From the scoring stand, Gantner knows in real time Unser's lap time (the number of seconds ft takes to complete one lap), the car's maximum speed, tire pres- sure, water temperature, gear position, speed, and the tempera- ture under the car hood. The crew also can follow the car's pace around the track. As an example, sensors on the tires relay tire pressure data by radio wave to an antenna on top of the car. The antenna directs the information to the car's onboard computer, which, In turn, sends It via radio wave to Gantner and the pit crew. "If there's a leak, we can see that immediately and tell him to back off," Ganmer said. "The whole idea is to try to anticipate something going wrong." Though it's technically possible, CART rules don't permit pit crews to make adjustments to the car remotely using the telemetry sys- tem, Gantner said. Of course, in a contest where victo- ry is measured in tenths of a second, technologY is only part of the win- ning team s formula. The car, driver skill, the race-day preparations all play a role. On Aug. 22, for example, all mea- surements put the car in good shape for racing. By la 62 of the 215lap race, Unser haS moved up eight positions to 16th. Then the engine blew, sending Unser to the infield even before the first pit stop. The onboard data didn't identi the specific cause of the engm e ure, Ganmer said, but it did provide clues by showing what wasn't at fault. "It provided immediate clues," Gantner said, "but there's still no substitute for pulling the engine parts apaM„