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Fast Cars
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Program Overview
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"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!" So goes the starting
call at an automobile race. Although the announcement has remained
basically the same, auto racing has changed significantly since it
began in 1895. In those days, the average speed was only 15 miles
per hour. Today, cars in the Indianapolis 500 reach speeds of more
than 220 miles per hour. With the aid of computers, cutting-edge
materials, aerodynamics, and advanced mechanics, engineers design
cars to move at these new rates.
This program follows four drivers as they prepare for the 1993
Indianapolis 500. One of them is Bobby Rahal, the 1992 IndyCar
champion. For the 1993 race, Rahal decided to design his own car.
Thorugh a careful process of testing, retesting, and changing each
component of the car, Rahal and his team hoped to build a winner. In
the end, the car did not perform as well as the team had planned and
Rahal did not qualify. However, the results gained from the testing
process will help the team prepare for the next race.
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