Indy cars do 230+ at Indianapolis with 9 degree banking

in a tight rectangle. What I was getting at, was with the 33 degree banking at a 2.66 mile Talladega tri-oval, would those cars hit 275+ mph? This assumes they could generate enough downforce to not fly off the track.

I had forgotten that CART had tried doing something similar, at the much shorter (1.5mile) Texas motor speedway. The race had to be cancelled because the speeds and g forces were too high on the drivers.

Click here for link at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_Firehawk_600

I think Indy cars are gear limited to somewhere around 225

That’s not to say they couldn’t put ina different transmission and get up to 250 or more (though they would have to change the wings to lower drag to get there) and then they might be turning fast enough to cause health issues for the drivers as in the Texas example. Suffice it to say that there are reasons, and probably good ones, they don’t race those cars there.

Nope

Trap speeds exceed 235 going into turn 3 at Indy and last years pole sitter averaged 229.

Probably 240ish then

Because if they can’t hit more than that before they have to slow down for a turn then they can’t make maximum use of their available power. So the above post’s 275 isn’t happening without a new tranny.

The issue with Texas was/is that it’s relatively short.

The drivers say it feels like you are always in a turn. 240 would be about the limit between the motor, gearing, and drag.

Interesting link. They’d start to leave the track at 240+.

The drivers would reach the limits of what’s humanly possible, blacking our, etc. Indycar is loathe to lose another life or have another serious injury: Wickens’ car last year at Pocono got airborne terrifyingly easy.

You’d see extremely light contact causing enough lift to turn the cars into terrifying unguided missiles.