The Conquistador's Picture Of The Day

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Today (January 25) marks the 40th anniversary of the “Blizzard of 1978.” Starting in the Ohio Valley it intensified and dumped up to 36” (91 cm) of snow on the Central and Eastern parts of the United States. Wind gusts of up to 100 mph (160 km) were recorded and 70 people lost their lives.

Although my family lived in Detroit at the time and I was not yet around, my Dad took an 8mm film of the aftermath. We did not get the snow that other areas got. Still we had drifts that covered our garage. In many areas all the snow that piled up did not melt until June.

This picture is of the I-65 Zionsville exit in Indiana looking North (on the way to Chicago) after the worst had passed through Indiana. I take this exit everyday home from work. Where I live today is about a mile East on W. Stonegate Dr. across from the Elementary School. The sign says “334.” Could it be the same one after all this time? This is the “Oak St.” referenced in many of my stories. Downtown Zionsville is several miles to the East. Forty years ago it looks like nothing was there. Today it is all businesses, condos, and shopping centers. Amazon has a large distribution center just to our North.

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Many of us on TLB have tech backgrounds or degrees. I work on the weekends and was just checking my mail. This was in my inbox - thought some of you might enjoy these...

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My recent post about Françoise in "Grand Prix" got me thinking (besides about her) how much the cars have changed since 1966. The advanced technology inside a modern racing car is something else entirely. Kinda like a several-million dollar computer on wheels that goes over 230 MPH (370.15 km).

"Safety" in the movie appears to be nonexistent. Drivers run into hay bales and trees, spectators line the course without any form of grandstand or barrier and get onto the track, at least one driver is almost decapitated when his car runs under a guardrail, and one of the main characters is killed tragically at the end when his car runs off a high banking and explodes.

Here are a couple of Ferrari "concept" cars for 2019. The third picture is Lewis Hamilton winning the United States GP in 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was fortunate to see this race as well as the inaugural event in 2000 won by Michael Schumacher. Bringing F1 here was a good thing IMHO. Indy screwed it up of course and lost out for 2008 and beyond. Now F1 runs a race in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas. Lewis Hamilton has won six times.

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Car porn. This is the F1 "concept" for Red Bull.

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Here’s one more “fantasy” car. This one from DeviantArt. Looks like someone drove it to downtown Zionsville. Wonder who? Allegedly has a top speed of over 600km/h (372.823 MPH).

Watched “Grand Prix” again on YouTube a couple days ago. Still think it’s perhaps the best movie about auto racing. Even with 50 year old technology. Of course the main attraction for me is Françoise.

Forgot she leaves her driver at the end for her “american boyfriend.” If only she had been born 40 years later… Or me 40 years earlier… Sigh…

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The fastest and most powerful cars in racing, Top Fuel dragsters actually make only a very short run (now at 1000 feet in the US due to a fatal accident several years ago). The standard track had always been ¼ mile (402 meters). Speeds approach 340 MPH (547.177 km) and the race lasts only 3 to 4 seconds. Unlike F1, NASCAR, or IndyCar, it is a flat-out speed contest. If you’ve ever wanted to blow away the car next to you at a stop light, that’s pretty much what it is all about. Evolved from the “slingshot” style cars of the 50’s and 60’s today’s modern dragster is a highly advanced piece of technology. It is also incredibly dangerous mainly due to the unbelievable speeds. To generate this kind of power nitromethane fuel is used. Explosions are common, and engines are required to be covered with a “Kevlar” blanket to keep shrapnel from going into the crowd. Here’s a look at some facts behind Top Fuel drag racing:

One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch (8.2 liters) Dodge Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.

An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates faster than any other land vehicle on Earth.

The current speed record is 337.58 MPH (Tony Schumacher, who’s car is pictured below).

For comparison, you're driving, say, a new Lingenfelter twin-turbo Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged and ready to "launch" down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard, through the gears, and cross the starting line passing the dragster at 200 MPH. The light goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster departs and starts after you. You keep your foot to the floor, and within a mere 3 seconds he catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him.

(The Labor Day weekend before we moved here from Michigan, our family came down to Indianapolis to look at houses. Me, my dad, and my girlfriend went to the US Nationals. They were less than enthusiastic. Still in high-school, when I expressed an interest in learning how to do this, my dad just said “no” and she said it was “fucking crazy.” )

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Best advice I ever got. Thanks Dad!