WI different US golden age of Racing.

Americans love their speedways, Indy springs to mind as do the 'board speedways', banked tracks made of wood.

But WI instead Americans, like Europeans, just closed off sections of road and raced their cars there? Would the European and American racing harmonise due to similar conditions? Would we see the Mercs and Auto Unions screaming around American tracks dicing with the Millers or whatever?
 
What? You want American race car drivers to turn right? Close the streets like Monaco, or the Isle of Man TT course, or like the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, or the Mexican Carrera Panamerican? Riverside and Sebring were popular enough but the Brickyard and Daytona were bigger. In my personal memory, Phil Hill was the first American that turned right. And he had to go to Europe to do it. The American mainstream automobile industry didn't feature good road cars until, let me think. Fairly late. Even Corvettes and T-birds were only made to look like, but not really be, sports cars.
 
What? You want American race car drivers to turn right? Close the streets like Monaco, or the Isle of Man TT course, or like the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, or the Mexican Carrera Panamerican? Riverside and Sebring were popular enough but the Brickyard and Daytona were bigger. In my personal memory, Phil Hill was the first American that turned right. And he had to go to Europe to do it. The American mainstream automobile industry didn't feature good road cars until, let me think. Fairly late. Even Corvettes and T-birds were only made to look like, but not really be, sports cars.

Road Racing had already grown in amateur levels by the 1960s, which saw guys like Carroll Shelby become famous in their efforts, and saw the Shelby Cobra, Mustang GT350, Corvette Grand Sport and others become highly successful in American racing, as well as European racing. Americans participated in F1 as teams into the 1980s through Shadow and Penske, and tried again with Haas Lola in 1984-86. Daytona didn't exist until 1961 (it wasn't built yet), while the Indy 500 was the biggest stage in American racing until the 1990s.

Harmonizing American with European racing is impossible until after WWII, but after that, it's easy. Cars like the Allard J2 could easily battle with the Europeans - hell, a nearly stock Cadillac Coupe de Ville competed in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, and finished tenth, while a rebodied car with the same engine finished 11th. Just get more promoters like Cameron Argetsinger in the post WWII era, creating a number of road racing circuits, thus forming a real demand in America for road racing.

Hell, one BIG WI could be Big Bill France keeping racing on open roads as a major portion of NASCAR, which eventually saw NASCAR evolve into a road racing series. :eek: One other option could be to have Trans-Am continue to be successful, with the rules changes that turned the cars into tube-framed racers in the mid 1970s never happen, with the 1970s keeping the Camaro/Mustang/Firebird racers, with newer import sports coupes and sedans (Datsun 240Z, Toyota Supra, Jaguar XJS, Porsche 928, BMW 635CSi, Rover SD1, Mazda RX-7) joining in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, this evolves into the modern Group A formula, which is modified to allow the bigger engines of the American GTs. The Trans-Am series come back quickly in the 1980s, with the American competitors slugging it out with Toyota, BMW, Jaguar and others later on. The relatively cheap costs of Group A Camaros, Firebirds and Mustangs sees their numbers flood most of the series in the 1980s, and with the advent of the ultimate Group A cars (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, Nissan Skyline GT-R, BMW M3), the big-banger Detroit iron is developed into real competitors, making big-inch power the way of beating the big-boost Sierra, four-wheel-drive Skyline GT-R and the featherweight M3. The Trans-Am grows into one of America's biggest race series by the 1990s, and leading to a whole crop of racing nuts who want to race in what by then is the world's largest touring car series, and the savior of the Group A formula on paved tracks.
 
Kevin Bartlett raced a 1980 Camaro successfully enough here in our Group C class 1980-84, he did a really cool rollover at Bathurst that I rember as a kid. Dick Johnson raced a Mustang in Group A in 1985-86, but the 'stang struggled for outright speed against Commodores, Jag XJS, 365csi and the like. The common factor is that both were production bodies prepped for racing, not space frames with a shillouette body.

But what I'm interested in American high end racing, Indy mainly. I'd love to see an American grand marque in the style of Alfa or Ferrari which is there year in year out producing winning race and sports cars, with a few awesome road cars thrown in for good measure.
 
Kevin Bartlett raced a 1980 Camaro successfully enough here in our Group C class 1980-84, he did a really cool rollover at Bathurst that I rember as a kid. Dick Johnson raced a Mustang in Group A in 1985-86, but the 'stang struggled for outright speed against Commodores, Jag XJS, 365csi and the like. The common factor is that both were production bodies prepped for racing, not space frames with a shillouette body.

Group A machines were primarily production-based in any case, and the biggest issue that afflicted both the Camaro/Firebird and the Mustang were their very ancient suspension designs. Why Ford still went with a live rear axle in 1979 and GM did with the F-bodies in 1982 (which were on their own chassis) is something that astounds me.

But what I'm interested in American high end racing, Indy mainly. I'd love to see an American grand marque in the style of Alfa or Ferrari which is there year in year out producing winning race and sports cars, with a few awesome road cars thrown in for good measure.

Hmmm. Best bet there might be to have one of the constructors of the 1950s and 1960s branch out, such as Cunningham, Shadow, Shelby or Chaparral, or have one of the big luxury car firms survive the Depression (most didn't) and after WWII branch into racing and stay there. Duesenberg would be the best bet here IMO, though getting them to survive the Depression is tricky, particularly if you don't keep Fred from dying from pneumonia in 1932.
 
Australian cars were live rear axle well into the 90s, the VK Group A which was quite competitive in Europe in 1986 had a coil sprung live rear end, and the VN Group A which did OK in 1990-91 was also a live rear end. It's not too much of a handicap on smooth racetracks, but I don't know about leaf sprung cars.
 
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