Steve Hallam to leave McLaren for NASCAR

[DSRacing]

F1 McLaren boss heads to NASCAR UPDATE: Steve Hallam, McLaren's head of race operations, is to leave the team at the end of this year to move to NASCAR. Hallam joined McLaren in 1990 after almost a decade at Lotus, where he race engineered for Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna. Having helped engineer Mika Hakkinen to world title success with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, Hallam moved to a more senior role within the team's race engineering department. McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh has paid tribute to Hallam's contribution to the team. "Since joining us in 1990, Steve has become a senior member of our track operations team, doing a fantastic job," explained Whitmarsh. "He informed us of his decision to leave some time ago but, since he is totally professional, it goes without saying that we are entirely comfortable with his continuing his work with us until the end of the season. Next year we will all miss him greatly, but we nonetheless wish him all the very best in his new adventure." Hallam is to take up a senior position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.(Autosport)(9-13-2008)


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70722

Does anyone know if this is true or a hoax. I can't see why Hallam would even consider leaving McLaren to work for at best, a mediocre NASCAR team. As one person put it, "It's like working on a present day jet fighter then switching to a WW1 bi-plane.

[jddh1]

I read it yesterday and I think it's true.

[Josep Sunyol]

I hope I'm not offending any NASCAR people and I'm sorry if I do but I just don't see the attraction with NASCAR as it's just going around a small arena in a oval.. and most importantly why would a driver swap Formula 1 for NASCAR other than the money.

With Formula 1 you have the chance of world wide exposure as it's a global race, NASCAR is just concentrated on 1 country and even I've heard not all around America has interest in NASCAR, it's just Texans and a few other states.

I'm happy to hear others tell me otherwise. I just find Formula 1 such a challenging motorsport with all the technical aspects besides the actual racing and the cars actually have to deal with different race tracks which vary from every country not to mention, you get to travel the world racing faster than NASCAR cars.

[donskar]

I hope I'm not offending any NASCAR people and I'm sorry if I do but I just don't see the attraction with NASCAR as it's just going around a small arena in a oval.. and most importantly why would a driver swap Formula 1 for NASCAR other than the money.

With Formula 1 you have the chance of world wide exposure as it's a global race, NASCAR is just concentrated on 1 country and even I've heard not all around America has interest in NASCAR, it's just Texans and a few other states.

I'm happy to hear others tell me otherwise. I just find Formula 1 such a challenging motorsport with all the technical aspects besides the actual racing and the cars actually have to deal with different race tracks which vary from every country not to mention, you get to travel the world racing faster than NASCAR cars.

No offense meant, Josep, and none taken, but your understanding of NASCAR is badly flawed.

The competition is VERY close, the cars are very fast, and the technological refinement - within very strict regulations - is very advanced.

The crowds are huge, the fans knowledgeable and VERY passionate. And there is heavy manufacturer involvement - Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota.

Finally, the tracks are NOT

a small arena in a oval.

There are road courses on the circuit and several ovals are 2 miles around.

I am NOT a NASCAR fan, but its popularity and level of competition are undeniable.

[gcdugas]

Pushrod engines, carburetors and live rear axles... uggh. That said, even carting has solid rear axles (no dif), no suspension and two cycle engines. Drag racing has 8000 HP monsters with pushrod engines and fuel injection systems that pump enough nitro into the cylinders that they are approaching "hydraulic lock" with ignition systems that have enough juice to light up Las Vegas.

We like to think of F1 as the pinnacle but racing is largely an engineering exercise within the constraints of whatever rules you have.

Personally I despise the engine freeze, the std. ECU, mandated engine configuration, vee angle, cam locations, bore centers, CG height, alloys, aero wing "boxes", AWD ban, 4WS ban, CVT ban, "silly plate" ground effects ban (I'm, OK with the skirt ban), torque steer brake bias ban, mandated tire sizes, rim sizes and aspect ratio, a high minimum weight that allows ballast to be used to balance the car etc. All this I consider to be against "the spirit of F1".

F1 should be for experimentation. Remember the twin chassis Lotus, the six wheel Tyrrell, the first turbo Renault, the "fan car", the first pneumatic valves, the first wings that appeared, heavy powerful V12s against nimble V8s, wide cars, narrow cars, cars with low aspect ratio tires and big brakes with suspension against the opposite approach of more compliant higher aspect ratio tires with adverse sidewall flex, long wheel bases, short wheel bases, even air-cooled engines etc. All of that "lateral thinking" is now forbidden. All of that heritage is now reduced to just folklore. F1 should be wide open. Period! No ifs, ands, buts, or Maxes.

The Bill France family is far more customer friendly, far more equitable, far more approachable than Max the N@z! tyrannt and the FIArrari. Just wait until the FIA rules on Spa... "Yes Mr. Dennis FIA Race Control did say that Lewis was OK during the race but that was before we heard "new evidence" from Mr. Todt. Lewis is hereby docked 25 WDC points and you are fined $25M for questioning the FIA and bringing the sport into disrepute. Please see the cashier on the way out."

So while we may look down upon NASCAR, F1 is a lot more like it than we want to admit. They got pushrods and we have a std ECU. Good engineers will maximize the performance within the constraints of the rules.

[donskar]

[quote]Personally I despise the engine freeze, the std. ECU, mandated engine configuration, vee angle, cam locations, bore centers, CG height, alloys, aero wing "boxes", AWD ban, 4WS ban, CVT ban, "silly plate" ground effects ban (I'm, OK with the skirt ban), torque steer brake bias ban, mandated tire sizes, rim sizes and aspect ratio, a high minimum weight that allows ballast to be used to balance the car etc. All this I consider to be against "the spirit of F1".

F1 should be for experimentation. Remember the twin chassis Lotus, the six wheel Tyrrell, the first turbo Renault, the "fan car", the first pneumatic valves, the first wings that appeared, heavy powerful V12s against nimble V8s, wide cars, narrow cars, cars with low aspect ratio tires and big brakes with suspension against the opposite approach of more compliant higher aspect ratio tires with adverse sidewall flex, long wheel bases, short wheel bases, even air-cooled engines etc. All of that "lateral thinking" is now forbidden. All of that heritage is now reduced to just folklore. F1 should be wide open. Period! No ifs, ands,

[Scuderia_Russ]

Alot of motorsport snobs on this board. The ingenuity required of NASCAR engineers and designers is the same as their F1 counterparts. Having worked on V8 supercars from Oz I can assure you that even though they have a live axle they are an awesome bit of kit.

[Ray]

If I'm not mistaken, and I often am, McLaren electronics, I think, sell parts to NASCAR teams already. So it may be that he is going to be head of the US division of McLaren and not necessarily going directly to a NASCAR team. Either way that is a unique opportunity for him, hope he enjoys the US.

[Ray]

I WAS wrong!

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlin ... index.html

[guy_smiley]

Does anyone know if this is true or a hoax. I can't see why Hallam would even consider leaving McLaren to work for at best, a mediocre NASCAR team. As one person put it, "It's like working on a present day jet fighter then switching to a WW1 bi-plane.

Hmmm what to say: people are interested in different things, people like to take on new challenges, people like to go outside their comfort zones, some people like Enzos and others like 250 GTOs, and to use your airplane example, some people like F-22 Raptors and others like P-51D Mustangs. What I can say is that I don't believe how narrow-minded your post is. You're seriously asking if it is a hoax...simply unbelievable man. So you know, for every person that asks the question (like you) 'why switch to NASCAR from F1' there is another person who asks 'why would this guy switch from MotoGP to F1' or 'why would this guy switch from NASCAR to F1' or 'why would this guy switch from F1 to LMS.' And my opinion is that 90% of them do not do it for the money....Some dudes are just obsessed with racing--no matter what form.

I hope I'm not offending any NASCAR people and I'm sorry if I do but I just don't see the attraction with NASCAR as it's just going around a small arena in a oval.. and most importantly why would a driver swap Formula 1 for NASCAR other than the money.

With Formula 1 you have the chance of world wide exposure as it's a global race, NASCAR is just concentrated on 1 country and even I've heard not all around America has interest in NASCAR, it's just Texans and a few other states.

I'm happy to hear others tell me otherwise. I just find Formula 1 such a challenging motorsport with all the technical aspects besides the actual racing and the cars actually have to deal with different race tracks which vary from every country not to mention, you get to travel the world racing faster than NASCAR cars.

I can't believe what I'm reading! You don't see the attraction of NASCAR, and millions of people don't see the attraction of F1. You don't understand why Juan would go from F1 to NASCAR, and millions of people don't understand why Juan went from CART to F1. Exposure? Some drivers just want to win their championship, not gain worldwide attention. It's just Texans and a few other states? Half of me is laughing and the other half is feeling very very sorry for you. It's popular across North America, in each of the United States, and I'll just go out on a limb here: I'll bet there are even a handful of people somewhere on this earth outside of NA that like NASCAR! Unbelievable isn't it?!?! NASCAR is just as challenging as F1. As many aspects as there are in F1, there are just as many in NASCAR. Each track in NASCAR is just as different as each track in F1. You'll find surprising comments from Juan about how much more diffficult and varied NASCAR is compared to F1. Now I'm just being the devil's advocate here, my real point is that...

they are just different! that's all! Every person is into different things. some, like josep obviously, only care about f1. some only care about lms or motoGP, and tons of us (like me) are just fans of racing in general: we follow 3 or 4 or 5 different series. but if we do only like one series, that doesnt make all the other series stupid or dumb or boring or anything else! people don't have to like (MotoGP, LMS, NASCAR, Grand-Am, JGTC, insert racing series here) but can't we all respect the fact that there are people who do??? arggghhh!

i know someone out there understands! and sorry to go off, just trying to get people to understand.

[fastback33]

If I'm not mistaken, and I often am, McLaren electronics, I think, sell parts to NASCAR teams already. So it may be that he is going to be head of the US division of McLaren and not necessarily going directly to a NASCAR team. Either way that is a unique opportunity for him, hope he enjoys the US.

You mean to tell me, mclaren has an NA divison, that I, as an American student, could weasle may way over to Europe through and into F1? More details are required, please.

[Ray]

If I'm not mistaken, and I often am, McLaren electronics, I think, sell parts to NASCAR teams already. So it may be that he is going to be head of the US division of McLaren and not necessarily going directly to a NASCAR team. Either way that is a unique opportunity for him, hope he enjoys the US.

You mean to tell me, mclaren has an NA divison, that I, as an American student, could weasle may way over to Europe through and into F1? More details are required, please.

Lots of info here. Pick which one you'd like to read.

[casper]

Motorsport industry turnover/earnings by region in 2005:

USA, $25 billion
UK, $12 billion
Japan, $8 billion
Germany, $6 billion
Italy, $4 billion
Australia, $3 billion
France, $3 billion
South America, $2 billion
Spain, $2 billion
South Africa, $1 billion

With the Lehman Brothers debacle, F1 shares are now worth $0.02. Lets just wait what happens to F1 next year. Maybe F1 will only end up with 5 teams - the car manufacturers.

[gcdugas]

With the Lehman Brothers debacle, F1 shares are now worth $0.02. Lets just wait what happens to F1 next year. Maybe F1 will only end up with 5 teams - the car manufacturers.

How many shares are there in circulation? Where did you get this $0.02 valuation? F1 is not a "toxic asset" so it retains its pre Lehman crash values based upon cash return and revenues. If they are $0.02 each I want to but them, all of them. But that is it, CVC has said that they are the only "real buyer" since they have first refusal rights. If Lehman is holding a note that finances the CVC F1 deal then those parties are still obligated to the performance of that note. If Lehman had ten ounces of gold and Lehman goes broke, then the gold isn't suddenly worth pennies an ounce. It is "non-toxic" and retains its value. If Lehman want to sell the gold it can at market rates. If Lehman must now liquidate its CVC F1 funding notes for capital, there is a clause that CVC has the right of first refusal. But should CVC fail to put forth a good faith offer (no doubt contractually defined) then the liquidators for Lehman's holdings have the obligation to seek a better price on the open market. F1 is making a fair return on CVC's investment. CVC can seek another to float a new financing deal or they can put up their own capital. With the shares may or may not go the control of F1. That is in the contracts.

When you finance your home there are clauses requiring you to maintain insurance coverages, to keep the asset in good working order etc. The same can be supposed with the original financing that CVC obtained from Lehman. If CVC kept the asset (F1) in profitable shape and properly administered, then no control would revert to those who financed the deal. Therefore any sale of shares would only entitle the purchaser to their stake in the revenues and executive control would remain with CVC, who are happy to let Bernie run the show.

If the shares were floated at $0.02 there would be a rapid bidding war for them and they would escalate to a fair market price. Who knows, if CVC can't find a rival financier for them to buy back the shares Lehman is now forced to liquidate (as they have first refusal), then maybe some Arabs or even Honda and Toyota (both of whom had great $$$ years in a down market) might buy some equity interest in F1. Wouldn't that be ironic after the GPMA threat!

Its just like those ten ounces of gold. The asset retains its value based upon its performance fundamentals no matter if the holder of those notes has every other "toxic" asset he own turn to mud.

[Ray]

With the Lehman Brothers debacle, F1 shares are now worth $0.02. Lets just wait what happens to F1 next year. Maybe F1 will only end up with 5 teams - the car manufacturers.

How many shares are there in circulation? Where did you get this $0.02 valuation? F1 is not a "toxic asset" so it retains its pre Lehman crash values based upon cash return and revenues. If they are $0.02 each I want to but them, all of them. But that is it, CVC has said that they are the only "real buyer" since they have first refusal rights. If Lehman is holding a note that finances the CVC F1 deal then those parties are still obligated to the performance of that note. If Lehman had ten ounces of gold and Lehman goes broke, then the gold isn't suddenly worth pennies an ounce. It is "non-toxic" and retains its value. If Lehman want to sell the gold it can at market rates. If Lehman must now liquidate its CVC F1 funding notes for capital, there is a clause that CVC has the right of first refusal. But should CVC fail to put forth a good faith offer (no doubt contractually defined) then the liquidators for Lehman's holdings have the obligation to seek a better price on the open market. F1 is making a fair return on CVC's investment. CVC can seek another to float a new financing deal or they can put up their own capital. With the shares may or may not go the control of F1. That is in the contracts.

When you finance your home there are clauses requiring you to maintain insurance coverages, to keep the asset in good working order etc. The same can be supposed with the original financing that CVC obtained from Lehman. If CVC kept the asset (F1) in profitable shape and properly administered, then no control would revert to those who financed the deal. Therefore any sale of shares would only entitle the purchaser to their stake in the revenues and executive control would remain with CVC, who are happy to let Bernie run the show.

If the shares were floated at $0.02 there would be a rapid bidding war for them and they would escalate to a fair market price. Who knows, if CVC can't find a rival financier for them to buy back the shares Lehman is now forced to liquidate (as they have first refusal), then maybe some Arabs or even Honda and Toyota (both of whom had great $$$ years in a down market) might buy some equity interest in F1. Wouldn't that be ironic after the GPMA threat!

Its just like those ten ounces of gold. The asset retains its value based upon its performance fundamentals no matter if the holder of those notes has every other "toxic" asset he own turn to mud.

None of it would matter if we (in the US) didn't have make believe money not backed up by gold. This country is headed for a major Depression and the Banks, the Federal Reserve (unConstitutional I might add), and the IMF are all a part of it. Isn't is a little weird this happens right before a Presidential election? I think not. This country is on it's inevitable slide towards socialism and it's coming to a doorstep near you. I hate socialism and I wish this weren't true, but both Obama and McCain damn near guarantee it.[/size]


Back on topic though, I seriously doubt he'll make a huge dent at MWR. Michael Waltrip is not a very good driver, and if your driver is crap no amount of know-how will fix that. I sincerely hope that he gets what he wants out of it, because I doubt he will be successful with MWR. The NASCAR bubble is about to pop in a major way here soon. They've pretty much killed that gold egg laying goose in my eyes. I'll defend NASCAR against blatant ignorance about left turns and 'low tech' engines and stereotyping of your average American, but I won't defend the 'show' they put on. It's laughable. Toyota has them by the balls for the bad press over JGR with the dyno results and I can't respect a racing series that bends over to a company because they don't like it, and ESPECIALLY one that is a foreign automaker. They lost all respect with me by allowing Toyota to push them around and not severely punish them.