a question for all.

What if?

     What if we had a stock car race where we asked all the stock car racers to build an alternative energy race car , and compete in a race to see who was most efficient and who could make their car finish the race with the least amount of energy invested. Where the mpg of whatever is used to fuel the car is the winner of one trophy and the other is the first one to cross the finish line. Design of the car could take in a variety of aerodynamic designs and the fuel used could vary from electricity to fuel cell to whatever, as long as it isn’t the standard gas fuel we use now.

     If we could arrange sponsors and use the best minds available and make it a yearly, or a circuit race using the race tracks the stock cars run on today. The reason is to push alternative energy friendly sources of fuel to the forefront of engineering much like the stock cars of today are much more radical in engineering than the basic counterparts of yesterday’s moonshine runners that dominated the Daytona beach. If we could achieve the milestones of engineering we achieved with alternate fuels that we did with the gasoline engine , only do it with a variety of fuels then how would it affect racing.

     How would it be if you had electric motors on all four wheels and these motors are running at different speeds maybe only by a fraction of the amount it would take to turn a wide oval and this speed was controlled by computer as it tracks itself around the oval, would this reduce tire wear when coupled with track adjustments to the frame. Would it reduce vibration in the whole car allowing you more flexibility in driving at higher speeds? Would technologies of quick charging allow batteries to be recharged in a very short time much like the pit stops of today? Or would it be possible to use a hybrid and couple a small generator to the batteries to charge while rolling along possibly using a fuel cell to power the generator, and be able to complete a 500 mile race on one tank of fuel without pitting for tires or anything? How would torque distributed among four wheels affect the performance and handling of a race vehicle, and how would all of his affect the development of our personal vehicles in the future?

    There are limitless possibilities and using the stock car concept would allow more interest in racing from a broader spectrum of folks, who are not only racing fans but also earth loving individuals who have a keen interest in saving the planet. It would still be a race and in the end we all would win from developing new technologies that would allow us to remain in our cars and enjoy the freedom of the open road long after our supply of gas fuel as we know it runs out. Who knows maybe we might come up with something cheaper and easier to use if given the right amount of research money and incentive in the form of public recognition that has fueled the race cars of today.

    So what if?