01x09 - There Goes a Race Car

[bunniefuu]

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everybody likes race cars but if you

ever wondered what it would be like to

drive a real race car well it gets that

to find out because there goes a race

car

and race cars come in all shapes and

sizes some race against other race cars

some race against the clock

others just race for the thrill of it

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Racing can be dangerous but with proper

training and modern safety equipment

even in wrecks like this

the driver can walk away with just

scratches

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some cars race on dirt track some race

on smooth paved tracks

some are built for no track at all

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race car driver Dave but I'm not a real

race car driver real race car drivers

have agreed to let us pretend for the

day so we can learn all about different

kinds of race cars and what they do

we've chatted out to the hot dry rugged

desert to find out about some of the

most rugged race cars ever built the

off-road vehicles and team Toyota has

invited us to join the team Phish

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off-road racing requires a very special

kind of vehicle one that can stand up to

the beating that the desert trails can

offer this is Toyota's off-road test

vehicle it's used to make sure all the

special equipment works before it's put

into the real race machine this machine

is awesome

as you can see it spends almost as much

time in the air as it does with its

wheels on the ground

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oh look at this this is the truck that

Ironman Stewart drove to the

championship in the Baja 1000 it's neat

it's the fastest off-road vehicle in the

whole world now while it may look like a

truck underneath it's one of the most

sophisticated racing cars ever built

it's very special take a look at these

tires even they are specially built for

offroad handling that rough terrain and

these things twist off so the tires can

be changed very quickly in fact the pit

crew can change the tires and fill the

gas tank and having back on the road

racing in just 20 seconds there's a big

spare tire back here now I told you this

was a sophisticated racing machine under

the surface let's take a look oh no I

didn't break the car this is just the

fiberglass shell most off-road races are

from 250 miles to a thousand miles long

so they have to carry a lot of gas

that's what this is for

this is the gas tank now the engine in

this off-road vehicle is located in the

middle so everything is properly

balanced in fact it's almost underneath

the driver's seat behind the engine is

the transmission it's big and strong

kind of like you'd find in one of those

big 18 wheelers back there but it has to

be big and strong to take all the abuse

everything in this car takes a lot of

abuse and because of that it creates a

lot more heat so all the systems from

the brakes to the transmission to even

the shock absorbers have to have their

own cooling system if you look at these

shock absorbers you'll see that their

little fins all the way down them that's

so that it helps can't render the heat

or cool it down or dissipate the heat oh

just kidding you know the inside of this

car is very different than the car you

have at home oh there's the usual gauges

of course but a lot of other things are

very different look at the seat belt

it's the kind you might fight in a

fighter jet of course there's a button

over here no it's not an eject button

it's a fire extinguisher button you push

that and it sprays the whole car down

with stuff that puts out the fire should

you have one you know there's no

windshield either that's because there's

so many rocks flying around it just

break anyway but you do wear a helmet to

protect your face from those flying

rocks and you know what else there's no

door

oh man

Ironman Stewart the off-road Jupiter

you're not talking about Ironman Ironman

Stewart yes the guy won the Baja 5000

six times right here 500 what is it 500

followed your career I really liked

everything he won the Baja 500 six times

I know

1000 last year this guy's the best in

the world

I understand that my crew chief we got a

job for you guys to do today we're

looking for the crew chief Mike my name

is Jeff Huber you are the crew chief how

nice to be a star driver Dave right

there Chris car driver Becky we're

friends of iron mans and we're new team

members he said you had a job for us

that's great yeah we do have plenty of

jobs I'd like for you to do yeah is to

go down the racecourse make sure it's

free of obstacles for the racecar the

race starts in less than an hour

whoo-hoo-hoo an hour here's the map you

to do know how to read a map don't you

oh yeah here we do yeah okay that's an

error okay great so just follow the map

in your truck all right thanks yes all

right I got the map many many times

don't forget your seatbelt to be

dangerous

all right straight ahead oh wait a

minute we go this way now we got this

way now this right here we go this way

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alright alright according to the map we

take a left at the big Bush Oh bush

there's lots of big bushes well it says

here take a left at the big bush there's

a big Bush right there I know but how do

we know this is the right big Bush well

just it's gotta be the right it's good

it's the big it's the bush you sure

gasps okay this is it I'm stopping and

I'll tell you why we've been driving

around for an hour and I know this race

is started what Dave when we stop

forward so I told you we're not last me

just a little all right look see this we

have a radio call for help down the team

I don't wanna let down the team and

they'll know we don't know what we're

doing we are lost

look not lost we're not lost no right

here

okay then Christopher Columbus where do

we go now

well even he didn't want to find a new

world on his first trip which way Dave

that way

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well Becky was right the race had

already started and even without our

help

Ivan Ironman Stewart was doing just fine

but the racecourse is full of twists and

turns and anything can happen

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whoa wait a minute what are you stopping

for I'm not stopped stuck we're stuck no

now we are gonna have to call in for

help no no we're not calling you're

gonna get out and push

I'm gonna get out your eyes it is you're

gonna push

I'll push I'll push I'll push but you

are gonna let me drive

fine fine is right now we're stuck all

right okay let her go let go

hey wait a minute wait for me Becky

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while we were stuck in the desert

I've an Ironman Stewart continued to

dominate his race his race truck was

performing flawlessly but it wasn't long

before it was time for a pit stop and a

new set of tires

20 seconds later he was back on the

course and headed for the finish line

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[Applause]

well it had been some time now and we

were still lost or should I say confused

no I think it's safe to say we were lost

so we headed to the top of the nearest

hill to get a better look at the terrain

Oh No do you see what I see

that looks like the base camp to me it

is the base camp well we still haven't

found the course but we found the camp

so much for this map I just don't get it

well let's go face the music

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Oh Dave I can't believe we got lost we

should have had a compass we should

uh-oh where have you two been the race

is over

over we got lost but look we read the

map look you have the map upside down

you told me that you knew how to read a

map

you said you know how to read a map

should have asked for help should never

be afraid to ask for help

the demolition derby is another fun form

of racing the idea here is to crash into

the other cars without doing too much

damage to your car you can only hit from

the front on the back of the other cars

and they've all been specially modified

for safety the last car still running at

the end of the race is the winner

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way to go double-oh-seven

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[Applause]

stock-car racing takes place on an oval

or circular track the cars race against

each other and traveled well over a

hundred miles Brown

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each car has its own support vehicle

usually a big 18-wheeler that carries

the car from place to place and has all

the spare parts

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look at this great race car we've come

to Tucson Arizona now to a NASCAR race

at the Tucson Raceway now this car

behind me is pretty neat

it might look like a car you might see

at home on the street but it just looks

like one because underneath it's totally

different it has 500 plus horsepower

it'll go a hundred and sixty five miles

an hour in the straightaway and it is

fast and guess what

the Eagle snack team has agreed to let

me Dave be part of the pit crew

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hi I'm Bobby lion driver of the Eagle

snack Southwest tour stock car a lot of

hard work but a whole bunch of fun and a

great thing to get into for all you kids

so come on let's go work on the car and

have some fun

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each member of the crew has a special

job to do

even the slightest difference in tire

pressure can mean the difference between

winning and losing the race take a look

at these tires real close if you do

you'll notice that there isn't any tread

on the tires they're totally flat now

the reason for that I'm told is that it

keeps more of the surface of the tire on

the track now it doesn't allow the car

to slide around so much

this is a stock car look at the size of

that engine it's really pretty basic

there's the radiator there that keeps

the engine cool engines right here boom

boom boom boom boom makes the power that

goes to the wheels and makes the car go

fast and come down here in the c*ck

and look around for really very simple

no air-conditioner no stereo nothing

like you have in your car at home just a

steering wheel shifter a gas pedal a

clutch pedal and one seat for the driver

and then there's this roll cage that

keeps them safe should the car roll over

well we're ready to race a Tucson

Raceway Park but we always keep safety

in mind we have my drivers suit my shoes

my helmet and my racing gloves all for

the sake of safety and remember always

race on the racetrack never in the

street now Dave and the team at the car

ready to go so let's go racing

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yeah

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pit stops are an important part of

racing everything must be done as

quickly and as safely as possible to get

the car back onto the track and back

into the race

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[Applause]

these are Top Fuel dragsters they're

built for just one thing going as fast

as possible from a standing stop to his

fastest 200 miles an hour in the quarter

mile

first they warm up the tires for better

traction and then they are ready to beat

the clock

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they go so fast they need a parachute to

stop

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look at those babies those are formula

forts we've come to serious point race

courts this is one of the most famous

race courses in the world it's unlike an

oval track where they just go around on

a circle it's two and a half miles long

and has sharp curves hills and valleys

it's really a great racecourse

this is also the home of the Skip Barber

Racing school one of the best racing

schools in the world in fact this is

where Tom Cruise trained for his scenes

in Days of Thunder some of the best

racecar drivers in the world drive here

here comes one of them now

racecar driver Becky

well I just finished three days of

racing school because there's more to it

than just driving the car I mean there

are at least ten different flags I mean

there's the fit flag the flat flag a

debrief like a caution flag the flags

the only flag I care about Becky is that

checkered one I'm gonna see when I win

that race and cross that finish line the

Skip Barber school is like any other

there are classes and teachers both men

and women can attend some even go on to

become famous racecar drivers but the

big difference here is that on the very

first day of school you get to drive the

racecar

but just like any other school you've

got to pay close attention to what the

teacher has to say okay racecar driver

Becky remember these are some of the

things you need to know when you're out

there driving first when you come

towards a corner make sure that when you

start breaking the car that you squeeze

on those brakes gently don't want to get

on the brakes abruptly smash on the

brakes and lock the tires up if you get

a skid like that then you're in trouble

remember when you're coming through the

corner make sure that you use your eyes

and look where you want to go same thing

is true on the street you always want to

be looking ahead to make sure you're not

by surprised by things coming out of the

corner as well look ahead see if you can

see any other cars you're racing with

you gotta start planning those passes

setting up those moves keep yourself

from being surprised just like on the

street driving in traffic you always

want to be looking ahead then also

shifting when you're shifting the car

either down shifting approaching the

corner shifting up as you come out of a

corner always do that in a straight line

you never want to shift in the middle of

a corner you might lock those rear tires

up you could cause the car to skid

remember also the flags you got to

remember the flags it's the way they

communicate with you on a racetrack you

don't want to be surprised by some

situation ahead of you flags will tell

you what's coming up so you know how to

deal with it

this first flag is a green flag it's

used to signal the start of the race you

wave it like this the race is on in your

racing

next flag will call a caution flag or

yellow flag signifies that there's been

an accident on the track and there's

basically two ways to hold this up one

if you're holding it like this means

that it's this little accident you might

have to slow down a little bit or if you

wave it like this that means there's a

big wreck and you need to be ready to

slow down a whole lot next flag I've got

is what we call a debrief flag that's

the signal that there might be some oil

or car parts on the racetrack that's the

driver know there's something to be

aware of and they might have to avoid it

usually held out like this this is what

we call a passing flag there's to let a

driver of a slower car know there's

someone coming up behind him held out

like this let's that driver know that

they need to move over and let the car

pass them this flag is what we call a

mechanical black flag or a meatball

let's the driver's car know that there's

something wrong something about to break

or possibly already broken should bring

that car into the pit lane so that he

can get take care of it before he has an

accident usually held out like this and

then the last flag I've got here is the

black and white checkered flag

it means the race is over when you wave

this flag you're done racing here at the

Skip Barber Racing school the primary

car that the drivers are trained in is

called a Formula Ford that's what this

is now formula means simply that they

don't have any fenders the wheels are on

the outside and they're not covered up

the cars are really very basic they're

really just kind of a cage that you ride

in as you can see from this steel frame

here now if we look closely we'll see

they only have three pedals just the

clutch pedal the brake pedal and the gas

pedal as we move into the c*ck fancy

seat belts to hold you in there's a

small almost tiny steering wheel a four

speed shifter and not as many dials as

you'll find in your car at home there's

a water gauge a tachometer so you can

tell how fast the engine is going human

and a gas gauge as we move back towards

the rear you'll find the engine it's a

small Ford engine a four-cylinder puts

out about a hundred and ten horsepower

now it doesn't have to be very big

because the car is so light this engine

can push the car at a hundred and forty

miles an hour top speed as we look

towards the rear you'll find the

transmission and then these cars are

equipped with disc brakes they're kind

of unique because instead of the disk

being located up by the wheel they're

located here by the transmission this is

the disc and these are the little units

that clamp down on the discs to slow the

car down and that's pretty much what

this car is all about it's a beautiful

car and I'll bet it's a lot of fun to

drive I can hardly wait I guess you can

say I know just about everything there

is no about that you may know everything

there is to know about cars but you

don't know the first thing about racing

racy right hey you just put the pedal to

the metal right okay then how about a

little race school is race car drivers

challenge

the drivers are in their cars they look

ready to go now the flagging used a

thumbs up

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break the car driver Dave is pulling

ahead of the straightaway

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wait

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ladies and gentlemen away

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oh I shouldn't have done that

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hey how about a right

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I should have gone to racing school

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[Applause]

well we've seen all kinds of race cars

and if you'd like to learn more about

race cars you can visit your local

library

remember racing is fun but never ever do

it on public streets and only do it with

proper supervision and proper training

so until next time we'll come on let's

race again maybe I'd better go back to

school have fun thank you all right this

is live and Ironman Stewart I'd like to

encourage all you kids to stay in school

get a good education enjoy yourself

always enjoy the races and especially

off-road racing and remember that we are

professionals we were safety uniforms

safety belts fire systems is a very safe

sport providing to it right remember

we're professionals don't try this on

your own and I'll see you at the races

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you

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