As children, the majority of racing enthusiasts played with scale-model cars of one sort or another whether they were small die-cast cars, slot cars or simple cutout drawings of one’s favorite racing machines. At the Auto Research Center (ARC) in Indianapolis, Champ Car and ARC engineers spent all day working with scaled-down versions of the latest Lola and Reynard Champ Car models, searching for the optimal aerodynamic configuration for the September 25 Champ Car Las Vegas 400 to be held on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval. Champ Car Director of Technology Lee Dykstra and Technology Manager Steve Sewell orchestrated a day-long session at the ARC wind tunnel facility on Tuesday, teaming with the respected engineers from ARC to find a useful superspeedway setup. The goal was to find a way to maintain the high-speed action that fans come to expect from the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford, while still providing a challenge for the drivers. “We could make it so the cars would be flat (full throttle) all the way around the track,” Dykstra said. “But that is not a situation we want our guys to be in. We want to set it up so they have to drive the car and use their skills. By taking out some of the downforce, we will give them cars that are challenging to drive while still being very competitive.”