Blackhawk Vintage Classic 2014 Group 4 - Monopostos, Formula V, Formula Ford

Today's batch of pictures will wrap up our coverage of the 2014 Blackhawk Vintage Classic. We'll be going to a few more events this season and the pictures will be found in the pages of P.A.G!

These are all formula Vee and formula Ford. Those technically minded can maybe get some joy from reading the VSCDA's description of group 4:

Cars will run on treaded tires and without aerodynamic devices following Monoposto Racing Rules. This group is sometimes split into two separate race groups, one for Formula Vee and Formula Junior and the second for Formula Ford, Formula B, Formula I & II and Club Fords (on treaded tires).

As for me, these are the cars that look like hot dogs. They're a chassis, wheels, a motor and not much else... oh yeah, a person goes in the middle. The surprisingly small motors get them up to speed just fine. Less is most. I love group 4.

Oooo,  inboard brakes. Cooooooool. Moving the brakes inward and off of the suspension components improves handling by reducing unsprung weight. The idea is to have only the wheel and tire moving up and down with uneven road surfaces.

I don't know of any race car that doesn't look good in Gulf livery.

In this photo, you can pretty clearly see the bar between the wheels on each side of the car. This is a safety measure, intended to prevent the wheels of another car getting tangled in there, causing a horrible crash. Open-wheeled racing is pretty dangerous, as any tire-to-tire contact will probably end with somebody's car getting thrown into the air. But these side bars can prevent some of the worst carnage.

This Lotus was at last year's even, too. It's in perfect, pristine condition. Super clean.