Don Panoz and Race Cars

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Don Panoz

Don Panoz came up with a former drug maker's race car pattern which could make standard cars more efficient. He earned his money by inventing the nicotine patch. Working out of a stockroom in an Atlanta suburb, he was investing some of it to create a slim race car that could change into car racing.

The DeltaWing

The DeltaWing, which seems to be a bit like the Batmobile, is a collaboration between some businesses which includes Elan Motorsport Technologies, one of several corporations Panoz established in the 1990s to build parts for race cars. Its style tapers at the front and features a vertical fin to lessen wind drag. Incredibly thin front tires and other adjustments to regular car design help maintain weight down. Most significant, the body consists of a material developed by Elan named Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System, which is an amalgamated plastic made up of firmly woven threads of polymers including PVC, the stuff applied in piping. It's more affordable and 20 percent lighter than the carbon fiber commonly used in race autos and high end vehicles, and more durable. REAMS can prevent bullet, while carbon fiber shatters on impact.

On the whole, the DeltaWing weighs 1 / 2 as much as a standard Formula One racer when using less fuel and running just as fast. When you have a look at this vehicle, the first thing you consider is that'It's going to fly. David Cole, present emeritus at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor says Detroit auto manufacturers will probably be concerned: "Everybody would love to have something lightweight that absorbs power on impact."

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Panoz was 76. He began his career a long way from the racetrack: He learned as a druggist before establishing a universal pharmaceutical company in 1961. He created the idea for a time-release adhesive spot while at a medical center in 1975. His father got a heart condition, and doctors used nitroglycerine to improve his heart rate. The chemical was used to cardboard and then positioned straight on the chest. The smoke gave Panoz a headache, and he understood a non-permeable support could avoid their release. Panoz went on to obvious an adhesive patch for nicotine and obtained Food and Drug Administration acceptance in 1992. He retired before selecting his son's hobby of creating roadsters and began making vehicles for professional racers.

Panoz made use of the nicotine patch to give up smoking at one side but restarted eleven years ago after witnessing his friend Mario Andretti survive an accident when racing a Panoz-built auto at 170 miles per hour. As he shuttled visitors between two of his plants lately, a cigarette dangled from his left hand. He stepped on the gasoline. "We just touched 80," he talked with a smile. "I like to drive and race."

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minisasha

I love car and car parts, and I would like share my views with you. THanks!

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