Abandoned PA turnpike tunnel re-purposed as race car testing site [video]
Posted by staff / April 20, 2013 Chip Ganassi RacingIndy Racing LeagueNASCARPA turnpikerace car testing
If you live near a tunnel in Pennsylvania, chances are you’re frustratingly familiar with people hitting the brakes as soon as the darkness looms, but there’s no slowing down in the Laurel Tunnel that the turnpike left behind.
Locals’ curiosity was peaked when they heard rumblings and revvings coming from the old structure and NASCAR equipment was spotted near Donegal, PA, yet it was only recently that the Chip Ganassi Racing team admitted to using the structure to test aerodynamics since 2004.
According to WebUrbanist:
This straight-line testing has been considered a key to success in the Indy Racing League since track testing was banned in 2004. The facility includes a 460 meter (1509-foot) acceleration zone, with a total length of 1384 meters (4,541 feet.) While the tunnel has provided a virtually ideal environment for testing, it hasn’t been without its snags: there have been several crashes.
Full story at Racecar Engineering via WebUrbanist.
“Locals’ curiosity was peaked” *piqued. Very interesting, I rememeber going through these tunnels when our faimly went on vactions from NJ to the Midwest in the 1960s.