The daunting task of manhandling a 750hp land missile around city streets is a balancing act that provides instant, often spectacular consequences when things go awry. When it's going right, it's a dance that pitches cat-like reflexes, a tightrope walker's feel, and a surgeon's precision alongside the need to nail the gas at the earliest possible moment, slam the brakes for all their worth at the last possible moment, and generally hang on for dear life. It's part ballet, part mosh pit.
The inch-perfect precision isn't just for speed-it's for survival, too. On either side are the unyielding reefs of concrete walls, ready to suck in a car as it threads the needle at 180mph. And by the way, these walls are high enough that you can't see around them. You're dancing blind....
Welcome to street racing, Champ Car World Series-style. Of course, street tracks are nothing new for the series, but as the urban events become central to the series' business plan, and occupy a greater bulk of the schedule, a driver's ability to go fast and stay out of the walls on them is taking on more importance.