Warp Powers Up Indy





The "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" is timed and scored by OS/2
by Bill Stevens

237.555mph! Scott Brayton, a veteran driver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, recorded this lap speed recently during private testing at the Speedway. A far cry from lap speeds of 80mph run during the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was constructed in 1909 as a test facility and proving grounds for the American automobile industry which was centered in Indiana at that time. The manufacturers and teams brought many technological innovations and a commitment to quality to the Speedway during the next eighty years.

This commitment to quality carried over into all aspects of the running of the 500, including Timing and Scoring. "Our goal" says Art Graham, Director of Timing and Scoring for the United States Auto Club (USAC), "is to get the information right the first time, and as quickly as possible. To accomplish this, USAC uses IBM's OS/2 WARP, IBM DB2 for OS/2, and other OS/2 applications to provide the information that is needed to operate the administration of the 500 at the same lightning fast pace as the cars that run it.

The original timing device was built around a ship's chronometer built in 1875 (the most accurate time piece at the turn of the century) and served as the chief timing device into the 1980's. Today, the function of recording events on the track is accomplished using a sophisticated system of computers. The Integrated Race Information System (IRIS) is a PC based system which uses IBM's OS/2 Warp as the foundation. In 1989, the Speedway installed, on a trial basis, a new system of recording events on the track. The system, developed and built in Australia by Dorian Industries, consists of three major components: radio transmitters installed in each of the cars, antennae in the track to receive the signals, and computers to record and analyze the data. The transmitters send out a very low powered signal that includes a unique serial number. Antenna wires are buried in the track surface, configured so that only one car at a time can pass over an antenna loop. The series of antenna loops placed end to end across the track at a particular point make up a time line. When a transmitter passes over an antenna loop, its serial number, the loop number, the time line number, the signal strength, and the time (to 1/10,000 of a second!) are recorded by special computers. There are 22 different time lines in the system where events are recorded. The antenna are attached to Trackside Recording Computers (TRC's) which record and store events (cars crossing a time line). The TRC's receive power and clock synchronizing signals from a collector computer located in the timing tower, and transmit the data stored to the tower through a network. The collector transmits all of the data to a personal computer which formats and sorts the data and passes it on to the IRIS Lap Manager computer. The hardware proved so accurate and stable that it became the prime timing and scoring device in 1990.

The Lap Manager program is an OS/2 application which also uses DB2 for OS/2. It's function is to take the raw data from the transmitter system, and turn it into information that human beings can understand and use. It also provides the operator interface to control the system. The Lap Manager creates a record of each lap completed by every car/driver combination. With 22 time lines, data for 8 individual lap segments are recorded: lap speed, start/finish trap speed, front straight trap speed, back straight trap speed, turn 1 speed, turn 2 speed, turn 3 speed, and turn 4 speed. This information is recorded and distributed to the teams. In practice mode, Lap Manager displays the top ten laps for the current day, a performance history showing the fastest lap of the month for each car/driver combination, the fastest lap of the month, and the number of laps completed in practice. Another section shows all of the cars on the track and each lap run.

The Timing and Scoring group provides different functions at different times during the month of May. On practice days, lap information is gathered for every lap completed, with many cars on the track at the same time. Qualification days bring an added challenge, since not only are the practice programs used, but special qualification programs must be switched in and out. Qualification programs display the lap times of the qualifying cars and its position in the field if it qualifies. The race day programs analyze the events on the track, and display each car's position in the filed relative to the leader.

In addition to being able to accumulate data quickly and accurately, Timing and Scoring must also communicate the information to other interested parties, such as officials, teams, the news media, and the Speedway. Lap Manager accomplishes this by creating multiple data feeds that are sent out to all parts of the Speedway. One feed goes to the television network that is broadcasting the event. When you watch qualification attempts and see the turn speeds appear in the picture, the information is coming directly from IRIS! Another feed was used by a company which broadcast the data by satellite to news pagers around the world. The Speedway now takes race data and uploads it to the Internet (check it out at []), so that fans can see the lap by lap progress of the race. This sure beats the first information system used at the Speedway for radio broadcasters. The car scorers were outfitted with signs that had their car numbers on them which they wore on their backs. As the race progressed and one car passed another, the scorers would change places on a bench, and the radio broadcasters behind them could see each car's position!

The Timing and Scoring functions of IRIS also include tools that officials can use to analyze and administer the race. The Lap Manager sends one event feed to a computer called the Importer that creates SQL statements that load the data into the IRIS DB2 for OS/2 shared database. Located on a database server in the garage area, this database allows officials to run queries in real time against the data to determine pit speed violations, confirm passes under yellow flag conditions, and audit the manual car scorer's score cards. This allows race officials to publish the official standings 12 hours earlier than in the recent past. The graphical user interface of OS/2 and the related products plays a big part in making all of this happen. Director Graham that an easy to use interface is important since most of the officials only perform their duties once a year, and they don't have time to relearn complicated systems.

Another side of IRIS, separate from the Timing and Scoring functions, involves the administrative side of the 500. Previously, different areas of USAC maintained separate records of registration information (entries, team names, fees received, etc.) and technical information (chassis, engine, inspections, etc.). This information can be critical in determining if a car/driver is eligible to qualify or compete. Because of IRIS, data is available at any workstation as soon as it is entered. This insures that all officials have the same information. IndyScope is another OS/2 application that displays the relative positions of the top ten cars on a map of the track. This can be used by race control to know when to send out the pace car when required.

Another feature of OS/2 Warp that attracted USAC is the ability to run DOS, Windows, or OS/2 programs. Director Art Graham stated "The ability to pick the right environment allows us to use the applications that make the most sense to do the job. And it is a great improvement over Windows." In addition, with having to take a scaled down version of the systems on the road to other Indy Racing League events around the country, OS/2 Warp is unmatched in its capability to adapt to rapidly changing needs.

While the Indy 500 could be run without all of the computers and systems, the teams, the officials and the fans would not have all of the information that is available today. The collection, processing and distribution of this information is enabled by OS/2. The ability of the application programs to run multiple threads, and the prioritized multitasking features of OS/2 allow the systems to process the data in a timely manner. "The stability of OS/2 is also a critical factor in deciding to use this operating system" says Director Graham. In the five years of running OS/2 and OS/2 applications at the Speedway, they have not suffered an operating system failure. The importance of stability becomes very clear when you consider that after only two and a half hours of processing data, USAC distributes over $8 million in prize money, and they get only one chance to get it right. In addition, because of the live data going to the media, if something were to go wrong, immediately 20 million fans would know about it! Reason enough to stay with a product that has such a great track record.

''The author, Bill Stevens is founder and President of Stevens Consulting Services, a company specializing in OS/2 Warp, OS/2 Warp Connect, OS/2 Warp Server, and DB2 for OS/2. He is an IBM Certified OS/2 Instructor, IBM Certified LAN Server Instructor, and co-author of Inside OS/2 WARP, a New Riders publication. -ed.''