Editing Open-wheel car (section)

==Design==
A typical open-wheeler has a minimal cockpit, sufficient only to enclose the driver's body, with the head exposed to the air. In the [[Whelen Modified Tour]] and other short track modified series, the driver's head is contained in the car. Depending on the rules of the class, many types of open-wheelers have [[Spoiler (automotive)|wings]] at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat [[undertray]] that helps achieve additional aerodynamic [[downforce]] pushing the car onto the road. While many other categories of racing cars produce downforce, the top categories of open-wheel racing cars (particularly Formula One and [[IndyCar]]) produce far more downforce relative to their mass than any other racing category, allowing much higher corner speeds on comparable tracks. However, this is not always the case; some open-wheel categories raced primarily as development or amateur categories, such as [[Formula Ford]] or [[Formula Vee]], do not permit the use of wings or ground effect aerodynamics.

Virtually all modern open-wheelers have a [[Mid-engine design|mid-engined]] configuration with the engine between the driver and the rear axle line. While most early Formula One cars had a front-engined layout, the mid-engined [[Cooper Car Company|Cooper]] T12 appeared in Formula One in the second-ever race in 1950. In 1958, a later mid-engined Cooper car won its first race and in 1959, Jack Brabham won the first championship in a mid-engined car. Every championship since has been won by a mid-engined car, and the vast majority of racing open-wheeler designs have followed this pattern. Notable modern exceptions include [[asphalt modified]] cars, such as the Whelen Modified Tour, and the [[Caterham Seven]] and its many imitators. 

Some major races, such as the [[Singapore Grand Prix]], [[Monaco Grand Prix]] (sanctioned by Formula One) and the [[Long Beach Grand Prix]] (sanctioned by IndyCar), are held on temporary [[street circuit]]s. However, most open-wheel races are on dedicated [[road course]]s, such as [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] in the US, [[Nürburgring]] in Germany, [[Spa-Francorchamps]] in Belgium and [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] in Great Britain. In the United States, some top-level open-wheel events are held on ovals, of both short track and superspeedway variety, with emphasis  more on speed and endurance than the maneuverability required for road and street course events. The Whelen Modified Tour is the only opened wheeled race car series endorsed by [[NASCAR]]. This series races on most of NASCAR's most famous tracks in the United States. Other asphalt modified series race on short tracks in the United States and Canada, such as [[Wyoming County International Speedway]] in New York. The best-attended oval race in the world is the annual Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) in [[Speedway, Indiana]], sanctioned by IndyCar; in the United States it is quite common to refer to open-wheel cars as IndyCars, because of their recognizable appearance and widespread popularity across America at the Indy 500.
Compared to covered-wheel race cars, open-wheeled cars allow more precise placement of the front wheels on the race course, as the tires are clearly visible to the driver. This allows the maximum potential of the cars to be achieved during cornering and passing. Furthermore, open-wheeled cars are less tolerant of vehicle-to-vehicle contact, which usually results in vehicle damage and retiring, whereas some level of contact is expected in covered-wheel racing, as for example in NASCAR. Open-wheeled drivers must be extremely precise to avoid contact.

Regulations tend to permit much lower open-wheel car weights than in categories that more closely resemble street-legal vehicles, such as [[sports car racing|sports]], [[touring car racing|touring]], and [[stock car racing|stock cars]].  For instance, a Formula One car must weigh at least {{convert|798|kg|lb}};<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Koch|first1=Matt|date=2022-03-17 |title=Minimum weight increase for 2022 F1 cars |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/03/18/minimum-weight-increase-for-2022-f1-cars/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Speedcafe |language=en-US}}</ref> the minimum weight for NASCAR is {{convert|3200|lb|kg|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weaver |first=Matt |date=2021-05-06 |title=Everything You Need to Know About NASCAR Next Gen |url=https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a36333114/nascar-next-gen-car-specs-cost-rules/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=Autoweek |language=en-US}}</ref>