All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S12E04.Indy.Car.Special.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-XEON_track3_[eng]

Do not try
any of the experiments

You are about to see
at home.

You heard him.
Don't do it.

On this turbocharged
episode of "Mythbusters"...

...The whole team feels the need
for speed in an indycar special.

Holy crap!

First up, it's
a sporting-superstar showdown...

Show you how we do it
in the olympics.

...In a short-course sprint
that'll knock your socks off.

Go!

Can man beat car?

That was close.

Then, there's
some sensational suction...

Whoa!
Look at that.

...As the guys see
if a road-hugging race car

Really can mobilize
a manhole cover.

You're getting faster.

Beautiful.

Meanwhile, kari, tory,
and grant strip down...

Apparently, my intestines
are measuring 101 degrees.

...Then suit up.

I'm about to drive an indycar
for three hours! Whoo-hoo!

...To test out
a race-day, weight-loss myth...

goodness gracious, that's fast.

...That pushes them
all to the brink and beyond.

I am exhausted.
I feel like I just got beat up.

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam savage...

It's scientific!

...And jamie hyneman.

Quack, damn you.

Between them, more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.

Together with kari byron...

Golden dragon!

...Tory belleci...

Why are we doing this?

...And grant imahara.

Somebody order an explosion?

They don't just tell
the myths.

Aw!

They put them to the test.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

First out of the blocks
is a myth

That pits hamstrings
against horsepower.

What are you doing?

Research.

Only you could call playing
around with toys research.

[ tires squeal ]
so, what's up first?

First up,
we've got at doozy.

There is a myth that a man can
actually outrun an indycar.

I'm sorry.

I don't know any dudes
that can run 220 miles an hour.

He doesn't have to
because this race takes place

Over only a distance
of 30 feet.

Ah.
Well, that's different.

That's all about the physics
of it --

Traction, mass,
that kind of thing.

That might just work.

You feel like running?

Maybe after lunch.

Good idea.

The incredibly indy 500 is
renowned for its rolling starts.

One reason
for this "go, go, go" game plan

Is that indycars struggle to get
a grip from a standing start.

But is their traction
really so terrible

That in a 30-foot,
man-versus-car race-off,

It's the human who'd take
the checkered flag?

Well,
what better place to test it

Than america's mecca
of motorsports?

We've been lucky enough,

In the course
of doing this show,

To film
at some pretty iconic locations.

We got to escape from alcatraz.

Welcome to the rock.

We got to throw pennies
off the roof

Of the empire state building.

Wow.

And we looked for jimmy hoffa

On the 50-yard line
of the meadowlands.

But today, today, I am standing
on the starting line

Of the most famous track
in racing,

The indianapolis motor speedway,

Known, because of this strip I'm
standing on, as the brickyard.

These bricks
are some of the 32 million

Used to build the original,
2 1/2-mile-long track

Back in 1909.

The speedway's seen
speed records smashed

And a lot of cars trashed
in its 100-year history.

But safe to say it's never seen
anything quite like this.

Well,
our track is all set up.

You ready for some sprinting,
hoosier?

I'm good to go. All we need
is a car and a drive.

I'm not psychic, but I believe
one is showing up posthaste.

Hey, everybody.

Hey, ryan. How's it going?
Good.

Ryan briscoe's
a bit of a legend around here,

Not just for his driving,
but for walking away

From this calamitous crash
back in 2005.

Today,
he's offered to coach adam

On how to get off
to a flying start.

You've got
a lot of horsepower here,

And the key
is really gonna be, you know,

Getting that feeling
with the clutch

And not stalling it 'cause
it's got a very touchy clutch.

So, you're gonna have
lots of rpm.

And then, just find
that bite point.

Get those tires spinning,
and off you go.

With a top speed
of over 240 miles per hour,

These are the fastest race cars
in the world,

And adam's pretty quick to get
his butt behind the wheel.

All right,
I'm gonna start it up.

Wow.
I feel a rumble in my soul.

"rumble" is right
because this car goes

From zero to 100
in three seconds flat.

Let's see
how adam handles the horses.

Well, that was a little spotty.

I'm gonna give it
another few tries.

Any minute now,
I'll be ready for hyneman.

After four practice starts,

Adam's convinced
he was born to burn rubber.

So, cue test number one --

700 horsepower
versus one hopeful hyneman.

You wouldn't think it would be
much of a contest,

But here's the thing.

I weigh a little over a tenth
as much as that car does.

So, I might just be a little
quicker getting off the line.

The feeling trackside is it's
gonna be close, so let's see.

Are you ready?
Start your engines.

go!

Sure enough, there's
barely the width of a moustache

Between them.

I don't know.
It was a close finish.

That was close!

The high-speed shows
adam flashing through for a win

In the last fraction
of a second.

It's so close
there's no question

This calls for a do-over.

Start your engines.

Go!

To the naked eye,
it's another close call,

But the high-speed shows adam
has increased his edge.

How'd that go?

You were ahead of me
by about three feet that time.

Really?
Yeah.

It's amazing to watch it
because I'm leading you

Right up until about I'm ready
to cross the finish line.

And then, there you are,
and you're gone.

I did spin out a bunch
at the starting line.

You want to go one more time?
Yeah.

This is jamie's last chance
to confirm the myth

And boost the morale
of pedestrians everywhere.

But it's not
third time's a charm.

I think
I got my ass kicked.

This time, adam wins out
by way more than a nose.

I thought I did pretty well.

A couple of those runs, I was
neck-and-neck with the car.

But I'm just wearing
street clothes,

And maybe if we put somebody
in proper gear,

And maybe if that person
happened to be

A little younger than me,
a.K.A. Adam,

He might have a fighting chance.

Yep.

Just down the track,

We've got sprint-king savage
up against hair-trigger hyneman.

He's no usain bolt,

But the finish of this race
is certified gold.

Next up is
a "lose weight real fast" myth

That should get
anyone's motor racing.

Okay, indycar special.
What have we got?

All right.

This one sounds a little fishy,
but here it goes.

It's that,
during the course of a race,

An indycar driver
can lose 10 pounds.

Seriously?
10 whole pounds?

That's what they say.

Wait a minute.

Does this mean
we're gonna be driving race cars

To test this myth?
I hope so.

I'm gonna go suit up.

Excited much?

If this diet dilemma is true,
it's one of the most exciting

And potentially perilous ways
ever to slim down in a hurry.

The weight these drivers
supposedly shed

Is due to extreme exertion
and plenty of perspiration.

But 10 pounds is
more than most of us

Could hope to lose in a month.

All right.
I'm ready to race.

Since this is about
sweat, maybe we should
narrow it down first

And find out how much
water weight you would lose

In three hours
from just heat alone.

That's a good idea.

That way, we could get a
baseline before we hit the road

And see if driving itself
causes you to lose

More or less weight
than that.

Exactly.
Kari, know any good spas?

Well,
that's a stupid question.

Better question is
where did you have a race suit?

I'm always prepared.

The green flag drops
on the control test,

So for now, tory can leave
the race suit behind.

Down here, the dress code is --
well, let's call it relaxed.

Now, we do a lot of crazy things
on "Mythbusters,"

And most of them
aren't that pleasant.

But finally,
we're doing an experiment

Where it sounds like
it's not gonna be so bad.

Think again because a sauna
gets up to 120 degrees,

Which is the same temperature as
the inside of an indy cockpit,

And we're gonna be in there
for three hours,

Which is the same length of time
as a full race.

In fact, things just
might turn unpleasant enough

For some medical monitoring.

And we've got that stitched up.

Dr. Clifford sewell
will be monitoring us.

We have thermometers
that we've swallowed...

For science.

...Ingestible thermometers
that are wireless.

He can take our core temperature

And make sure
that everything's okay.

well, that was a big one.

They'll weigh themselves now,

Then again when the three-hour
furnace has finished.

Tory's the first to proclaim
his poundage to the public.

Okay, so, I weight 176.

As for kari's gross tonnage...

I'll write it down.

Grant strains the scales
up to...

137?

Now all that's required is
a sizable snooze in the sauna.

But how much of their mass
will go missing?

Whew!
Three hours of this?

this is hot!

Now, normally, when you're
in a sauna, it's very steamy.

But as you can see,
we're going with the dry sauna.

The reason why is if there's
too much moisture in the air,

It's too saturated.

When we sweat,
our sweat won't evaporate,

Which means we won't be losing
weight from losing the moisture.

This is a common method
for people to shed

Some water weight
really quickly.

Models, jockeys, fighters,
they all do this kind of thing.

So, I mean,
I think it's a possibility.

10 pounds is quite a lot.

I'm not looking forward to it.

Hey, you guys come to the sauna
often?

Aah!

Ew! Really?

As the minutes
and hours melt away,

The perspiration puddles
and pools,

And it seems like
each of our sweat hogs

Has his own odd response
to heat stress.

For tory, it's all just a drive
in the park...

You see, I'm pretending like
I'm driving an indycar.

...While grant has his eye
on the instruments.

Apparently, my intestines
are measuring 101 degrees.

According to science,
grant's hot.

But with just minutes
of hot-house hardship

Left to endure,

The guys decide
they can brazen it out.

Thank god we are done
with the experiment.

We've been in here
for three hours.

Now it's time to go out
and weigh ourselves

And see if we lost weight.

It's a good thing 'cause I was
about to lose the towel.

I'm lightheaded.

All right, grant.
You weighed 137 before the test.

Get on the scale and see
how much weight you lost.

136.

All right.
So, you lost a pound.

The news is no better
for she who suffered most.

Looks like you lost
one pound of weight.

That was just one pound?
Yeah.

And for the man who did get in
some driving practice...

Wow, I lost two pounds.

That's far from the 10 pounds
the myth talks about,

So it's got to be
more than heat.

It's got to also be exertion
and stress.

Well,
you know what that means.

I think we need to add driving
to the mix.

Let's hit the showers.
It's that way.

Sweet.

After the break...

Whoo-hoo!

...Tory tries
to lose 10 fast pounds

Without hitting the wall...

My heart is racing
a little bit faster now.

...While adam redlines

In the challenge
of beating the indycar.

Oh, my god.
It's so close!

That's crazy.

There's not much on four wheels

That could outrun
a turbocharged indycar,

But one myth says
a man could do just that

If the course
was just 30 feet long.

And while vintage jamie
ran out of steam...

I think I got my ass kicked.

...A slightly younger model
might reverse the result...

Now it's my turn to run.

...With the help
of an added spring at the start.

So, jamie was running from what
I would call a standing start.

I'm going to use
a little technology to help me,

A racer's set of chocks.

Now I'm ready.

Start your engines.

Go!

Ohh!

It's officially a photo finish,

And adam's the first to consult
with the stewards.

Oh, my god.
It's so close!

That's crazy.

He is literally beating me
by a nose --

By, like, the five inches
of the nose of the indycar.

Let's do it again!

Aah!

I don't think I won!
But I was close!

Well, that's one way to put it.

The replay confirms

That this race
was a frame-perfect dead heat.

Jamie, that was a tie.

Way to go.

You want to go one more time?
Sure. Why not?

All right.

This will be adam's last run,
and, boy, does he know it.

I want to win.
I want to win so badly.

Go!

I think he smoked me
on that one. Shoot!

It's exactly what happened
to jamie with his runs.

Third time unlucky on those
fast-fading, middle-aged legs.

That might be
some of the most fun I've had

Testing a myth ever.

Yeah,
those cars are great.

I'll tell you
what I'm seeing.

When I'm running
and you're driving,

We've got a shot
at the beginning

That makes it look like
I'm smoking the car.

I'm way faster off the line,

But 30 feet later,
you're ahead of me.

Yeah,
I saw the same thing.

I thought
I was winning the race.

And then, there's a car,
and it's gone.

I don't think we can call it
based on these tests alone.

No. We're not done yet.
No.

Grant, tory, and kari
are sweating on a myth

That says an indycar driver

Can drop 10 whole pounds
in body weight

During a three-hour road race.

But an experimental sweat-a-thon

Saw them shed just four pounds
between them,

So it's time to shift up a gear.

All right,
so, to properly test this,

We need to go to the source,
which means we're also going

To the
indianapolis motor speedway.

But there's a catch.

There's only one car,
so only one of us can drive.

All right, I'll do it.

I'll take the bullet here.
I'm willing to do this.

No, I think
we should wrestle for it.

No, no, no.

Wait a minute.

Roshambo?
It's the only fair way.

Yes!

I'm super-happy for you.

Let's do this!
That felt good.

We decided to come here because
we needed to step it up.

We need to find out if tory
can ride around this track

And lose 10 pounds.

But first,
we're gonna need a car.

And this is the car.

It's a dallara.

It weighs about 1,200 pounds,
has 750 horsepower,

Is capable of driving
at 210 miles per hour,

And can pull two to three g's.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing.

It costs about $1 million
to put this car on the track.

And while tory gets
some intensive driver's ed...

Don't be afraid to let out
and gas at the same time.

You kind of want to go...

...Grant and kari get
a first-hand account

Of the punishing pursuit

These pro drivers go through
from ryan briscoe.

Each time I hit the brake pedal,
it's like 150 pounds.

And I'll be doing that
literally hundreds,

Maybe, you know,
thousands of times in a race.

And the steering wheel
is really heavy.

No power steering.

It's like pushing probably
40-pound to 50-pound weights

Every time
I'm turning the wheel.

And that is, like,
thousands and thousands of times

During the race.

Sounds like racing at indy

Amounts
to a three-hour boot camp.

Couple that with the heat
and the pulse-thumping terror

Of taking
these 200-mile-an-hour turns --

Well, you can see how you might
kick a few calories.

Was that so much fun?

It didn't suck.

There's
just one piece of business

To tend to before the big race.

All right, so, the weigh-in --
184 pounds.

All right. So, that's
your before-race weight.

For this to be confirmed,
after you're done,

That's got to say 174.

What are you waiting for?
Go get in the car!

All right.

you got three whole hours.

Tick-tock.

There's a lot of pressure on me
right now.

And I'm not gonna lie --
I'm a little nervous.

Who am I kidding?

I'm about to drive an indycar
for three hours! Whoo-hoo!

All he has to do
is stay on the track, go fast,

Pump some break-pedal iron,
and perspire freely,

Which should be, well,
no sweat.

I'm in the zone.
Let's do this.

All right. Good luck.
Thanks.

That looks like
so much fun!

Now, here's
why tory might lose 10 pounds.

He's covered head-to-toe
in fire-retardant material,

Including a head sock.

Then, he's got his race uniform
and his helmet.

He's gonna be hot,

And that means he gonna sweat
in order to cool down.

And then, there's the exertion.

Even at these speeds,

This car generates
a lot of downforce,

Which means the steering's gonna
be really hard in every turn.

Finally, there's the stress.

See, most of this course,
the walls are concrete.

You make one mistake,

If you have
one lapse in judgment,

You're in the concrete,

And a $1 million car
is destroyed,

Not to mention risking injury
or death.

That's a lot to think about.

In fact, there's almost no end
to the stresses and strains.

On the turns, tory's pulling
as much as three g's,

And that means he feels like
he's carrying

Three times his own weight.

My neck muscles
are definitely sore

Trying to keep in position

As I'm going around those turns
at high speeds.

My arms are getting sore.

I keep my foot slammed
on the gas

Probably harder than I have to,

But the adrenaline is rushing
so much

That I kind of forget
that I'm doing it.

The adrenaline's pretty much
worn off for grant and kari.

There's a limit to how long

You can watch someone else
have the time of his life.

Whoo!

Whoo!

I wish I had a watch on.

Back on the track, tory's
delight has turned to disquiet.

So, it's just started raining.

I don't have any rain tires
on this car,

So the stress factor
has just gone up

Because there is
a very good chance

That I could go sliding
into the wall.

My heart is racing
a little bit faster now.

Tory's heart might be faster,

But his speed has dropped off
in the drizzle.

For the last hour,
his top speed is just over 120.

How was that?

Is that it?
Three hours is up already?

It is.

That's it, man. You're done.
oh, my god.

I am exhausted, and I feel
sweaty as I could possibly be.

After three whole hours
and with all that exertion,

Tory's just about swimming
in sweat.

All right. You ready
for the final weigh-in?

Yes.
All right.

After three hours
of driving,

I don't know
if 10 pounds were lost.

181.
I lost 3 pounds in three hours.

Dude, that's it?

That's nowhere near the
10 pounds the myth talks about.

The myth would seem to be
just about dead in the water,

But maybe not.

The rain slowed tory down
for almost an hour...

And no other cars on the track

Means less stress
and less exertion.

And that's not the end of it.

Now, another factor,
and perhaps the biggest one,

Is the temperature.

We're here at
the indianapolis motor speedway,

But we're here
in the off season.

During the indy 500,
it wouldn't raining,

And it would be
about 30 degrees warmer.

One thing they can't do
is hang here till summer,

So it's time
to warm up a plan "b"

And get this myth
to the finish line.

Still to come, we find out
if indycar suction...

Holy crap!

...Can literally
rip up the road.

You're getting faster.
149.

Beautiful.

Now to tackle a myth
that starts,

And might end, in the sewer.

I've got one.
Okay, shoot.

You know, I've heard that
at about 150 miles an hour,

When indycars are doing
a street race,

Their aerodynamic effects
are enough

To pull manhole covers
right out of the manholes.

No way.

Dude, that is totally something
we have to test.

I thought you'd like that.

When indycars
take to the street,

It's standard practice
to weld shut any manhole covers

In case the cars suck them
right out of the ground.

That's because indycars
are built to take full advantage

Of bernoulli's principle.

As the air underneath the car
gets funneled faster,

It causes the air pressure
to drop,

Helping the car
to stick to the road.

That same downforce

Can supposedly suck up
a manhole cover.

But is this myth destined
for the drain?

This manhole-cover story
is gonna be hard to test.

There's a ton of logistics
just making sure

We don't damage the indycars
in any way.

Well, what say
we get our feet wet first

With a small-scale
at nasa's water tunnel?

See if there's anything
to this suction effect at all

And then go from there?
Exactly.

Perfect.

I'm standing in the nasa
ames research facility's

Fluid mechanics lab,
and this place

Is almost like
one of our second shops.

In that wind tunnel right there,

We tested whether or not you
should leave your windows open

In a hurricane.

It doesn't matter!

Today, it's all about race cars.

They're studying
the car's aerodynamics,

But they'll do it with water.

Air and water
are very different mediums,

But when engineers work
with them,

They tend to think of them both
as fluids.

And because water is
so much more dense than air,

If we inject a dye
into a moving column of it,

We can more clearly visualize

How it's interacting
with another object.

In this case,
our object is the car.

The first test is simply to see

How the currents are moving
around their 1/18-scale indycar.

All right.
Let's turn on the dye.

This is where science
gets seriously seductive.

Ohh.

Oh, that is so beautiful.

Once this smoothes out,

I feel like we might see
something underneath.

Looks like the bottom surface
of the car

Is very,
incredibly low-turbulence.

The water tunnel,

In addition
to looking really cool,

Is actually giving us exactly
what we were hoping to see.

That is, these cars are famous
for their downforce,

How much air pressure
they're able to use

To push themselves
into the ground

And give themselves
more traction.

If that's the case,

We would expect to watch this
move air over its top

Rather than under its bottom,

And that's what we're seeing
from the model.

Now that we've seen that, it's
time to find out what happens

When we drive this model
over a scaled manhole cover,

And that's
what our next test is.

Adam's mini manhole
weighs next to nothing,

But it might disclose a clue
as to whether

The shape of the car can show up
some suction.

There we go.

For good measure, he pumps
red dye into the tiny tunnel

To see if the predicted change
in pressure

Sucks it up to the surface.

Ohh!
Look at that!

So,
our little car picked up

Our little,
plastic manhole cover

And took it
right along with it.

So, that means there is
some kind of suction

Being created by this car.

To be clear, the car never
actually touches the cover.

But the drag of its shape
is sufficient

To pry loose the plastic
and release the red dye.

It really seems like
the forces we were looking for

Might actually be there,

And that gives us
a perfect excuse,

As if we needed one,

To get to driving
some real-sized indycars.

I'm gonna need a new outfit,
clearly.

You know, the indycar experience
wasn't that great.

It was awesome!

But unfortunately,
we were not able

To test this myth
thoroughly

Because the conditions
weren't the same as a real race.

Yeah, you know,
it wasn't very hot in the car,

And you didn't have
the stress

Of a real,
competitive situation,

Both of which
would have made you sweat more.

I thin I have a solution
for this.

I know a track nearby
that's phenomenal.

It's gonna be hot,
and we all can drive on it,

So it's more like
a real race.

Cool.

The new venue is
thunderhill raceway

In willows, california.

It's a very different kind
of track, and so are the cars.

All right. Now,
I know what you're thinking.

These aren't indycars.

But here's why this test
might give us better data

Than the previous one.

Number one, temperature --

It's 90 degrees out here
at thunderhill today,

And that's not even inside
the car.

In these suits, in the cockpit,
we're definitely gonna feel it.

Number two, physical exertion --

These cars, they don't have
any power steering.

So, we're gonna be
constantly fighting the wheel

To keep it on the track.

Finally, number three,
competition --

All three of us are gonna be
on the track at the same time

In a real race scenario.

Should be fun.

I got to tell you now though,
I'm sort of scared "shiftless."

You'd better believe it.

In fact, kari's so distracted
that this time,

She announces her weight
to the world.

my beginning weight is 124.

Grant follows.

Oh, really? 145?

Then, tory.

All right, 180.

So, after this race,
I should weight 170,

If this myth is true.

Let's start shifting
those pounds off.

Once they've all had
a last-minute health check...

About 74. Excellent.

...Our three rookie racers
get the green light.

Hold on.

And within minutes,
they're feeling the heat.

I'm feeling
extraordinarily sweaty,

And I feel a lot of exertion
on to --

Well, that would be
turn number 11,

Where I'm having a hard time
keeping the car on the track.

Ohh.
Goodness gracious, that's fast.

So, apparently,
the car has a mind of its own

And wants to go off-roading.

Even with only three cars,

I'm definitely feeling
an adrenaline bump

Whenever I get close to kari,
who's going much slower,

Or I try and catch tory,
who's going much faster.

It just raises
that level of adrenaline,

And that adrenaline burst
raises your heart rate

And in turn burns
a lot more calories.

Just like at indy,

They'll stop twice
through the race

To refuel and regain
some composure.

Do you feel dehydrated
at all?

I'm -- like, my throat
is super-dry.

Then, it's back to the tarmac

To hopefully forfeit
another few pounds.

It occurs to me
that there are three things

That make this a much different
test than the sauna.

One is concentration.

You have to focus entirely
on keeping this car on the road.

If you lapse for a second,

You're off the road
and in the the dirt.

Two, this is a workout.

This is no power steering,

So you actually have to
muscle it into place.

And the third thing --
it's the g load.

Let's just wind
back to that first thing again.

I'm sure grant murmured
something about concentration.

Ah.

Just a momentary lapse
in concentration,

And I was off the tracks,
spinning out,

Dirt flying everywhere.

This is hard.

Real hard.

Back on the track,
tory's still pushing the pedal

As hard as he did on lap one.

This is probably the best day of
experimenting ever on this show.

I'm exhausted. I'm sweaty.
I'm hot.

My body is getting fatigued.
I'm sore.

My neck is sore from holding
the weight of the helmet.

I don't know if I'm losing
10 pounds of sweat weight,

But, man, it's tough work.

With kari and grant
also back on the road --

Well, mostly on the road...

...The minutes melt away
to the magic three-hour mark.

I am exhausted.

I honestly didn't think
I would be this tired.

I feel like I just got beat up.

The truth of this myth rests

On the numbers they'll read
on the scale.

They know they've put everything
into this last-ditch attempt,

And it's ladies first.

Let's see.

5 1/2 pounds I lost.

What?
Wow.

That's amazing.
Oh, my gosh.

What a diet.

That's almost half the weight
of the myth.

All right, grant.
All right.

Let's see
how much you lost.

4 1/2 pounds.

- Whoa.
- Whoa.

I had no idea.

That's
pretty incredible.

I lost 5 pounds
after three hours of racing.

I mean, that's half the weight
that the myth talks about.

There's no question
that race-car reducing

Works like a charm.

But is it thumbs up
or thumbs down

For this indycar myth?

So,
how we gonna call this one?

Well,
after three hours of racing,

We did manage to lose,
on average, five pounds,

But that's not the 10 pounds
that the myth talks about.

Yeah,
but, what we're doing out there

And a real indy race
are a little different.

Yeah, you know,
I could see a real indy race

Being
a lot more physically demanding.

I could see,
under the right conditions,

With everything
they have on the line,

That they could lose
twice the weight that we did.

Yeah. Right set of circumstances
not an everyday occurrence,

I think we could call this one
plausible.

I agree. Plausible.

Now, who's driving home?

Not you.
Let's just say that.

Me!
What?

Please, don't try what you're
about to see at home.

We're surrounded by experts
that keep us safe.

We get hurt
so you don't have to.

Welcome back.

We're at the
indianapolis motor speedway,

And it's indycar
versus manhole cover.

We're gonna bring an indycar
up to full speed

And see whether its aerodynamics
are powerful enough

To suck a manhole cover
right out of the ground.

Well, look at that.

A manhole --
in the middle of nowhere.

It's not in the middle
of nowhere.

We are in the middle
of the indianapolis
motor speedway complex,

And they dug this
just for our experiment.

Cool.
I'm gonna get to work.

And there's plenty to do.

As well as installing a camera,

They're hooking a force gauge
up to the cover

To measure how much it moves,
if at all.

But the star and the source
of this myth is the cover.

Beautiful.

They made this one themselves
from clear plastic

So sunlight gets through
for the cameras.

And it weighs 30 pounds.

I know what you're saying.

You're saying, "adam, your
see-through manhole cover
doesn't weigh near as much

As a cast-iron manhole cover.

How can this be
an accurate test?

And you're right, except that
we've already thought of it.

We are going to make this weigh
as much as this

With these four chunks
of four-inch-diameter steel.

We are going to bolt them to
the see-through manhole cover,

And it will weigh
exactly as much

As a cast-iron manhole cover.

We got you covered.

There it is.

One scientifically accurate
manhole cover.

And while nobody knows

How this full-scale test
will pan out,

They've all considered
the possible perils of success.

When the car
comes down this road

At 150 miles an hour
and drives over it,

It might just lift
out of the ground.

And that could be very bad

For an instrument as precise
as an indycar

With a ground clearance
of as low as 7/8 of an inch.

So, jamie, right now,

Is tying
some very high-strength line

So that, when we have
the manhole cover in place,

It can only lift
about half an inch.

It won't be able
to actually hurt the car,

But we'll still be able
to measure the force

That it's
actually being pulled up with.

Logan gomez is our driver --
or should I say chauffeur --

Because adam will also have
his butt

Just an inch off the bitumen.

The car is a tandem.

This is where the literal rubber
meets the literal road

Meets the manhole cover.

This indy racing experience car

Exerts just as much downforce
as the real thing.

Target speed for today's test
is 150 miles per hour,

Pretty much the top speed
for a city-street circuit.

In lieu of a steering wheel,
my seat is equipped with these.

We call the hchs. They're
known as holy crap handles.

Holy crap!
Just hold on really tight.

With adam's knuckles
whitening by the second,

Jamie takes charge
for the first run.

I'm gonna call you guys
on the radio

When you're doing
100 miles an hour, all right?

Copy.
Have fun.

It's agreed they'll
start off at a stately 100-per

To get the lay of the land.

It's fast.

Logan warms up the tires,

Shakes adam around
like a strawberry daiquiri,

Then gets down to business.

100.

Logan's fast, focused,
and right on target.

perfect.

Right about 100.

Did we go
right over the manhole cover?

I believe so.

Did you see
any movement?

I couldn't see it,
but then it only comes up

About a half an inch
before it's stopped.

It's true.

The key tool in measuring lift
is the force meter,

And they just can't go on
without sneaking a peak.

Nope, it's totally blank.

It's a rare myth
that has to suck to succeed,

And this is one of the them.

The aim now is for logan
to crank up the speed to 150.

Hey, adam, I can try one
from the end of the runway,

See if we can get
a bit more speed.

Let's do it.

With adam latched tight
to his hch,

Logan whips the horses
up to a full gallop.

140.

149.

You're getting faster.
149.

Beautiful.

Shall we go look
at the evidence?

Let's go look
at the evidence.

All right. My favorite part --
high-speed review.

I'm not seeing it.

Nothing.
Absolute nothing.

It did not budge.

Nope.

Well.
That's pretty definitive.

I think so.

We had our clear manhole cover

Weighing the same
as a cast-iron manhole cover,

And logan passed over it
several times at a top speed

Of almost 150 miles an hour.

And how much movement did we see
on it? Bubkes.

Now, we're gonna pull
all the weight from it

So our manhole cover
only weighs 30 pounds

And see if we can get anything
at all out of this.

And there is
some science here to salvage.

30 pounds is the weight
of an average, flat-screen tv.

And try lifting that
with your home vacuum cleaner.

That's a lot like what adam
and logan are trying now

With the natural suction
of a low-slung race car.

Whatever happens, this will be
the day's last indy drag race.

Well, that was a good speed.
It was 148.

It's right up there
with your top.

Bingo!

Let's see what we got.

Let's see it.

I'm gonna need some help
getting out.

Finally, the cameras
confirm a belated liftoff.

Oh, oh, oh!
Movement!

That is so cool.
Yep! It is lifting.

It is totally lifting.

Yep.
Came right up.

That is awesome.
Let's check the force gauge.

Okay.

37.

37?
37 pounds.

It would have been enough
to lift this out of the ground,

But only just.

Well, here's the thing.

It did pull up
our plastic manhole cover,

And that weighs 30 pounds,

Which means
it's not exactly a paper bag.

But then, it's also not exactly

A cast-iron manhole cover,
is it?

I got to say
I am disappointed,

With all of
our small-scale tests

Showing that there was
definitely a force

Trying to lift
that manhole cover.

And we did see
a significant amount of lift

On the lighter manhole cover,

But it wasn't enough to pull up
the full-sized, 130-pound one,

And not
with a 150-mile-an-hour car.

It's busted.
Yep. It's busted.

Let's go.

Surely, you've heard of
the indianapolis motor speedway,

And not only
because james franklin hyneman

Was born
only 50 miles from here,

For it's 2 1/2-mile oval

Is one of the most famous
in the racing world.

What you might not know
is that this seating complex

Is the largest on our planet,
seating up to 250,000 people

With standing room
for 50,000 more --

300,000 total.

Even though it's empty,
you can hear them screaming...

"science, science"...

Because today, this complex
is ours for the testing.

So far, on our indycar
special, we've seen sweat...

I am exhausted, and I feel
sweaty as I could possibly be.

...Spills...

Goodness gracious, that's fast.

...And, most of all, speed.

You're getting faster.
149.

But there's one fast fable

They haven't seen through
to the checkered flag.

The 30-foot match race
between man and car

Is about to be rerun
with some serious sports talent.

Let's tally up.

When I was driving the race car,
I beat jamie three out of three.

When he was driving
the race car,

He beat me two out of three
with one tie.

neither of us
is a professional driver.

Neither of us
is a professional runner.

I think we need one of each
to continue this test.

Lining up for the showdown are
two the speediest guys on earth.

Ryan briscoe's the man
who will be driving this home.

As for the runner, well,

Only six men in history
have run a faster 200 meters.

You may recognize our runner
for today's episode,

Wallace spearmon.

He's not only the seventh
fastest man on the planet,

Being the 2012 200-meter
olympic trials champion,

But he's also been on an episode
of "Mythbusters" before.

We asked him
to run on the water,

Something it turns out,
surprisingly, humans can't do.

I don't think it's working,
guys.

Try harder.

Today, we are asking him
to do another superhuman feat,

Race himself against an indycar.

I don't mind telling you wallace
is a little nervous about it.

Won't lose to no stinking car.

A car?
I'm faster than a car.

I got this.

Now to find out
if upping the talent quotient

Will swing the result.

All right, gentlemen!
On your marks!

Get set!

Go!

Aah!

That was close.

Do you think you beat him there?
I'm not sure.

Mm, probably the first 10, 15,
but he kind of caught me,

So I'm about to go out,
change a few things.

I think
I can get him, though.

Round 1 went to ryan with that
familiar, flying finish.

But wallace
is just getting warmed up.

I can't tell who won!

In test two, they both got off
to a whip-crack start,

But 30 feet on, it's another
come-from-the-clouds win

For the car.

I just don't like losing.

Good, good! Let's keep
that energy for the last run.

I got you.
All right.

Unless wallace
gets off to a near-perfect start

In the last race, this myth
is about to be roadkill.

Maybe the smart thing to do
is to rethink his tactics.

What's going on,
wallace?

I'm not really known for my
block start. I think I'd
be quicker without them.

It's all about that first start.
You got to get an edge on him.

Definitely.
I'm gonna need something.

He sure is.

Even though wallace
makes jamie and adam

Look like
they're running backwards,

Ryan's also putting their
"miss daisy" driving to shame.

His last run
was just 1.48 seconds,

While the boys' best
was 2 seconds dead.

Now it's pro versus pro
for the very last time.

All right, gentlemen!
On your marks!

Get set!

Go!

Car beat him.

Man.

I haven't got beat like that
since kindergarten.

It's a three-from-three wipeout
for wallace,

But he can tell his friends
that he's raced at indianapolis.

According to our experts,

You can put out
about a horsepower at max

For an impulse.

So, one horsepower,
700 horsepower --

That's not much of a contest,
I guess.

It's not much of a thing,
right?

It shouldn't be as close
as it is.

And close it was
from the very beginning.

So, why is that we came
closer to beating an indycar

Than wallace did?

Well, let me tell you

It's not because we're faster
than wallace.

The fact is that we're
obviously not as experienced

At driving them as ryan is.

Let's just leave it at that.

And the last 10 feet, that's
where it all is, isn't it?

Yeah.

In a 24 race,
it's a dead heat.

We should try that next time.

Maybe even, like, at five or 10.
Something I can run.

You want more?

We've got more.

Log on to
discovery.com/mythbusters

And jump in!