# @roadandtrack on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ2H1qyJogB
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30746149-roadandtrack-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1681116a1d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-19T18:44:43.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Road & Track Magazine (@roadandtrack) — https://gondola.cc/roadandtrack

## Caption

The aerodynamic feature immortalized on track by racing great Dan Gurney in the Seventies was originally patented four decades earlier by Edward Zaparka as a means of boosting aircraft wings’ lifting power. Airplanes had been using hinged flaps at the back of their primary flight surfaces, but Zaparka’s design swapped out the complexity of a moving version for a fixed lip protruding at a sharp angle.

Zaparka’s version differed from the one that the massively successful racing champ would popularize in one significant way: It was attached to the bottom of the wing, not the top. Planes need lift; race cars need downforce.

Tap the link in our bio for the full story!

#Gurneyflap #aerodynamics #motorsports #racing #racecars #carsofinstagram #cargram #roadandtrack
Photos by jeremycliff

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 5,500
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- **Comments:** 14

## Tags

motorsports, racing, carsofinstagram, cargram, roadandtrack, aerodynamics, racecars, gurneyflap

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