Couple thoughts here:

First, people get badly hurt in sprint car racing every year. These days we lose far less of them than we used to, thanks to better safety practices and medical care. The cars, while faster than ever, are as safe as they've ever been. I think we've been pretty lucky here in the Indiana non-wing scene for a little while as far as serious injuries go, and this season it caught up with us. Chalk it up to a rough year. It's the law of averages, and nothing more.

My second take contradicts the first just a bit. Instead of looking at the injuries, why aren't we looking at the causes? I wasn't at Paducah when Kenny Biro was hurt, but didn't he come down cage-first on top of the wall? Why are sprint cars racing at a high-speed track like that without a fence on the wall? It's a recipe for disaster, and it's hurt people two years in a row (Biro this year, Boespflug and Clayton last.) And it's not just Paducah, Kamp and others have the same issue.

As far as the McIntosh incident goes, I ask you this: Would we be having this conversation if she would have had something break in turns three and four of the old track? Highly unlikely. In my opinion, and I preface this by saying that I haven't yet visited new Lawrenceburg, that track is too high-speed to host a weekly show. Judging from all the video I've seen, all the talk I've heard, etc., it's akin to racing every Saturday at Eldora; you're just asking to get a few guys hurt over the course of a season. Would a SAFER barrier have helped Arin? I don't know, but maybe it's something Lawrenceburg should look into since they've poured all that money into the facility and there's really no going back now.

Just my opinions.

I'll add my two cents worth-as wide as burg is now, they should have foam blocks around the outside like Fremont does. the track would still be wider than most.

NO, I'm not talking about a wing. As crazy as it may sound or look I'm talking about something like a starofoam cap that would fit on top of the cage. high density about 6inch thick. if a car got upside down it would absorb the energy and also protect the driver on the first impact.It may look goofy but when cages first came out people thought they were stupid looking and only for wussies.It maybe something that only select tracks use ,high speed concrete wall tracks. Just like some tracks make you run mufflers some tracks would make you run a cage cap.

To my knowledge, the material specs for the cage have been the same for the last 10-15 years at least.

To say they need heavier gauge cage material is to say that the cages are failing. To my knowledge, none of the cages have failed. There are some that have been bent, but no complete failures.

Every crash has to be judged on it's own as all are different, but of the crashes I have seen on the local scene, the cages have held up well. I can't speak of any of the ones that I haven't seen.

I personally haven't seen any thing that would want me to change the current material specs or the Halo area. I do like the extentended style of cage design though.

You can also look at it this way as well. If the cage is too rigid and hits the fence first, then instead of it deforming and absorbing the energy, the driver moves and stretches as the energy is transfered. There is a fine line and I believe that the specs and manufactureres are doing a good job of walking that line right now.

The reason containment type seats are required or at least heavily suggested as they are designed to act as a sort of cocoon for the driver and while they don't or can't prevent all injuries, they do act as another safety defense against certain types of impact.

The trick is to find out exactly how the drivers are being hurt. Unfortunately, I think that we would find that they all are suffering from different types of impact.

If the drivers are being hurt by something other that impacts on top of the cage, then the cap may not be the right fix either. I try and always encourage my customers to use the high density padding in any areas of the cockpit where their head or arms can bang into.

I have to believe that many of the injuries occur during a side impact where the body stretches out toward the outside of the car or in flips that are more side to side in action. As everyone who has seen one knows, a barrell type roll is always using the bodies weight against itself and the upper portion is always being "whipped" around.

That is where the containment seats help as they try to keep the head and shoulders from being "whipped" and the body stays fairly compact.

As far as Arin goes, I didn't see it so I cannot comment on it. I don't even remember the safety equipment she uses. I really like her and her dad I hope for the best.

In a related note on safety. I still see guys not wearing fire proof underwear. If you are a racers crew or even a parent or loved one and you see them with a two-layer suit without underwear on, jump their a$$ and get them to wear them. If you think you are hot with it on, sit through a fire without having it on and see how hot you get.

Robert uses the best saftey equiment available. Robert is always looking for ways to make his cars the safest car out there. The only thing that could have helped in this situation is the NASCAR type safer walls to absorb impact. I really think that this needs to be looked at for this speedway and many others that carry this kind of speeds. I just wanted to clear this up in no way would Robert ever send Arin out without the best safety equipment. The main thing is that we keep Arin, Robert and Alda in our prayers. Arin is the toughest girl that I know and if anyone can recover from this she can. And I believe through the grace of God that she will.

I will also add that we should try to learn from every accident to make this sport as safe as possible.

I agree with LeadersEdge. Chassis are of top quality and construction. They are suposed to still be made of chrome moly tubing. USAC's cage requirements are that they are to be of .120 wall tubing. Whether or not any sacntioning body is checking this I don't know but that makes for a strong cage.

Sprint and Midget racing has to be the MOST dangerous form of circle track racing there is. If you don't think so you better not get in one.

You have to really be one tuff #@&%*@!^ to get in one of these machines and take a hard crash and get out of the thing and walk away. But how many times have we seen drivers do it and said to ourselves how in the hell did he walk away from that? We have all seen it from the WoO to the local race on Sat night. I just don't think people really realize just how dangerous this kind of racing really is until we start seeing all of these people getting hurt.

To me open wheel drivers set themselves apart from other forms of racing and that is what I love about the sport.

Safety equipment is "state of the art" to date and I haven't seen that as being the reason for any of the problems with injuries today. If it is, I want someone to tell me what failed! Everyone should have the right to know.

This is just how I see it..... but I don't want to see drivers getting hurt.

I searched and found some photos of her and the car was as I thought it would be. The best equipment and a well padded cockpit. It appeared to be a LaJoie seat w/head nets.

I like a safer wall concept, but the way it is used now is to absorb impact from heavier/faster vehicles that do not have an open "cage" type **** pit. We use some scrap pieces from the building of the first safer wall system for a frame jig, and it is anything but soft. It's steel square and it is stout. Even with the foam "shock absorber" system behind it, you will still run the risk of hitting the steel wall with your extremities if you flip into it.

I do like the foam idea, but it isn't always the most user friendly for tracks to use.

I have often thought of some form of high impact padding for the top of the fence and then more of the same about half way down the wall, if it is a very tall fence.
Something like a truck dock uses for the face and a round "dome" bolted to the top of the fence with recessed bolts.

There is a product that was offered by a company called "Kemmler" and it was a high shock absorbing type of material that Kirkey offered for their seats for a while. I think that would be a great material for a soft wall at sprint car type tracks.

my oppion is you can get hurt doing anything now days and us as drivers know getting in the race car that we can get hurt or loose our lives its something you have to consider before jumping in one,, and me id rather get hurt doin something i love than something i dont

I just wish and pray for everyones safety. The only thing other than agressive driving (Which at times may be necessary to win) is I've noticed a lot of cars this season with NO ROLL BAR PADDING. 2 dollars could reduce a ton of impact and even with containment seats, Belts stretch. Always have and probably always will.

Aren't safer barriers ribbed steel behind a inner steel wall designed to crush and absorb shock on impact. I think this was brought up before that without some kind of cover or something the barrier on a dirt track would fill up with dirt behind them reducing their effectivness. They may also be beyond most promotors ability to install as far as cost and maintainence of them. I don't know. The first part I was told