The guard rails were way safer. And even if it were a USAC show, you were going to wind up standing around for something (so fixing the guard rail was no big deal)
Whatever happens we all learn what not to do but improve and make it better. Here is a shot we learned from this was from 78 or 79. The driver was ok and was very lucky
Originally Posted by carrytheleftfront:
hey lets use guardrails...maybe we can cut someones neck off....yeah that will be fun to watch....
guardrails work good if they are the right ones for the job, keep head in car at all times. I forget where it was at but they had guardrails and our driver he used to say it was his favorite place to crash.
The damage T Mez got had nothing to do with a wall impact, you people are all going off the deep end. It was an impact with Jeff Swindell. As he told me Sunday, "I didn't see him until I hit him". The dust was way too thick.
As for safety, Terre Haute isn't any more dangerous than anywhere else,(when the track is prepared correctly). I've seen guys hurt and crippled everywhere from the Indy Speedrome to the Indy Mile. Accidents happen unfortunately, but that's racing at it's worst.
As for Shane's wreck at Terre Haute, it was just an unfortunate freak occurance. It is the ONLY time in my 40 plus years of racing I've ever scene a car hit like that.
As for safety and Nascrap, you are also looking in the wrong direction. The man to thank is Tony George. Remember this, when the safer barriers first came out Nascar said NO! They changed their mind real quick after Earnhardt. Remember this, when it comes to safety, Indy is the leader, Nascar is the follower.
Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
What many have said about the wall is true. Modern Racing walls are mounted banked to the track banking and also Catch Fences will bounce a car back instead of hitting the top of the wall. THAT Is far from the only track using jersey barriers for retaining walls with no catch fence, However it may be one of the most flat and high speed to do so.
I've only been too four THAT races and seen one car exit the track *NIGG* that was way scary but was probably better than hitting the wall cage first. Either option is a costly investment for the fair board. I don't see it happening honestly. You could bury some tractor tires highth wise along the wall in the turns but then you risk having a surface to hook on if the cushion goes that high.
The choice remains, You either race on it or you don't.
BTW, Anyone determine if it was the wall or another car hitting the cage? Don't seem like anyone could have even seen what happened.
Chuck
I actually did see it, just happened to be looking in the right place, the dust had cleared from the stands enough in the open bleachers. What I saw was T-Mez vertical pointing toward the sky in the middle of the backstretch and then coming down upside down on top of another car's front end and rolling off. He did not hit a wall. I think when he hit Swindell he climbed his tire and went into the air vertical.
Yes, the RW cars do have extra bracing on the cages this year, they spent time with BEAST after Shane's accident trying to make the car safer.. Angled braces to try to help the cage from collapsing like it did on the 17. But like everyone has stated, The angle of the Impact and the 90 degree edge of the concrete wall was a recipe for disaster.. Leave the concrete up but give a catch fence, I can recall Grant and Nigg clearing the fence in the past 2 years, might have even been just last year alone!
Originally Posted by racephoto1:
The damage T Mez got had nothing to do with a wall impact, you people are all going off the deep end. It was an impact with Jeff Swindell. As he told me Sunday, "I didn't see him until I hit him". The dust was way too thick.
As for safety, Terre Haute isn't any more dangerous than anywhere else,(when the track is prepared correctly). I've seen guys hurt and crippled everywhere from the Indy Speedrome to the Indy Mile. Accidents happen unfortunately, but that's racing at it's worst.
As for Shane's wreck at Terre Haute, it was just an unfortunate freak occurance. It is the ONLY time in my 40 plus years of racing I've ever scene a car hit like that.
As for safety and Nascrap, you are also looking in the wrong direction. The man to thank is Tony George. Remember this, when the safer barriers first came out Nascar said NO! They changed their mind real quick after Earnhardt. Remember this, when it comes to safety, Indy is the leader, Nascar is the follower.
Consider yourself lucky if that's the only time you've seen a car hit like that,In my 30+ years of working on race cars I've seen two friends die and a couple of others seriously maimed from exactly that reason.Yes racing is dangerous and it always will be,but that is no reason to to be blind to things that can actually be fixed and made safer.Freak accidents will happen,but why needlessly push the envelope.
I've seen the results of these accidents up close and personal and believe me it isn't pretty.
