Probably not. It would have to attach to the rear wing, and my guess would be that it start an IndyCar flipping end for end from that position. Not only that, you saw how those cars fly once they get in the air. Will must have cleared three cars before he landed. It works on the stock cars because they have more surface area and the aero break is created closer to the centerline.
More people commenting in this thread than are watching the races, which is my issue with some of what's been posted.
I agree. Also, the NASCAR flap only works once the car goes backwards. Neither Wheldon nor Power went backwards. They shot into the air like missiles going forward. It was a sickening sight.
Interesting concept for sure. I hope it stays as a concept. Motor Racing is dangerous, you can't make it 100% safe and if you did, it would lose all it's appeal to the drivers I'm sure. Can improvements be made ? Always but enclosed cockpits is not one to pursue - we already have them anyway, they're called sports cars.
i prefer an open cockpit as well. just thought it was an interesting take. you just can't remove the element of danger from everything.
For those that find the danger in racing is too great, there is synchronized swimming. Although, I can see potential danger there too. Head injuries, drowning, even though it seems fairly innocuous at first blight, those are pretty serious too. All these yaps piping in,that most have never even watched an entire race in their life, because they feel......... Those people should stay where they belong, art museums and theaters. It is not like these sanctioning bodies do not take safety very serious, they do. Even though Randy Bernard is a cowboy, that is kind of the attitude most racers have too. Without a little bravado, they would never spin a wheel in competition. They have issues to work through at IndyCar, there is no question. But these promoters do feel bad when something awful happens. Just as most people would, and they do care. This will be analyzed to the n'th degree by people who really count, and if there is a solution or an enhanced safety device or option that would have been preventative, it will be implemented. Emotions run high at times like this, cooler heads will work it out. If there is a way to work it out. If not, they will not be able to race at tracks like Vegas. I like AJ's quote,there was no doubt he thinks that kid is a duffer without him even speaking. But if you compare NASCAR's safety record to IndyCAr's, the open wheel boys have been on the leading edge of safety, several steps ahead. It is hard to say , "oh, well NASCAR has a lot more casualties." They do, but they also run several more events every year. The truth is, they both work very hard at increasing their safety standards every day of every year. And the statistics do bear that out. The allure to me of open wheel racing has always been that they have to race each other. Touching is dangerous, they need to drive clean.(vs bumping and banging each other for positions.) Whether it is the IndyCars, Silvers, 350 supers whatever. If they don't, the consequences can be unthinkable. I'm certain there are people out there who do not appreciate the skill it takes to drive that close, at those speeds. I'd like to hope those folks are there for the party and we are glad to take their money to support the effort. Ask Kasey Kahne what it is like to flip up over the catch fence at the Grove. He was fortunate that night, could have easily gone terribly awry due to someone else's error. That little slider was in the tree canopy. More often than not, the result is not tragic. RIP Danny God Bless Susie, Sebastian and Oliver, family and friends.
Sid, First off, I respect your views and maybe I didn't sound that way in the other thread. I was just making a point that the show must go on, and that racing is dangerous, but everyone knows that. I could think of a few things that would make IndyCars not fly like airplanes, but I'm also sure some engineer that has a lot more smarts than me has already tried. One idea that comes to mind is not on top of the car but underneath it. An air dam that automatically deploys if the angle of lift exceeds a set parameter. Once it deploys it should theoretically slam the car back down onto the track and hopefully retract or break off on contact. I've been a fan of all things that go fast since I was a little boy and have watched some horrible crashes in my life. I don't recall too many races ever being cancelled due to a crash or someone being killed. People including fans have been killed at racing events and the race went on to the finish. I think the one thing that would have prevented this crash from being what it became is not the cars, the drivers, or the track, but the way most forms of racing has developed over the years with big money and big sponsorships racing back to the line for position. Track officials should be ready to throw the red flag and the drivers should understand that their track position was counted the last lap regardless of who they passed in the meantime. It will all sort out after the clean-up. Dan Wheldon and many others caught up in this crash could have stopped or slowed way before driving headlong into disaster if they weren't trying to race back to the start/finish line for a better position. Crashes will happen, but the calamity is what follows the mayhem of a bad policy to race back to the line. JMHO (YMMV)
Unless I missed a rule change somewhere, the field is still frozen when the caution comes out. The only change they made was that the pit road is open to everyone this year under caution. Basically treating pit road as a green flag stop even under yellows. Then the field is aligned for the restart. No time to search the rulebook now, but that was my understanding of the change.
I sincerely doubt that the reason for this accident (and the severity) was because the drivers weren't slowing down because they were worried about track position. And I'd like to see the telemetry of the cars before I'd ever make the assumption that the drivers behind didn't lift or brake. My guess is that Wheldon did what you generally always do when an accident occurs in front of you - lift, and start looking for a hole. One never materialized. - Mark
I don't know either, I only saw the replay clips and yes he was dropping to the bottom of the track for a hole that never materialized because every one else was dropping to the bottom of the track at speed, but it sure looked like his speed was still on the upper end and he was way back from the initial crash. As was everyone else's that made it a 15-car crash instead of a three-car crash.
That is sort of my point, race organizers will throw a yellow flag when they probably should be throwing a red flag on a track like this. Caution lights (flags) and spotters have a responsibility to the driver to protect him (all) and it starts with a decision being made as to whether the track ahead is partially blocked or totally blocked (or will be). Sure, there are lessons that drivers know on certain tracks whether to go high or go low but that's when stopping is not an option. If the race rules don't say stop then no one is going to.
At speed, these cars are traveling a football field every sec. This really doesn't make braking very useful as an accident avoidance technique. Further, the idea that these accidents can be helped by everyone immediately climbing on their brakes isn't necessarily a good one - in fact, it may have actually exacerbated the consequences of a relatively minor spin in this case. This accident really got bad when cars started hitting braking cars in front of them and launching. If cars are racing 50' tail-to-nose and the front car brakes, then the following car has 0.15 seconds before they hit the car in front. This is way less than the human reaction time. In essence, these cars are tailgating each other all the time, the equivalent of us all driving down the freeway with 5' between our vehicles. Does hard braking sound like a very good idea in this situation? Encouraging harder braking during accidents doesn't strike me as the solution. And when the crap hits the fan like this, I doubt any driver is staying on the throttle or avoiding braking because of track position considerations. - Mark
I don't know, in real time it all happens so fast, but those drivers react in micro-second time and made a decision to either lift, brake, or accelerate through it. Is there a right answer probably not. But if the driver ahead of you is braking or lifting and you are accelerating there seems to be a problem.
One aspect of this crash that I have not seen mentioned much here is the fact that Wheldon's roll bar sheared off leaving his head exposed to whatever followed. Could be as simple as a welding or metal failure or was it just that once in million chance (dumb luck) that his roll bar struck the catch fence stanchion or fence material the wrong way? Is the fence design the issue here? I don't know, but I'm sure they will get to analyze everything and fix what they can.
I doubt this happened. It may appear from the on-boards like drivers were plowing headlong into melee, feet to the firewall, but I don't think this is the case at all; it's an illusion caused by the closing speeds. And as I said before, don't discount the issue of reaction time. If you're following someone close enough (as these guys typically are), you simply can't react fast enough to affect the situation. - Mark
I believe the HANS device that probably saved Jimmie Johnson's life last Saturday was developed in IndyCar. I'll also note that many NASCAR drivers refused to wear it at first.
Where did you see this? I haven't read anything about it. If it was evident from his wrecked car, I must have overlooked it. Sorry for the large image, everyone. Is it possible to see the state of the roll bar on Wheldon's and Powers' cars?
