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Horsepower limiting devices like restrictor plates wouldn't have saved Wheldon's life. His roll loop failed and he hit his head on either the wall or the catch fence. It doesn't matter if you're going 220 or 120, if your head hits the wall your chances of survival are extremely low.
Those who do survive (Butch Lindley & Rick Baldwin) live out their days in a persistent vegitative state.
Cause and effect,
I'm talking about what initiated the wreck in the first place which in my opinion was due to speed and racing Indy cars on an oval track.
I'm talking about what initiated the wreck in the first place which in my opinion was due to speed and racing Indy cars on an oval track.
Jeff Krosnoff was killed on a street course at Toronto when his car got launched into the catch fence and he hit his head on a light pole. The problem isn't specific to high-speed ovals.
I am part of the IndyCar TV crew, specifically I work with the company that does the in car cameras and was operating Wheldon, Franchitti and Power's cameras during the accident.
I can say with complete assurance that what you have said was absolutely not the case. There was no information for the network to share, even going so far as to send Jaime Little to the hospital and report via cell phone. When we saw the driver's reactions, that is when we realized what had happened and there was some kind of miscommunication in letting the TV crew know that Randy Bernard was making the announcement. There is an unwritten rule that you do not, ever speculate during these types of accidents which makes the broadcast look more reactionary when information does become available.
We are all absolutely aghast at what happened. Dan Wheldon was just such a great person to be around and his love of racing will never be forgotten.
My apologies to ABC. If they were not willing partners than it was IRL who kept the commercials airing. Look at the time line. Dan was pronounced dead at 1:54 local time It was at least an hour after that that it was announced. Someone at IRL knew.
My apologies to ABC. If they were not willing partners than it was IRL who kept the commercials airing. Look at the time line. Dan was pronounced dead at 1:54 local time It was at least an hour after that that it was announced. Someone at IRL knew.
You don't think they needed time for his wife and family to deal with the loss in the aftermath; as well as to notify the other drivers at the track? We are talking about a guy dieing on the racetrack, and hundreds of people there who are visibly upset about it. And you think they delayed an announcement for advertisers? Pathetic.
Jeff Krosnoff was killed on a street course at Toronto when his car got launched into the catch fence and he hit his head on a light pole. The problem isn't specific to high-speed ovals.
Again, Cause and Effect,
Yes, Jeff Krosnoff was killed by hitting a light pole but he had to have been going fast enough to gain enough air to tragically hit that pole behind the fence. I mean you couldn't hit that same pole tooling around the track hitting another vehicle at say 50mph could you. I'm not suggesting we slow these cars down to 50 mph either.
If high speeds and oval tracks isn't the problem with the Wheldon tragedy then what is? Indy should limit their races to one car?
These open wheel cars need head protection for the drivers similar to fuel dragsters. The head has to be completely covered rather than relying on the helmet to be your only protection.
Sprint cars flip and roll every single race and most escape serious injury because that have roll over protection with the wing and cage.
Not saying Indy car needs wings but the drivers do need a cage.
My apologies to ABC. If they were not willing partners than it was IRL who kept the commercials airing. Look at the time line. Dan was pronounced dead at 1:54 local time It was at least an hour after that that it was announced. Someone at IRL knew.
Again, I don't know what you are talking about. Kanaan and Franchitti broke the news at the drivers' meeting. There simply was no information to share. As far as the commercials go, there were two hours of dead air time. Unfortunately for you, some of the Indycar officials have enough tact to not turn the death of Dan into a TMZ highlight reel.
Yes, Jeff Krosnoff was killed by hitting a light pole but he had to have been going fast enough to gain enough air to tragically hit that pole behind the fence. I mean you couldn't hit that same pole tooling around the track hitting another vehicle at say 50mph could you. I'm not suggesting we slow these cars down to 50 mph either.
If high speeds and oval tracks isn't the problem with the Wheldon tragedy then what is? Indy should limit their races to one car?
The chassis itself is the biggest problem. They're essentially lightweight airplane wings on wheels. They work great when the air flows over them but if the tiniest bit of air gets underneath the nose, they take off.
It doesn't take much to lift the nose, either. Mario Andretti took a somersaulting airborne ride at Indy after running over a piece of debris on the track during a testing run in 2003.
Pack racing on banked ovals like Texas has been one of IndyCar's saving graces. That close-quarters battling is their biggest marketing tool right now. It's a double-edged sword, though, because pack racing dramatically increases the odds of a major disaster.
I agree with you that speed plays a part but these cars are so light that it wouldn't surprise me at all to see one fly at 150-175mph. If you slow the cars down that much, though, it'll be the end of the IndyCar Series.
We have simply not seen that many roll hoop incidents since I've worked with the series. I've seen countless drivers land on the roll hoop and walk away unscathed (Dan in Sonoma 2010 for example) and Conway go into the catch fence at Indy in 2010.
As much as how I don't like how they LOOK, maybe the new car, with it's mostly closed in wheels will help lessen the risk of similiar things happening. Also, more of a cage around the driver would help as well.
At least 4 cars left the ground during that accident - all drivers except Wheldon were ok. I think that speaks to the safety of the cars as they were built. No, that doesn't mean improvements can't be made.
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