Dario is a lucky boy - (Dario flies again in the next race!)
- Thread starter daan
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I really wanted to see that race, but ESPN left coverage after being on a rain delay for so long. I didn't know what channel is was after that. When I went back to check it was on tennis.
Anyway, after seeing that crash on the news and now here, it really is a testament to the safety features of these cars. Everytime I see a crash like this, it is amazing that they even survive let alone walk it off. Kubica's F1 crash in Canada is another horrific crash that turned out ok.
Anyway, after seeing that crash on the news and now here, it really is a testament to the safety features of these cars. Everytime I see a crash like this, it is amazing that they even survive let alone walk it off. Kubica's F1 crash in Canada is another horrific crash that turned out ok.
- 8,017
- GTP_Royalton
This shows more than how safe the cars are, imo, it shows how fortunate the IRL has been that they have had no deaths in a race yet.
If Franchitti's car moved this way or that 1-2 feet we would have lost a driver.
The IRL needes to stay off of ovals larger than 1 mile. Indy is semi safe because the cars can't drive side by side in the corners and it's hard for them to stay close to eachother due to turbulence.
Yeah, openwheel oval racing is close and real exciting but in the end when you get a driver killed and or a tire thrown in the grandstands is it worth it?
I really, really don't want to see another Greg Moore/Gordon Smiley incident before something is done
- 2,886
They've came mighty close quite a few times, Davey Hamilton & Kenny Brack narrowly escaped death in their crashes.
I'd have to agree, yet I also have to disagree with you. I agree with you saying the IRL needs to stay off 1 mi. + ovals because of safety, but I also disagree with you because all the races on sub 1 mile ovals this year have been boooooooorrrrrrrinnnnnnng. They either need to make the IRL an all road course series (with the exception of the Indy 500) or keep it as is and restrict the cars power on the 1.5 mile ovals.
- 512
You bring up a good point.... This wreck was bad, and this prooves that they needed to get off the 2 mile ovals. Think about all the bad IRL wrecks, like Kenny Brack and Scott Sharp (OR was it Dixon?), most of them happend on the 2 mile oval tracks. Yeah I love the close racing,but I don't want to see a Gordon Smilely incident.....
This year seems like the year that auto racing wants to show how safe it has become over the years. We had two wrecks that were eerie reminders of Greg Moore and Gordon Smiley (Kanaan and Kubisca),but the drivers walked away with some bumps and the occasional concussion.
Does anybody remember when CART pulled a race in Texas and then from their schedule permenently do to hight G forces?
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- GTP_CAMikaze
IIRC, they had the rest of the race replayed on ESPN2 on Monday afternoon. Dunno if any of you got the chance to watch it.I really wanted to see that race, but ESPN left coverage after being on a rain delay for so long. I didn't know what channel is was after that. When I went back to check it was on tennis.
Well then, so much for any possibilities of an IRL race at Daytona or Talladega, huh?
As for what the IRL can do, maybe they can use restrictor plates like NASCAR does for when they race on the Super-Speedway/Oval tracks of 1.5 miles in length or more. (NASCAR usually have their restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talladega only)I believe I do. If memory serves me right, I think the drivers were complaining about how dizzy they got after doing laps around the track in such a fast manner. I dunno if the IRL racers were making any verbal jabs when they raced there and/or at Charlotte in the years afterwards. And if I also remember correctly one of the IRL Charlotte races had a accident where a wheel come off of one of the cars and went over the catch fencing into the stands and killing a spectator. I first heard about that incident when I went to a CART race up in Nazareth the day after it took place. Soon afterwards, a new catch fencing system was put in place at both Texas and Charlotte and remains there to this day. I believe Indy even heightened their catch fence since then as well as installed the new SAFER barrier not too long after that as well with many other tracks following suit.
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- JMarine25
I'll say it once and will say it again... this is one reason why I don't enjoy crashes like most other people. Most people usually get a kick out of watching a car crash because it's "different." Like racing is so overrated that a wrecked car makes the day of most racing fans. The dopes at Speed Channel even have a Speed Performance Awards category for "Biggest Hit." One of the nominees from last year was that horrific crash Katherine Legge had at Road America in Champ Car. Another was the Kyle Busch wreck at Daytona this past February. People just get a kick out of crashes and want to see crash fests. Disgusts the hell out of me.
Now on to the point I want to make about this wreck. I saw it on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" as part of their "Mail Time" segment. I'm more than proud that Dario Franchitti was able to escape this deal by walking away. That could have been anybody's car in the sort of turbulence these cars generate. The thing I always love to see is a driver alert and awake. If unconcious(?), still being alive makes me happy. Crashes can't be prevented, but it's always nice that the driver can remain safe after taking some sort of spill in a race. It's a testament to car design as well as all the different safety features to help keep drivers safe in their own little offices on wheels. This is great news to know that Dario Franchitti is alright. And survived by Ashley Judd? Was that said because the series will head to FoolKiller's state? After all, Ashley Judd is a Kentucky alum. I found out Sparta is actually about 30 miles north of the state capital, Frankfort. Maybe Dario Franchitti's crash was luck. Perhaps the same luck that's kept the star-crossed Peter Dumbreck from great danger.
Once again, glad he's okay. Surviving a crash or some other disaster is always great news. Hope he'll be back up and at 'em as soon as possible.
Now on to the point I want to make about this wreck. I saw it on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" as part of their "Mail Time" segment. I'm more than proud that Dario Franchitti was able to escape this deal by walking away. That could have been anybody's car in the sort of turbulence these cars generate. The thing I always love to see is a driver alert and awake. If unconcious(?), still being alive makes me happy. Crashes can't be prevented, but it's always nice that the driver can remain safe after taking some sort of spill in a race. It's a testament to car design as well as all the different safety features to help keep drivers safe in their own little offices on wheels. This is great news to know that Dario Franchitti is alright. And survived by Ashley Judd? Was that said because the series will head to FoolKiller's state? After all, Ashley Judd is a Kentucky alum. I found out Sparta is actually about 30 miles north of the state capital, Frankfort. Maybe Dario Franchitti's crash was luck. Perhaps the same luck that's kept the star-crossed Peter Dumbreck from great danger.
Once again, glad he's okay. Surviving a crash or some other disaster is always great news. Hope he'll be back up and at 'em as soon as possible.
- 10,620
- gtp_jimprower
Good god! that looked like open-wheel Daytona/Talladega!
- 512
IIRC, they had the rest of the race replayed on ESPN2 on Monday afternoon. Dunno if any of you got the chance to watch it.
Well then, so much for any possibilities of an IRL race at Daytona or Talladega, huh?
It's not only the speeds it's the 0 margin for error. An even bigger one than NASCAR. IN NASCAR, if you touch wheels and lose it, you're taking out several cars and maybe a filp if the flaps don't react quickly or the car hooks a rut. In Indy car if that happens (depending on how they contacted) there's a 60% chance that's it's going airborne.
John, I'm not the biggest crash fan either, but I do watch huge ones just to analyze what caused it and if there was anything the car could do to
a)asorb the impact.
2)protect the driver
6x)see what improvements in motorsports saftey did right.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
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- CMDRTheDarkLord
I think that crashes provide a huge adrenaline rush for the viewer. There's a real peek into the violence of motorsport, and a real appreciation of how lucky a surviving driver is. It comes back to the circus and the fairground. "Death Defying" has always been pretty intoxicating.
I find it very interesting to see how the cars and drivers react in the extremis of a crash, and immediately thereafter. For example, Kubica's crash at Montreal was followed by his best-ever qualifying performance. It says a lot about the man. And if you compare that with how long it took WRC driver Dani Sordo to get back on the pace after his shunt this time last year, you see that the two men are made of different stuff.
I got widely criticised for using a race car crash in instructing my daughter on the purpose of seat belts. But I stand by the act. She was able to see that a driver was able to just unbuckle himself and get out of a head-on impact with the barriers, and she could see that it was because of the harness that he'd been held securely in place while the car destroyed itself around him. Once I forgot to do up her belts (she'd climbed into the seat, I did her brother's belts, and just forgot about hers), and she immediately told me she needed her straps done up.
So, there's an element of the circus about watching race cars crash, and I think that that is attractive to the luddite masses. For those of us interested in race cars (as opposed to just racing), there's something to be gained from seeing them. Finally, they do help tell the story of the race. A lot of the Nextel Cup footage we get has had the shunts removed, and you're often left wondering what happened. For example, Dale Jr spun on a puncture at Pocono (apparently). We didn't see it, but it was repeatedly referred to in the commentary, as they were bigging him up when he retook the lead late on. I was left slightly bemused, as he'd been leading earlier, and we simply hadn't seen him fall back down the field.
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And presenting from the Kentucky 300: Dario is a lucky boy, Part II.
A few seconds after Dario Franchitti crossed the line in 8th today at the Kentucky 300, he collided with a lapped backmarker, sending him flipping into the air for the second time in a row.
I reckon YouTube videos are in the making this very moment
A few seconds after Dario Franchitti crossed the line in 8th today at the Kentucky 300, he collided with a lapped backmarker, sending him flipping into the air for the second time in a row.
I reckon YouTube videos are in the making this very moment
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- Scotland
- GTP_daan
Is he going for his pilot's license?And presenting from the Kentucky 300: Dario is a lucky boy, Part II.
A few seconds after Dario Franchitti crossed the line in 8th today at the Kentucky 300, he collided with a lapped backmarker, sending him flipping into the air for the second time in a row.
I reckon YouTube videos are in the making this very moment
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- Banbaria.
- GTP_Venari
Quick, paint 4472 on the car!
In the first crash the soft landing looks like it was because the front winglets saw a clear airflow and began to create downforce - upwards, as the car was upside-down coming down. That car wasn't accelerating downwards at 1g when he hit. Lucky guy.
I always liked Dario, I think it was a good move not to go into F1...
In the first crash the soft landing looks like it was because the front winglets saw a clear airflow and began to create downforce - upwards, as the car was upside-down coming down. That car wasn't accelerating downwards at 1g when he hit. Lucky guy.
I always liked Dario, I think it was a good move not to go into F1...
- 512
Isn't one of his hobbies flying a heilicopter?Because I think he's getting his hobbies messed up....
