I don't want anyone hurt, not only does it suck, it is bad for all racing in general. So much thought and energy has been put into making the nascar racing safer and none to making it more exciting except to wait for the 'big one' each time.
If crashes are the only exciting aspect, then nascar should just change to a demolition derby series
Demolition derby is considered motorsports in my county. 
HappyJack wrote: phone video from stands This is the video that is the scariest. Guy taking the video doesn't realize at first, the tire landed almost right beside him.
Yeah, that's the one I was talking about. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm sad it's still going around, or happy that NASCAR PR department hasn't quashed it yet.
Considering that there's still folks in the hospital, I actually feel quite foolish about worrying about that kind of E36 M3 in the first place.
I walked out to the stands during the 24 and watched for a while from the grandstands across from infield turn-in. There was a Deputy Sheriff on a Segway who patrolled constantly, informing spectators they could not stand along the fence. Some people had to be shooed away more then once. Seems like a crummy hing to have to do, but very wise to keep fans back a distance. Wouldn't have helped with the suspension into the stands, but hey, NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Did anyone actually watch the last couple laps of the race? I haven't watched nascar in a long time but I found the amount of aggressive contact pretty astounding. There was NEARLY a pileup about 3 or 4 times in the last 2 laps, until finally it happened on the last lap. I don't know what the solution is, nascar is so standardized anymore that the only way to keep it interesting is to run the last few laps on green and the guys are gonna race and race hard, but allowing drivers to tap and bump and slam into each other just seems like your asking for this kind of thing to happen. Anyone else remember when days of thunder came out, and nascar fans decried its over dramatization of how much bumping there was, and the whole "rubbing is racing" stuff. Well, the daytona race made the movie look pretty tame.
The rules package on the Nationwide cars is pretty much asking for that kind of racing at a restrictor plate track.
friedgreencorrado wrote:HappyJack wrote: phone video from stands This is the video that is the scariest. Guy taking the video doesn't realize at first, the tire landed almost right beside him.Yeah, that's the one I was talking about. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm sad it's still going around, or happy that NASCAR PR department hasn't quashed it yet. Considering that there's still folks in the hospital, I actually feel quite foolish about worrying about that kind of E36 M3 in the first place.
NASCAR tried to get rid of that video- they got Youtube to pull it for a while by saying that a video recording of ANYTHING that happens at the track is copyrighted by NASCAR. yes, that's right- NASCAR thinks that they own every video you make while on the track property during a NASCAR sanctioned event... Youtube later decided that NASCAR was wrong and put the video back up..NASCAR's official stance was that they were trying to be "sensitive" to the injured people, but anyone with half a brain knows that they tried to get it pulled for the same reasons they are having "technical difficulties" with the comments section of the NASCAR website after approximately 90% of the comments in every article are about how much their shiny new website sucks..
The phone footage certainly captures the confusion and shock of the crowd. I was surprised at how long it took before anyone appeared to provide a first response for the victim -- no judgment on the crowd -- but it certainly drives home the point how an incident can derail any type of planning we do.
I am dismayed at spectators injuries as much as anybody, but after all that carnage, all the drivers walked away? Are those cars downsized M1 Abrams'?
Yes.
I think that it's amazing that there wasn't a fatality from the wheel/tire flying into the stands. I was racing my Late Model Asphalt race car at a local track a number of years ago. The speeds were far less than Daytona speeds. I went into a corner and the right front spindle broke. The wheel assembly flew off, hit a wall and was launched high into the air. It cleared a retaining fence and the spectator stands, landed on a paved walkway on the backside of the stands and bounced over a fence into the parking lot. When it cleared the fence it also cleared a row of parked cars. It continued rolling until it hit a fence that was about a football field in length away. It was a miracle that no one or anything was hit. The energy release from an over 100 pound object flying at a very high rate of speed is incredible.
My thoughts and prayers are with the injured.
The crew at my house this weekend is of the opinion that #22 is the precipitate cause of the wreck. I don't watch Nascar so I don't know, but they say he's been involved in a number of issues this year.
Very sad indeed. We were running Nascar when they brought out the wheel tethers, and at the time, they were serious pieces. No average steel cable or nylon types. And very expensive. I'm sure they are better now even. This shows though that the forces you see on some impacts make some safety gear irrelevant. I'm not saying take them away, but don't always assume they are the answer either.
I've also thought for years they should abandon the steel wheels as they are VERY heavy. Couple that with an inner liner and you've got a missile when torn off. Not that a lighter version can't also do damage.
I do know that they work hard at keeping the cars on the ground...but it's not always possible given how they race.
Hopefully everyone will recover....
racerdave600 wrote: I've also thought for years they should abandon the steel wheels as they are VERY heavy.
They are very heavy, and very strong. The wheel was still bolted to the hub, which was still bolted to the suspension...Imagine the repetetive forces acting on those right front wheels, and they seldom, if ever , fail.
I wouldn't trust aluminum to that job, I'm afraid, but I'm a bit old. I like ferrous metals for big jobs.
The steel wheels used are around 20 lbs. The spindel is likley close to that too, add all the other stuff now your talking mass. Alum wheel would cause 50% more wrecks as they will not bend but yeild and snap. I've had rims bent at the lip over 3 inches on a 8 inch rim that held air long enough to hobble off the track no alum rim would do that.
That's why steel wheels are used, their deformation is more fault-tolerant.
There's a minimum weight, of course, but they get around that by concentrating as much of that weight as they dare near the center. Not entirely a bad thing, though, since it means stronger centers.
carguy123 wrote: The crew at my house this weekend is of the opinion that #22 is the precipitate cause of the wreck. I don't watch Nascar so I don't know, but they say he's been involved in a number of issues this year.
The lead car, #78,i believe, caused the wreck by attempting a block he misjudged. Driver admitted to it.
44Dwarf wrote: The steel wheels used are around 20 lbs. The spindel is likley close to that too, add all the other stuff now your talking mass. Alum wheel would cause 50% more wrecks as they will not bend but yeild and snap. I've had rims bent at the lip over 3 inches on a 8 inch rim that held air long enough to hobble off the track no alum rim would do that.
Agreed - I don't see aluminum wheels holding up to this kind of use, at all. In this case, lighter would probably just mean they end up a couple rows higher in the stands... and more often.
They say the safety netting is as good as it should be.
iceracer wrote:carguy123 wrote: The crew at my house this weekend is of the opinion that #22 is the precipitate cause of the wreck. I don't watch Nascar so I don't know, but they say he's been involved in a number of issues this year.The lead car, #78,i believe, caused the wreck by attempting a block he misjudged. Driver admitted to it.
Even though he may have caused it, he's not at fault for the freak incident that ensued. (Not assuming that's what you were eluding to, but just stating my thoughts.)
racerdave600 wrote: I've also thought for years they should abandon the steel wheels as they are VERY heavy. Couple that with an inner liner and you've got a missile when torn off. Not that a lighter version can't also do damage.
I don't think anything else can realistically handle the cornering loads you get at an oval track. I've seen a cavalier steelie rip right off the car right around the hub area at a 1/4 mile paved oval, on street tires.
The accident was a byproduct of drivers plowing into an accident at full throttle. Carl Edwards got in the fence at Talladega after Ryan Newman hit him right in the rear axle.
turbojunker wrote: The accident was a byproduct of drivers plowing into an accident at full throttle. Carl Edwards got in the fence at Talladega after Ryan Newman hit him right in the rear axle.
That's something that I take note of practically every time I watch a racing accident video. I can understand in a huge pack like they had at Daytona where the second row can't slam their brakes because the following cars who probably don't know what's happening yet would drive right up their asses. What I have more trouble understanding is that often when there's only a couple of drivers behind the accident, they try and drive through as well. How often do you see someone spin or careen of a barier and take out the guy who would be clear if he'd lifted?
conesare2seconds wrote: Some people had to be shooed away more then once. Seems like a crummy hing to have to do, but very wise to keep fans back a distance.
I've worked security at races in Martinsville and Richmond, at times being posted along the wall to keep people away from the wall. Many of the idiots, when asked to keep moving rock from foot to foot, proclaiming that they are still moving. Fun to see the look on their faces when a deputy sheriff taps them on the shoulder.
An aluminum wheel wouldn't have made much of a difference. Look how many people have been killed by Indy car wheels going into the stands.
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