Which part? I mean, what more do these restrictor plate races have to reveal about themselves? It wasn't that long ago Jarret Sr. was in the booth complaining about how the cars were "almost" racing bumper to bumper. Apparently they've solved that problem. There is "almost" always no more almost. An urgent hurry to find a different bumper to push against litterally "almost" killed Ryan Newman today. Most of us probably thought it had.
NASCAR thread
- Thread starter Creed Bratton
- Start date
The added drama of Brad being too busy tweeting and hitting Dillon 3 minutes after that wreck made it more spectacular.
Stenhouse and Logano are both just too agressive on Super Speedways. They are going to get someone hurt or killed.
Yes, they could have. But, what if they say he's alive then he dies hours later.
You can't say someones alive without knowing the severity of his injuries, and you also can't say he's alive and just say his injuries are bad.
I was at that race. Was a last minute decision, we had tix to the Cup race and decided to go to the Busch race Sat morning.
I am just amazed that Newman's car wasn't engulfed in flames. It was burning around the gas nozzle and then gas started gushing from the tank onto the ground. It had to be the grace of God that it didn't explode into flames.
Ernie Irvin at Michigan was pretty damn bad. The post wreck footage, you just knew he was dead, very lucky. Glad to see Ryan is "OK". May not be the best choice of words.
That's why it didn't ignite when it was pouring out. Oil can burn, but with gas fumes would've ignited it immediately. For future reference.
I agree. Seeing the wreck in real time as it happened I figured it was another wreck like we've seen over the years with Edwards, Dillon, etc. It wasn't until after Hamlin was celebrating in the infield grass that I started to question the lack of severity. Its just a testament to how safe these cars have been since the Dale Earnhardt tragedy.
I wondered why the fuel bladder failed but the condition the car was in it wouldn't have been a shock.
The safety improvements with respect to fire alone have been amazing, even before considering all of the changes to make the impacts more survivable.
40 years ago, race cars pretty much always burst into massive flames during a crash. The video of David Purley trying in vain to save Roger Williamson’s life is still one of the more heartbreaking things I’ve seen.
Between better fuel tanks, fire suppression, etc., you just don’t see fires like that anymore. Thankfully.
I said it last week and stand behind my statement that some of these guys had become hardened to the fact that their actions could lead to someones death as most of them were not even racing in any of NASCAR's top 3 series the last time someone was killed. Guys that are way too aggressive bump drafting and blocking have caused a lot of wrecks on Super Speedways in the last few years which has only led to a bunch of torn up equipment but last night it almost lead to someone not going home to their family.
Out of superspeedway wrecks, Dillon's is one of the most shocking I've seen. Geoff Bodine's truck series wreck in 2000 is perhaps the worst I've seen in terms of ripping the car from fully function to roll cage in a single wreck. There have been several unbelievable wrecks since Earnhardt in 2001. The saving grace has been the Hans device and the improvement of the restraints/roll cage around the driver.
The safer barriers have been a huge help as well. Letting that car hit something that has some give instead of a concrete wall with none has made a huge difference in how much kinetic energy a driver feels on those head on wrecks. Earnhardt would have survived with a HANS device or if the walls would have had safer barriers either one.
It is my belief that we cast too much blame on the style of racing at a particular track set up versus the overall nature of the business. There have been drivers that have suffered injuries at shorter tracks because of similar circumstances rather than Daytona/Talladega. The intensity of the Daytona 500 plus the implication of the restrictor plate causes tight, dramatic racing in the closing laps.
What could've prevented the Newman accident? The double yellow line? The G-W-C? It's purely speculative and irrational to think a separate set of rules like eliminating the double yellow line and the overtime would prevent a driver getting wrecked on the last lap of the biggest race of the year. Neither reduces the intensity and the urgency on the last lap. What happened to Newman is a racing deal and is a causation of the type of sport we've come to know and love.
I wonder how many lives were saved because of his accident. Obviously the situations would have been completely different, but you see a wreck of that magnitude almost every month and they just get up and walk away.
Closed helmet plus the lack of a Hans restraining device led to his untimely death. His death, while tragic, ultimately led to NASCAR creating an R&D Center and a vast improvement to driver safety through the evolution of their cars.
The restrictor plate/Tapered Spacer is the issue. If they want to slow down the cars there are ways to do it without restrictor plates and keeping the cars bunched up. They can limit gear ratio's in the transmission and rear end. They can make aero changes that cause cars to become unstable when tucked under another car to bump draft and also have tires causing speeds to fall off quickly making a good handling car the premium. The speeds at tracks with a lot of tire wear like Darlington can drop 15-20 MPH or more in some of the ill handling cars in a fuel run.
I just feel like changing the package would be a knee jerk reaction and solve nothing.
The run he got was only due to Newman getting too big of a gap on Blaney and Hamlin. That big of a run would have come with any past super speedway packages. On top of that, this wreck also could have occurred at any 1.5 or 2 mile track.
Racing is dangerous and will never be completely safe. I do think NASCAR should take a look into strengthening the area of the car where Newman got hit. But changing the package or taking Talladega or Daytona off the schedule like people have suggested on social media is not the answer.
They don't run in packs of 30-40 cars on 1 1/2-2 mile tracks and don't have "the big one" involving 15-20 cars. They need to get rid of the restrictor plate packages. I agree that this was a fluke thing but you just don't typically see wrecks involving 15-20 cars because they are only bunched up on restarts then the field gets spread out.
They tried something like that ten years ago which led to the tandem racing. The fans raised hell and they made changes to create more pack racing. Fans are conditioned for pack racing at Daytona and Talladega. Its exciting and unpredictable, guys that don't have a shot at winning are in it until the end.
There are probably ways to improve it, but the result of Newman's accident shouldn't be a deterent. That can happen anywhere on a mile and a half and above.
the whole series has become nothing more than the old IROC series where everyone had the same cars and it was up to drivers to make the difference.
it sucked. like 4 year olds soccer games; just one mass moving.
back the fans up, build the fence higher, and let them run whatever engine package that they can keep on the ground. could you imagine if they could actually accelerate and pass another car??? then have to slow down for the corners? instead, they put a brick on the go-pedal and occasionally tap the brake but never lift the throttle.
it sucked. like 4 year olds soccer games; just one mass moving.
back the fans up, build the fence higher, and let them run whatever engine package that they can keep on the ground. could you imagine if they could actually accelerate and pass another car??? then have to slow down for the corners? instead, they put a brick on the go-pedal and occasionally tap the brake but never lift the throttle.
Yep
Sure did
I was kicking myself for leaving him off
The 2 and 48 don’t wreck people till late in the race
Those racing tanks rarely leak. Many safe guards. Fuel pump stops when motor or stops
Only fuel leaks you’ll see is what is in hose from tank to injectors. Fill line has two check valves. One on side of car, one in tank
I believe that was water running out. Gas would have caught fire.
They carry a tank and radiator
More water helps cool motor in traffic and cooler motor means more horse power
Also have large oil tanks (and no oil pans on motor) for same reason, cooler oil equals cooler motor They hold much more oil than average cars
That might have been oil. They use really thin oil in restrictor plate engines. Also increases hp
THAT’s where I had heard that phrase.You missed a great chance to channel your inner Colonel Jessup.
No pun intended but his death, while tragic, did save lives.You missed a great chance to channel your inner Colonel Jessup.
It's not tragic to die doing what you love. If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price.
Did his existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible, also save lives?
Rusty Wallace ran laps a few years ago at Talladega without a restrictor plate. Average speed was 237 mph
Motors have less hp now so they probably could not reach that speed today but still over 220. Too fast
Those cars can run much faster on Daytona and Talladega than they are racing. This is why they run in packs. All fans know this
To stop pack racing they need aero changes like someone else suggested. Make handling much more difficult and speeds slow down and cars will spread out.
Or put a inter loop on one straight stretch. It would be like a speed bump and a major handling issue. This is the cheapest and fastest way to stop pack racing. Plenty infield area at both plate tracks.
Newman’s crash wasn’t because of the pack racing but a mad dash to win a race. They are bunched up at any track during a green, white, checkered ending.
They can come up with many safety improvements but racing will be dangerous
if you don’t like carnage you’d hate super bike racing. Probably why it’s rarely on tv
Motors have less hp now so they probably could not reach that speed today but still over 220. Too fast
Those cars can run much faster on Daytona and Talladega than they are racing. This is why they run in packs. All fans know this
To stop pack racing they need aero changes like someone else suggested. Make handling much more difficult and speeds slow down and cars will spread out.
Or put a inter loop on one straight stretch. It would be like a speed bump and a major handling issue. This is the cheapest and fastest way to stop pack racing. Plenty infield area at both plate tracks.
Newman’s crash wasn’t because of the pack racing but a mad dash to win a race. They are bunched up at any track during a green, white, checkered ending.
They can come up with many safety improvements but racing will be dangerous
if you don’t like carnage you’d hate super bike racing. Probably why it’s rarely on tv
