MTosi

For those of you who didn't watch the cup race.....



(after the initial view skip to around two minutes, and look how hard it is at 2:35)

Wait haven't I seen this show before?????

ohhhh yeah.....

(sorry seth)


another view of the same crash (fast forward to half way)



and another different one....



ohh wait I almost forgot one more....



I'm the last person to complain about runout and saftey measures at a track. However it seems to me the Glen is intent on taking out the field with that stupid tire wall at turn 11. It just sucks cars right into it and spits them out right into the hard charging field. They don't even need runout there or anything new (however it would be nice), just to get rid off that stupid tire wall and have something more predictable like the armco around the rest of the track.

Professor Helmüt Tester

I was sitting in my car, on the grid, as the 3rd wreck above (the SM's) happened, right over my right shoulder. Sounded like somebody was dropping garbage cans full of bowling *****. The red SM is a good friend of mine.

The "belted" tire wall (tires with a wrapping of conveyor-belt belt) will just grab a car and turn it hard-left into the wall...and "the hits just keep on coming".

The armco won't grab a car...it's just a "glancing" blow. The old foam blocks that were then installed to cover the armco wouldn't grab a car...although I've seen the foam blocks knocked all the way over into pit lane (looked like a snow-storm)...Soupy Campbell got the "distance & height" award, circa 2004 or 2005.

IMO, the belted wall is a major contributor to 3 MAJOR wrecks in 2 years...somebody is going to get killed there if it isn't changed.

But...ISC (WGI's owner) won't do anything about it, unless the NASCAR guys start to bitch. Let's hope they bitch.

ltc

Not even sure a SAFER barrier system would help much there, unless you add some more runoff area prior to the barrier, but that means $ and fewer seats.....not likely.

gums

Man, I am so pissed about that stupid tire wall, and I was thinking exactly this after watching the Speed
Report last night. I would've called Despain to air it, but I was watching late on TiVo. And I remembered that Spec Miata wreck which was downright scary, especially for us Club Racers.
I guess it's gonna take a fatality for them to think about it.
And they charge you to fix their stinking "safety barrier"!

MTosi

Yeah, the biggest problem is the belt not necessarily the proximity of the wall. If it were just a solid wall the cars would just slide along it side ways if that were the direction of impact or bounce off in a more predictable manner if the angle were closer to 90 degrees. Until that belt was there I never remember them having any incidents similar to that.

gums

Although that is true, would it be so awful to make a proper escape area so racers don't have to wreck their cars there? It's the last turn before s/f, there's going to be racing in there!

sleder

The only way it will change is if NASCAR or IRL demands it.

Sharptt

...or if someone is killed resulting in a major lawsuit. Maybe some legal hotshot like John Edwards should start a class action lawsuit to divert attention from his social activities.

Mike Buck

Remove the tires, but don't change the wall. Drover's who go a little wide just get a glancing blow, but won't be spun around. Nothing will make it safe for folks completely out of control or unwilling to drive within the limits of themselves and their machinery.

fstockcarrera

I'm the last person to complain about runout and saftey measures at a track. However it seems to me the Glen is intent on taking out the field with that stupid tire wall at turn 11. It just sucks cars right into it and spits them out right into the hard charging field. They don't even need runout there or anything new (however it would be nice), just to get rid off that stupid tire wall and have something more predictable like the armco around the rest of the track.[/QUOTE]

Turn 11 is a maintain your position or with an incredible run you may improve, but it is not a corner that rewards high entry speed and you need to recognize early that you are off line. What I see are guys that are obviously too hot or off line and make no adjustments, Now that's poor judgement! You can't win in turn one and definitely not in 11. The corner's fine there is little margin for error. That's W Glen

dmoffitt

"fix" turn 11? ....

^ more like what he said

mrbill_fl

hmmm, SCCA also has a lot of sway... if they don't certify a track, no insurance.

-maybe try talking to their local safety steward? then national.


-my question is if you pull the tires, & the armco is damaged, how long to fix that? might take several hours, no? and how likely it will be damaged...

Flying Finn

Well, I'm not sure if just remowing the tires is the right way to go. The way those two NASCAR guys plowed into it (especially the left car), it could've been pretty bad wreck if there was no cushion.
Besides, those two idiot were banging each other already before so I'd put a lot of blame on them, not only on the tire wall.

MTosi

Just incase no one had noticed from all my previous posts I am the last one to complain about track saftey and especially the Glen. I have no problem with the corner, the wall, or the lack of runout. If you crash, generally I feel the drivers directly involved are at fault. However I do have a problem with something that is taking out not just a few drivers but a large chunk of the field, including drivers who are driving conservatively and not putting anyone at risk. What is causing the problem is that foolish rubber band or whatever it is around those tires. Those aren't the only 4 crashes I've seen there, I just found the most obvious 4 I could find. It literally sucks cars in and spits the out across the track right into the line of traffic. They realy hadn't had very many incidents on that corner until they put that there. If a car ran wide or misjudged by a little bit (like James Clay in the WC one), they would simply have a side to side impact with the wall, have some minor damage on the side of their car and continue..... but instead of just riding along the wall, they get sucked in, it creates an impact, then they get sent out into the middle of hard charging speed with no forward motion to dissipate the impact, or time for other drivers to react.

Professor Helmüt Tester

Wrong-O. SCCA has absolutely NO "sway" at WGI.