Fan's Eye View ~ Save The Fans, NASCAR
2/28/2013
Jim Fitzgerald
But what other factors came into play in the wreck which injured 28 people and sent several to the hospital, two in critical condition? More importantly, NASCAR as a sanctioning body and a sport overall dodged a large bullet in the fact that no one was killed by flying debris. What can be done to make sure it does not happen again?
First, the wreck. Kyle Larson’s car was turned towards to wall. The wall in question, the outer wall, is covered with the Steel And Foam Energy Reduction, or SAFER, Barrier.
The SAFER Barrier. Those walls are built to absorb energy, which means they must give, the same way your passenger car has “crumple zones.” If the car, or in our case, the wall was made of something that didn’t give…well, we know what can happen there. Because they give is the reason that the car will not take the full brunt of the impact.
So, the wall gives, slightly, and as it does, Larson’s car is jacked up from behind by another car, sending it into the air, and into the catch fence.
The catch fence. It is designed and built to be just that; a fence that will catch. It is constructed of concrete anchored steel poles supporting chain link fence supported by steel cables. It is there in case the unthinkable happens.
As Larson’s car continues its flight, it appears as though it will go rear first into the fence, but the rear of the car does not touch the fence at this point. Instead, the car continues to spin, airborne, and the front of the car is into the fence. At this point the front of the car begins to disintegrate, first the front clip, the hood, the fenders, suspension, and finally the engine is ripped from its moorings. A lone tire flies from Larson’s car OVER the catch fence, and unfortunately lands in the crowd of spectators, and the engine comes to rest just on the other side of the catch fence, at the opening of a crossover gate.
The crossover gate. A section of the retaining wall and catch fence that will open to allow vehicle and pedestrian traffic to cross into the racing area. When this gate is closed, it is anchored deep into the ground by steel locks to prevent opening in the event of impact with that section.
As Larson’s car flies along the fence, it makes contact with the crossover gate, and deposits the engine on the spectator side of the barrier and fence.
Throughout this entire process, smaller parts and debris continue to fly off of not only Larson’s car, but others involved in the crash, and the barrier and fence as well. Larson’s car finally finds earth again, and continues to spin down toward the infield grass. Within seconds of stopping, Larson has emerged from the car unhurt.
The car did what it was designed to do.
The catch fence did what it was designed to do.
The SAFER Barrier did what it was designed to do.
So, if everything performed how it was designed to perform, why are we talking about it with twenty-eight injured fans, and three suing NASCAR?
To state simply, as our sport evolves so must the safety of it. NASCAR has done an excellent job of making the cars safe for the drivers. As the years have passed, they made the tracks safer to be a spectator, by installing those catch fences. Remember the days when races were run at the fairgrounds? Me neither, but I hear there used to be hay bales or split rail fencing “protecting” the fans from the cars. So, as the racecar has entered Generation 6. Maybe it is time for the fan protection to grow up as well.
How do we do it? Well, nothing moves at the speed of racing. Baseballs, footballs, hockey pucks, and basketballs…none of them go 200 miles per hour unless they are being carried or pushed by a race car or the Space Shuttle Enterprise. (I once saw a volleyball travel at an average speed of 154.919 miles per hour. It was a “Wilson” replica from the movie “Cast Away,” carried by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as he won at Dover in 2001.)
Let’s talk about the catch fence first. Plexiglas has been stopping 100 mile per hour hockey pucks for years. Can it stop an airborne racecar? With the current catch fence in place behind it, supporting it, it might. Just like the SAFER barrier, you build a little bit of give into it, so that it accepts the racecar, and then returns it to the track instead of rejecting it outright. The smoothness of the Plexiglas removes not all, but most of the car-eating activity performed by a chain link fence and the support poles. Will the Plexiglas break sometimes? Probably, and it will have to be replaced. I would rather sit through a ten minute window replacement than hear about two dozen people going to the hospital, or worse.
The SAFER Barrier would remain the same. It has performed magnificently. The Plexiglas would be mounted flush with the face of the barrier, so it would appear as a longitudinal extension of the wall.
Assuming all of this works, and Larson’s car and pieces of the fence would no longer fly apart; this next step is not needed. However, better safe than sorry.
A screen, or net, would stretch from the top of the Plexiglas wall to the top of the grandstands. This would appear much like what you see behind home plate at a baseball stadium, except I believe the mesh would need to be a finer grade, with smaller openings. If high enough, strong enough, and taut enough, would it have stopped Larson’s tire from injuring fans?
Perhaps it could…but…
I am not an engineer; and I don’t have millions of dollars to build a prototype; all I have is an idea. But it seems to me if NASCAR can build a bulletproof racecar, and NASCAR can spend the money to make a track dryer capable of making Daytona race able in 40 minutes, I think maybe they can put the army of brains to work and figure this out. The car is safer, the racing is safer, but it is nothing without the fans.
Save the fans, NASCAR…save the fans.
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