Post by Logjammin #2 on Feb 21, 2007 19:02:59 GMT -6
As I've mentioned several times on TeamSpeak, I think NASCAR has lost their marbles over the design of the front-end of the Car of Tomorrow. Now, in ideal racing situations with pristine cars, there is no doubt in my mind that this design will be more stable and adjustable than anything seen in the series before.
But this is a contact sport, and I'm expecting to see those aero splitters get destroyed very frequently from the slightest contact with tires and walls, and especially every time a car runs through the grassy infield. I'm going to guess that we'll be seeing caution flags for splitter debris. I've always been proud that NASCAR racing does not suffer from the open-wheel racing fragility where the slightest contact or off-course slide can knock off a nose component and eliminate a driver's chance to win, often ending their entire day.
But my biggest concern (and in the past six years, we've been led to believe NASCAR's biggest concern, too) is safety. Well, I can't help but feel scared for the 43 x 7 = 301 over-the-wall pit crew members. The COT front-ends have a design with potential to deflect objects downward. In the modern past, the car front ends would merely push struck objects (and humans) forward.
But imagine that you're a crouching crew member and you're hit by a bumper of a passing COT in the pits. Deflecting downward is very bad, dude -- you are probably going to get completely run over. Oh, but what comes first? Ahh, the appropriately-named SPLITTER! That's no good.
Pit road accidents are frequent in modern times, as the precision requires crew members to shut out their 35, 45, 55 MPH surroundings as they focus on their task. Here are some accidents from last Sunday's Daytona 500, courtesy of Jayski:
News on the two injured crew members: It appears that Josh Yost, jack man for Jeff Burton's #31 Chevy, suffered his second serious Achilles' tendon injury in less than two years in Sunday's Daytona 500. Richard Childress Racing team spokesman David Hart said Yost suffered an injury to his left Achilles' tendon that doctors described as showing "classic signs of a rupture." In May 2005, Yost suffered a laceration to his right Achilles tendon at Talladega Superspeedway when he was struck by Rusty Wallace's Dodge on the pit lane. That took months to heal. Yost required a wheelchair and had to learn how to walk again. Hart said Yost flew home to North Carolina on Sunday in a splint and will see an orthopedic doctor as soon as possible Monday. Yost wasn't the only crewman injured Sunday. Jeremy Geiter, a crewmember on Mike Wallace's #09 team, suffered an injury to his left foot and ankle after being struck by #26-Jamie McMurray during a pit stop on Lap 176. Geiter told ESPN.com that he and the #09 team were pushing Wallace from the pit stall when McMurray, pitting behind them, pulled out and ran over his left foot. Geiter said doctors informed him he might have a hairline fracture, but that a sprain and bruise was likely the extent of the injury.(ESPN.com)(2-19-2007)
Hopefully this post lets me vent away my obsession with this topic. Unfortunately, all that's left is the "wait and see". I hope we don't see a gigantic rise in debris cautions using these cars. And I sincerely hope we don't see much crew member gore and more wheelchairs when this could have been considered before NASCAR started shaving pit road with 3400-lb razor blades.
But this is a contact sport, and I'm expecting to see those aero splitters get destroyed very frequently from the slightest contact with tires and walls, and especially every time a car runs through the grassy infield. I'm going to guess that we'll be seeing caution flags for splitter debris. I've always been proud that NASCAR racing does not suffer from the open-wheel racing fragility where the slightest contact or off-course slide can knock off a nose component and eliminate a driver's chance to win, often ending their entire day.
But my biggest concern (and in the past six years, we've been led to believe NASCAR's biggest concern, too) is safety. Well, I can't help but feel scared for the 43 x 7 = 301 over-the-wall pit crew members. The COT front-ends have a design with potential to deflect objects downward. In the modern past, the car front ends would merely push struck objects (and humans) forward.
But imagine that you're a crouching crew member and you're hit by a bumper of a passing COT in the pits. Deflecting downward is very bad, dude -- you are probably going to get completely run over. Oh, but what comes first? Ahh, the appropriately-named SPLITTER! That's no good.
Pit road accidents are frequent in modern times, as the precision requires crew members to shut out their 35, 45, 55 MPH surroundings as they focus on their task. Here are some accidents from last Sunday's Daytona 500, courtesy of Jayski:
News on the two injured crew members: It appears that Josh Yost, jack man for Jeff Burton's #31 Chevy, suffered his second serious Achilles' tendon injury in less than two years in Sunday's Daytona 500. Richard Childress Racing team spokesman David Hart said Yost suffered an injury to his left Achilles' tendon that doctors described as showing "classic signs of a rupture." In May 2005, Yost suffered a laceration to his right Achilles tendon at Talladega Superspeedway when he was struck by Rusty Wallace's Dodge on the pit lane. That took months to heal. Yost required a wheelchair and had to learn how to walk again. Hart said Yost flew home to North Carolina on Sunday in a splint and will see an orthopedic doctor as soon as possible Monday. Yost wasn't the only crewman injured Sunday. Jeremy Geiter, a crewmember on Mike Wallace's #09 team, suffered an injury to his left foot and ankle after being struck by #26-Jamie McMurray during a pit stop on Lap 176. Geiter told ESPN.com that he and the #09 team were pushing Wallace from the pit stall when McMurray, pitting behind them, pulled out and ran over his left foot. Geiter said doctors informed him he might have a hairline fracture, but that a sprain and bruise was likely the extent of the injury.(ESPN.com)(2-19-2007)
Hopefully this post lets me vent away my obsession with this topic. Unfortunately, all that's left is the "wait and see". I hope we don't see a gigantic rise in debris cautions using these cars. And I sincerely hope we don't see much crew member gore and more wheelchairs when this could have been considered before NASCAR started shaving pit road with 3400-lb razor blades.