Need to change the subject from the earlier tragedy. Watched much of the race today at The Glen. 'Dinger did an incredible job. First, one heck of a great race, no questionably timed yellows, close race until the end Second, it was impressive watching those big cars on a road course, unlike years past, they actually did not look like tanks, they looked fast and scary. Third, have seen drivers killed at The Glen, they still have those terrible double Armco barriers. Really lucky these NASCAR cars are about as safe as possible. Horrible accident near the end would have been fatal years ago. Fourth, a lot of these drivers have learned to turn left, even Dale Jr. was running right there, Gordan had the pole.
that was a great battle between Dinger and Ambrose. I really hope NASCAR sees the light and moves a few dates to Road America, Sebring or Road Atlanta (which they now own), etc. NASCAR on a road course is a hell of a show. agree on the armco. just stupid to still have that surrounding a race track in 2014.
Every time I turned it on (three times) they were parked with a red flag situation and the TV talking heads were vamping on and on about fuel strategy while the cars were parked. WTH? BHW
I watched the entire thing and I thought it was a GD demolition derby which was for the most part boring. The only reason the last two laps were interesting was because after nearly every restart 4 or 5 cars would take each other out in turn one! Those 4 or 5 guys in contention during the final restart did do a great job of not spoiling the last two laps at least. Good driving! As for the controversial RH turn into the NASCAR shortcut they're going too GD fast for that clumsy cutoff and half of them always seemed to hit the patch of dirt in between the two routes thus upsetting the cars and whamo! Well DUH! That was a horrific crash to watch. ESPN labeled it a "highlight". Then they blame the track! Either slow down and stay within the GD track or I guess NASCAR is going to have to shoulder each side of that stretch with concrete abutments so that no can't get off course. NASCAR is weird. Thank god no one was hurt. I'll stick to the short chute, heel and toe of the boot thankyou. I've run many times there with the Ferrari club but we don't take the NASCAR shortcut. Thank goodness for that! That track has changed a lot over the last 14 years with plenty of improvements but no ... it's not a NASCAR oval.
The red flags were to rebuild the guard rails. The Armco should have been removed after Cevert. These aluminum barriers can not withstand a NASCAR race car slamming into them at speed. For safety reasons, the race can not continue without the guard rails in place. So it is a catch 22. Heavy cars, and light weight aluminum barriers do not go well together. Like Jimmy J said in his interview, they need to use the "safer barriers", the same that Tony George implemented at Indianapolis. The problem IS the track. It is owned by NASCAR (sort of), so NASCAR needs to revamp the facility if they want to continue putting on a great NASCAR show and not have injuries, which are bound to happen. You can not have an F1 or any sports car race without incidents, to expect that you will not have incidents with large less maneuverable race cars is a bit silly. Those are virtually the same blue Armcos from when I took the photo below. And yes, there was an actual race, a really exciting race. Better than 99% of the F1 or sports car races I have watched the last 30 years. Only IndyCar has come close lately. These guys were really rubbing paint today very aggressively. But then, you really need to be a real race fan. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree, they need to run the boot. except so many of the accidents happen in that little bypass section out of the carousel.....so NASCAR isn't going to get rid of their money maker btw, Michael McDowell is a lucky SOB....he's had some huge hits in his career. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQFoRoaKfs]2008 Texas Qualifying Michael Mcdowell Flip ***LIVE*** - YouTube[/ame] [ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLB8fXSpEmA[/ame]
Forced form of racing on a very wrong circuit. What could go wrong? Thank god those NASCAR cars are so safe. I'm amazed. Wrecks sell ...
That one wasn't coarse enough? Sorry, just not a NASCAR fan. Those cars are better suited to the purpose built left turn tracks. Now if they changed the format of the cars then yes I agree but that's just because road racing is inherently more interesting and a better demonstration of skill. Yet it languishes here? I'm not sure NASCAR fans would agree though. How do you pack them in in the same numbers to watch on a track like The Glen? It's hard to seel much of the race from the grandstands there compared to a NASCAR track. TV can cover it well though. Jumbotrons?
Watkins Glen is an ISC owned track. If they keep their heads in the sand as they do with their series running dinosaur cars that weigh 3,400+lbs on a dinosaur track which employs 60's safety technology then a debacle "race" like this is the inevitable result. The last two laps may have been thrilling for those who stuck out the one hour and three quarters of red flag and doubtless numerous other yellow periods because, as we all well know, they'll throw a full course yellow for anything when NASCAR runs on road courses. The problem being, some think cars stopped on the track for nearly two hours is real racing. Sorry, but the best option yesterday was the MotoGP at Indianapolis, a thrilling dice between the top four bikes throughout. Per the motorsport.com report: Incidents and delays Three vicious crashes took place with two of them causing the race to be stopped. In total, the stops consumed one hour and 42 minutes. In the first crash, Cole Whitt went head-on into the first-turn tire barrier. It happened after his brakes failed. The second major crash on lap 56 was the most brutal, and it started when Biffle went off the track and Ryan Newman crashed hard, collecting Michael McDowell. The latter slammed into guard-rails on both sides of track, tearing off wheels in the process. Alex Bowman and Danica Patrick were also involved. The accident occurred on the exit of turn five. Although there were no injuries, the ARMCO guard-rails were damaged extensively, forcing officials to stop the race for repairs. The race was red flagged at this point for one hour and 21 minutes. Newman blasted the safety shortcomings of the track, indicating the guard-rails he hit were antiquated. In a late-race incident, Denny Hamlin slammed into the sand barrels at the entrance to pit lane, tossing sand and pieces of the barrels in every direction. For the last time, the race had to be stopped, so repairs could be made once more. BHW
Yes, you are right. My friends that are die hard Nascar fans love their ovals. I don't ever watch the races. Just get the 411 from my buddies. I agree that road racing is much more fun and exciting to watch. Recently I did an Oval go kart race. Now I do love tight twists and cambered turns, this was the first time I opened my eyes up to the idea oval racing is fun in a pack. But that's when your in the race. When my heat wasn't running it was quite boring. With media coverage now, it seems the best way to view a race is by tv. Even at a Nascar track(Cal Speedway, only one I've been too) it's really hard to see what's going on in the back straight away. Let alone turns 2 and 3. I actually fell asleep at this race. lol What's amazing to me is the tv numbers that Nascar pulls in. There are a lot of closet watchers.
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The problem with NASCAR and road courses, is that the format for cautions and cleanups does not fit well with tracks like Road America or Road Atlanta. There should be a special and different format for this. IE - two pace cars, one for lead lap, and another for lapped cars. They can both get their pit stops in on the same lap at a track like Road America, and save an entire lap of 35MPH caution speed. Ovals are far more thrilling when the pavement isn't lazer etched and super sticky, and the banking angle doesn't allow for corner speeds with no braking zones. Louden was fantastic this year, pretty amazing race to watch.
both those tracks need to pave their gravel traps anyway, that would help a lot. maybe closing pits under yellow would help that problem too. I also think at tracks like Road America, the pace car could drive much harder for the 3.9 miles that doesn't have safety workers/vehicles present and speed up caution lap times agree re: ovals, Iowa, Richmond and Phoenix are my favorite. all are relatively flat and under 1 mile. as to Watkins Glen...anyone have a guesstimate as to what it would cost to remove all the Armco, then install cement walls (or at least posts) and safer barriers? that has to be a seven or eight figure bill.
The same criticism of top tracks right up to Le Mans may be made. While they like to make a big play about improvements, the fact is these circuits which have had armco barriers in place from the 60's era are deserving of a safety review by the FIA. We saw last year at Le Mans the effect of having armco barriers being bolstered into trees. Drivers who used to race in the 24 Hours say that many of the wood pilings they're attached to sit rotting in the ground. There are no perfect circuits, save for perhaps brand new ones such as COTA, and as safe as the cars have become currently, many of the circuits have not kept up. All tracks should be on notice as it sounds as though they were lucky no one was killed at Watkins Glen yesterday. BHW
