IndyCar Thread (post-Indy 500) ***SPOILERS***

Partial Clip...
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_5dW_PWWd0]Dario Franchitti terrible crash IndyCar 2013 Grand Prix of Houston - YouTube[/ame]

 

Second clip.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ5HXja5T8A]Dario Franchitti terrible crash IndyCar 2013 Grand Prix of Houston - YouTube[/ame]

 

awful crash...several fans injured..Franchitti has fractured spine and ankle and a concussion

 

Yikes... Catching up on the news now... Sounds like Dario will be okay... Sad to hear fans hurt.

 

I wonder how this will play out in the media. Fans getting injured isn't a good thing to improve ratings or attendance. I expect fallout later this week.

 

its all over the network news channels

 

have I mentioned how much I love street circuits? boring and dangerous, that's a winning combination.

 

I believe Dario will hang it up and Ganassi offering Hinchcliffe the ride next season.

 

Sorry if repeat:

EXCLUSIVE: Local 2 viewer video of Grand Prix of Houston crash | Home - Home

 

No...you never did! Can I get you some tickets for St Pete next year?

 

will there be an indycar series next year?

 

Wow. That happened fast. Absolutely no time to react. That debris was already in the stands before that guy even started to react to it.

 

Now there is the 10 million dollar question! After today........I see blood in the water and the sharks are circling !

 

Look at the size of that fencing that flew up into the crowd.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD2p7afUcsQ]Grand Prix Houston Crash 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

 

looks like an entire section came undone from both support pillars...yikes.

 

I bet if NASCAR wrote a check for $10mm they'd get indycar and some change back!

 

I don't think the check needs to be that big. I think Jimmie Johnson's remarks today pretty much summed up this day. It doesn't belong on the streets.

 

agreed. though indycar seems to think they don't belong on ovals...


I had a friend who used to say that if they stopped making Budweiser, then re-released it under a different name, people would rave about it. maybe the same could work for indycar-take a few years off, regroup, rebrand, and see what happens. if nobody misses it during the hiatus, then there's your answer.

 

Yep it was an entire section. I am really amazed that it didnt take out more people. It was a long ways from the side of the track to the top of those stands. I was on turn 3 but for some reason I was thinking about how weak the fences looked the whole day.......

Other than this though good day but definitely not CART/Grand Prix of Houston circa 1998-2002

 

I would agree. Spec cars, no ovals and no real road race courses (Road America, Laguna Seca, etc) are just killing it into the ground.

 

Just returned from Houston. I was in that area (a bit further 'upstream') at the start of the race but only stayed there a couple of laps because it didn't seem like a very good place to be if something went wrong. Strangely, people were allowed there on the outside of the curve but not on the inside. I didn't envision a piece of the fence landing in the stands though.

Our thoughts go out to everyone involved in the crash, both on and off the track.

 

How many cautions at Houston yesterday including the last lap? 9?

How does Indy Car think these street (parking lot) races are good for their brand?

Had we lost Franchitti, would there be any thought by Indy Car that maybe these street
races are more bother than they're worth?

Just reading on another site that the course at Houston was assembled in less than a
week due to there being a football game at Reliant Stadium the weekend before. How
is that possible?

Having covered the construction of the street course at St. Petersburg, it takes them
the better part of a couple of months to get the course walls and catch fencing up. Quality
control is checked and re-checked and great time taken to be sure everything passes inspection.

As stated, there are perfectly good permanent road racing facilities across the country
sitting dormant but they continue to try and make these 80's relic street courses work.
Assuming this course in Houston is done to amuse the Shell-Pennzoil boys there.

Glad to hear Franchitti will be alright. However, if with these injuries he is cleared to race
in two weeks at Fontana, they'd better remember that Greg Moore was cleared to race
there too with a broken wrist.

BHW

 

Just how close the fans were to the incident...

BHW
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Just saw this crash. It's amazing more fans weren't more seriously injured.

I thought the designed the cars so they won't launch with wheel to wheel contact?

I hate to say it guys but the days of street racing on temp tracks is coming to an end.