OT: Death of Kenny Irwin.

Haven't seen any posts yet. But I just had to express my sorrow on the death of Kenny Irwin. All around drivers like him are not the norm anymore, and the the loss of someone so young is terrible. The circumstances seem to mirror the tragic death of Adam Petty. Perhaps it is time NASCAR looked at further rule changes to prevent this from happening again. As a NASCAR Modified fan I have lived through this once already, and don't wish to see this trend continue. Brian -- MCSE, MCP+I, MCT, A+, N+ btgoss on Gamespy and Kali

I've always thought (though a lot of nascar traditionalists will get on my case) that moving the seat/pedals/steering wheel to the middle of the cockpit would help a lot. This way no driver will hit his head on the wall (like John Nemechek at Homestead a few years back). Of course, that might make it easier for a driver to hit his head on parts of the chassis... -- -Brett http://www.geocities.com/cartstop Goodbye Greg Moore 1975-1999 "I will see you at the front, and wish me luck..." - Greg Moore Goodbye Adam Petty 1980-2000 "It's all about racing on the track." - Adam Petty Congratulations to Juan Montoya, 2000 Indy 500 Champ! "While the Indianapolis 500 victory is an impressive achievement one must remember that this is not the race it once was. The opposition was really not up to much in the overall, global scheme of things. The Indy racing League field, whether Tony George and his people like it or not, are not good enough to make it in CART-level competition..." -The Mole (F1 Racing Magazine) btgoss <[email hidden]> wrote in article <eQr95.12815$Ta5.3672@news02>... > Haven't seen any posts yet. But I just had to express my sorrow on the death > of Kenny Irwin. All around drivers like him are not the norm anymore, and > the the loss of someone so young is terrible. The circumstances seem to > mirror the tragic death of Adam Petty. Perhaps it is time NASCAR looked at > further rule changes to prevent this from happening again. As a NASCAR > Modified fan I have lived through this once already, and don't wish to see > this trend continue. > > Brian > -- > MCSE, MCP+I, MCT, A+, N+ > btgoss on Gamespy and Kali > > > >

A truly sad loss, Kenny was a natural behind the wheel, 1996 USAC Midget Champ, 1997 NASCAR Truck Rookie of the year, 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup ROY, his ride with Yates was a loose, loose situation (see how poorly Ricky Rudd has done in the same car this year, and you can't say it was the driver when Kenny was with that team) and it appears as if Chip Ganassi is/was to take over team SABCO whom Kenny has been driving for, so who knows where things could have gone for him. I wonder if it was a head injury? Could a HANS device have saved him? Or PEDS barriers like at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Or the defomable barrier like they use at Rio ? How much longer will track owners and series officials allow racing to continue without making current safety innovations mandatory ? Devices like Styrofoam barriers, and the head/neck restraint device HANS have been around for a decade, yet very few series mandate them, and even fewer race tracks have installed them (barriers). We all know that Loudon is shaped like a paperclip so the angle of impact must have been VERY steep indeed, why I ask didn't they have some kind of cushion in the turns, other than a hard concrete wall? A very sad day indeed. :-( "btgoss" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:eQr95.12815$Ta5.3672@news02... > Haven't seen any posts yet. But I just had to express my sorrow on thedeath

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> of Kenny Irwin. All around drivers like him are not the norm anymore, and > the the loss of someone so young is terrible. The circumstances seem to > mirror the tragic death of Adam Petty. Perhaps it is time NASCAR looked at > further rule changes to prevent this from happening again. As a NASCAR > Modified fan I have lived through this once already, and don't wish to see > this trend continue. > > Brian > -- > MCSE, MCP+I, MCT, A+, N+ > btgoss on Gamespy and Kali > > >

It's a dangerous sport, people die. I don't know what can be done to change that. Maybe get rid of the walls?

On 8 Jul 2000 20:14:35 GMT, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote: >I've always thought (though a lot of nascar traditionalists will get on my >case) that moving the seat/pedals/steering wheel to the middle of the >cockpit would help a lot. This way no driver will hit his head on the wall >(like John Nemechek at Homestead a few years back). Of course, that might >make it easier for a driver to hit his head on parts of the chassis... It was a lot cheaper and easier to do what they did, which was to put a small, triangular web of stout nylon webbing in the corner of the rollbar next to the driver's head so it couldn't get to the window opening and smack the wall. Regards, Brett C. Cammack That's Racing! Motorsports Pompano Beach, FL

As I said, that didn't help Nemechek. And, if you watch Dave Marcis' crash at Pocono last year, you can see that the Nylon does stretch... -- -Brett http://www.geocities.com/cartstop Goodbye Greg Moore 1975-1999 "I will see you at the front, and wish me luck..." - Greg Moore Goodbye Adam Petty 1980-2000 "It's all about racing on the track." - Adam Petty Congratulations to Juan Montoya, 2000 Indy 500 Champ! "While the Indianapolis 500 victory is an impressive achievement one must remember that this is not the race it once was. The opposition was really not up to much in the overall, global scheme of things. The Indy racing League field, whether Tony George and his people like it or not, are not good enough to make it in CART-level competition..." -The Mole (F1 Racing Magazine) Brett C. Cammack <[email hidden]> wrote in article <[email hidden]>... > On 8 Jul 2000 20:14:35 GMT, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote: > >I've always thought (though a lot of nascar traditionalists will get on my > >case) that moving the seat/pedals/steering wheel to the middle of the > >cockpit would help a lot. This way no driver will hit his head on the wall > >(like John Nemechek at Homestead a few years back). Of course, that might > >make it easier for a driver to hit his head on parts of the chassis... > > It was a lot cheaper and easier to do what they did, which was to put > a small, triangular web of stout nylon webbing in the corner of the > rollbar next to the driver's head so it couldn't get to the window > opening and smack the wall. > > Regards, > Brett C. Cammack > That's Racing! Motorsports > Pompano Beach, FL >

On 9 Jul 2000 15:48:18 GMT, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote: >As I said, that didn't help Nemechek. And, if you watch Dave Marcis' crash >at Pocono last year, you can see that the Nylon does stretch... That was developed *after* and *because* of the Nemechek wreck. It's supposed to stretch and dissipate energy, but still keep the driver's helmet within the confines of the body so it cannot strike the wall in a flush, driver's side impact with the wall. If Michael Waltrip had been sitting in the center of his Busch car when he had that horrific crash he would've been squashed like a bug. Regards, Brett C. Cammack

I'm a huge Marcis Fan. I remember the crash ... but, haven't seen any specific pictures of the netting stretching. Could you direct me to some clips? Thanx, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:01bec17d$10f1afe0$39b38ad1@default... > As I said, that didn't help Nemechek. And, if you watch Dave Marcis'crash

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> at Pocono last year, you can see that the Nylon does stretch... > > -- > -Brett > http://www.geocities.com/cartstop > Goodbye Greg Moore 1975-1999 > "I will see you at the front, and wish me luck..." - Greg Moore > Goodbye Adam Petty 1980-2000 > "It's all about racing on the track." - Adam Petty > Congratulations to Juan Montoya, 2000 Indy 500 Champ! > "While the Indianapolis 500 victory is an impressive achievement > one must remember that this is not the race it once was. The opposition > was really not up to much in the overall, global scheme of things. The > Indy racing League field, whether Tony George and his people like it or > not, > are not good enough to make it in CART-level competition..." -The Mole (F1 > Racing Magazine) > > Brett C. Cammack <[email hidden]> wrote in article > <[email hidden]>... > > On 8 Jul 2000 20:14:35 GMT, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >I've always thought (though a lot of nascar traditionalists will get on > my > > >case) that moving the seat/pedals/steering wheel to the middle of the > > >cockpit would help a lot. This way no driver will hit his head on the > wall > > >(like John Nemechek at Homestead a few years back). Of course, that > might > > >make it easier for a driver to hit his head on parts of the chassis... > > > > It was a lot cheaper and easier to do what they did, which was to put > > a small, triangular web of stout nylon webbing in the corner of the > > rollbar next to the driver's head so it couldn't get to the window > > opening and smack the wall. > > > > Regards, > > Brett C. Cammack > > That's Racing! Motorsports > > Pompano Beach, FL > >

Unfortunately, that won't help the type of injuries that cause most deaths. Most of these are caused by (someone correct me if the term is wrong) Basiler injuries where the force of the head going in one direction shatters the base of the skull, causing instant and total failure of the spine. That's what Airbags are supposed to prevent. The head 'bottoming out' and shattering the plate, not hitting the steering wheel. -Larry "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:01bec0d9$22fe9b20$64b38ad1@default... > I've always thought (though a lot of nascar traditionalists will get on my > case) that moving the seat/pedals/steering wheel to the middle of the > cockpit would help a lot. This way no driver will hit his head on thewall

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> (like John Nemechek at Homestead a few years back). Of course, that might > make it easier for a driver to hit his head on parts of the chassis... > > -- > -Brett > http://www.geocities.com/cartstop > Goodbye Greg Moore 1975-1999 > "I will see you at the front, and wish me luck..." - Greg Moore > Goodbye Adam Petty 1980-2000 > "It's all about racing on the track." - Adam Petty > Congratulations to Juan Montoya, 2000 Indy 500 Champ! > "While the Indianapolis 500 victory is an impressive achievement > one must remember that this is not the race it once was. The opposition > was really not up to much in the overall, global scheme of things. The > Indy racing League field, whether Tony George and his people like it or > not, > are not good enough to make it in CART-level competition..." -The Mole (F1 > Racing Magazine) > > btgoss <[email hidden]> wrote in article > <eQr95.12815$Ta5.3672@news02>... > > Haven't seen any posts yet. But I just had to express my sorrow on the > death > > of Kenny Irwin. All around drivers like him are not the norm anymore,

and

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> > the the loss of someone so young is terrible. The circumstances seem to > > mirror the tragic death of Adam Petty. Perhaps it is time NASCAR looked > at > > further rule changes to prevent this from happening again. As a NASCAR > > Modified fan I have lived through this once already, and don't wish to > see > > this trend continue. > > > > Brian > > -- > > MCSE, MCP+I, MCT, A+, N+ > > btgoss on Gamespy and Kali > > > > > > > >

Are you talking about the one at Bristol, where he hit that wall opening and the car went from 125mph to 0 in about 400 milliseconds? That was the worst wreck I've ever seen. -Larry "Brett C. Cammack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On 9 Jul 2000 15:48:18 GMT, "Brett" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >As I said, that didn't help Nemechek. And, if you watch Dave Marcis'crash

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> >at Pocono last year, you can see that the Nylon does stretch... > > That was developed *after* and *because* of the Nemechek wreck. It's > supposed to stretch and dissipate energy, but still keep the driver's > helmet within the confines of the body so it cannot strike the wall in > a flush, driver's side impact with the wall. > > If Michael Waltrip had been sitting in the center of his Busch car > when he had that horrific crash he would've been squashed like a bug. > > Regards, > Brett C. Cammack

On Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:12:11 GMT, "Rip Van Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote: >Are you talking about the one at Bristol, where he hit that wall opening and >the car went from 125mph to 0 in about 400 milliseconds? > >That was the worst wreck I've ever seen. > >-Larry If you check the date on the last post in a thread and find that it is more than a few days old (let alone a couple weeks), you can probably consider the discussion closed.... :o) ~daxe PS..tell 'em "large marge" sent ya...

Hey, who woulda thunk it? -Larry "daxe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:12:11 GMT, "Rip Van Larry" <[email hidden]> > wrote: > > >Are you talking about the one at Bristol, where he hit that wall openingand

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> >the car went from 125mph to 0 in about 400 milliseconds? > > > >That was the worst wreck I've ever seen. > > > >-Larry > > If you check the date on the last post in a thread and find that it is > more than a few days old (let alone a couple weeks), you can probably > consider the discussion closed.... > > :o) > > ~daxe > > PS..tell 'em "large marge" sent ya... > >