REVscene Automotive Forum - Bizarre mishap at Nascar race on Sunday puts mechanic, drivers at risk

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Bizarre mishap at Nascar race on Sunday puts mechanic, drivers at risk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZFgYuayXp0

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On the list of dumb things to do at a NASCAR race, "running toward traffic" has to rank at the top, ahead of "eating that sandwich that's been sitting in the sun for an hour," "assuming that young lady is telling the truth when she says she doesn't have a boyfriend" and "rooting loudly for Jeff Gordon."

The most bizarre moment of an exceedingly strange Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday came in lap 67, when a crew member for Marcos Ambrose's No. 47 team dashed across pit road and halfway through the infield to chase down an errant tire

You hopefully don't need me to tell you that chasing down a tire in the direction of cars going 200 m.p.h. probably isn't the wisest move. But gas man Jimmy Watts decided to chase down the tire anyway, apparently fearing that it was headed straight for the cars on the front stretch. But like a broken TV that suddenly starts working again when the repairman shows up, the tire stopped dead just before Watts got to it.

NASCAR pays close attention to crew member safety; it was in Atlanta that a member of Bill Elliott's crew died when Ricky Rudd's car spun into him in 1990. And as Matt Kenseth noted, just because cars were moving in an orderly fashion when Watts began chasing the tire doesn't mean they were going to stay that way.

"Maybe he's new," said Matt Kenseth. "Maybe he hasn't seen us drive, but we tend to wreck a lot. I wouldn't want to be out in the middle of the grass."

Driver safety aside, Watts really screwed up a lot of people's day, since he caused a caution to come out when most of the field was pitting under green. As a result, he put half the field a lap down and perhaps cost someone a shot at winning the race. "He kind of ruined the race," Kasey Kahne said. Watts was suspended for the rest of the day, and further penalties could be forthcoming. (To be fair, the tire would have brought out a caution on its own, but Watts' run just added that extra little jolt of terror. Plus, whoever let the tire get away remains at large.)

Sad thing is, even thinking about chasing the tire wasn't necessary. Ambrose has had troubles with tires getting loose before, and everything ended up okay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNE0G2lDtl0&e

lol at the 2nd video.. the first one.. wow what was he thinking!!

the 2nd video is awesome! hahaha

i laughed so hard at the second one.

second video lol nice

lol at the 2nd vid that was awesome

LMAO...tire landed perfectly in the second video

he didn't ruin the race, the guy who pulled out the yellow flag did. there was no reason too.

the guy is a hero, he risked his life to save the drivers. hitting that lose tire at 200mph woudln't have been good.

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Originally Posted by johny (Post 6322326)

I agree.

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Originally Posted by johny (Post 6322326)

LOL are you joking?

Guys trust me, the drivers can dodge a stray tire bouncing at walking speed. And if they did clip it accidentally, it's just some body damage. 3000lbs @ 200mph is not going to be disturbed greatly by 30lbs @ 5mph.

On the other hand, if there is a spin caused by some other reason, the cars could wreck and spin right towards the idiot on the grass.

The only person who was at risk was the newb who ran out after the tire.

Not only that, but he probably disqualified or at the very least penalised his own team.

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Originally Posted by Rich Sandor (Post 6322346)

Not only that, but he probably disqualified or at the very least penalised his own team.

they were probbaly penalised at soon as it got away..

aaahahahaha! second vids awesome. perfect landing

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Originally Posted by Rich Sandor (Post 6322346)

Is it not, the higher the speed, the smaller margins of disturbance are magnified greatly?

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Originally Posted by johny (Post 6322360)

they were probbaly penalised at soon as it got away..

They would be penalised on at least two counts:
1: letting the tire get away
2: having a team member enter a restricted area

When you crew on a grand-am, nascar, etc etc team, there are very strict rules to what you can and cant' do. For example, if the fueler/gasman just TOUCHES the car with his hand while fueling, it could be a penalty. If an extra person leaves the hot pits by accident, it's a penalty. etc etc etc.

And also, the yellow flag would have come out on it's own, regardless of the guy chasing after the tire. He really didn't have to do it!

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Originally Posted by Noir (Post 6322382)

Is it not, the higher the speed, the smaller margins of disturbance are magnified greatly?

Of course, but it's unlikely anyone would hit the tire dead on centre (which would cause the greatest damage) When you're driving an oval, you have a pretty good view of the infield ahead of you. They'd probably dodge it, or clip the edge of it. I think it's more likely that the cars would nudge each other as a result of trying to dodge the tires.

Cameramen used to sit on the grass and take photos.

This guy was not in as much danger as everyone has made it out to be. Nascar is trying too hard to be a family event.

OH MY GOD LOL. I couldn't stop laughing when i clicked Play. Those accents :P

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Originally Posted by Rich Sandor (Post 6322346)

3000lbs @ 200mph is not going to be disturbed greatly by 30lbs @ 5mph.

So what you are trying to say is... run full speed at a bullet when shot at you???

Bullet weight 7.45g (9mm) vs 175lb Man (79378.664 g) = body damage?

A tire/wheel on a track is the 2nd most dangerous thing on the track only to #1 which is, head on into a barrier.

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Originally Posted by cressydrift (Post 6323084)

So what you are trying to say is... run full speed at a bullet when shot at you???

Bullet weight 7.45g (9mm) vs 175lb Man (79378.664 g) = body damage?

What exactly are you saying here?

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A tire/wheel on a track is the 2nd most dangerous thing on the track only to #1 which is, head on into a barrier.

Possibly true.

However, the person in the race car hitting a wall has a decent chance of surviving. The person chasing the tire has a near-certain chance of being killed if hit by a spinning race car.

A car hitting a tire will suck, but the driver is guaranteed to be safe, short of having the tire kicked up right through the windshield (which I believe is impossible due to the actual windshield that is used).

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Originally Posted by cressydrift (Post 6323084)

That sort of sounds like an apples and oranges compairson not that I know anything about physics. The man in the car is protected by a roll cage and the tire isn't being shot at the car at over 800 mph which is rougly the speed of a bullet.

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Originally Posted by cressydrift (Post 6323084)

Except the tire isn't travelling at the speed of sound, and isn't small enough to create 500000psi when it hits. So you analogy isn't even close to applicable.

I haven't hit a stray tire & wheel yet, and not at 200mph, but I've hit other things travelling at speeds (like animals) and while they can do signifcant body damage, it's nowhere near comparable to hitting a barrier head on at speed.

Yes, noone WANTS to hit a tire & wheel combo at speed, and yes it would suck ass if you did, but it's not going to kill you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Sandor (Post 6322346)

Guys trust me...

if they did clip it accidentally, it's just some body damage. 3000lbs @ 200mph is not going to be disturbed greatly by 30lbs @ 5mph.

LOL....

yeah a 30lb wheel through someones windshield at 300km/h is just some minor body damage, seriously, stop worrying about large foreign objects on the track you guys, it's perfectly safe and normal. :haha:

There are a lot of people overthinking this.

1) The team that let the tire loose would have been penalized anyway, probably just a stop and go for the driver, maybe more.

2) The wheel wouldn't have made it onto the driving surface anyway, it stopped well short of the track.

3) Had a foreign object of that size made it close to the track, the yellow would have be thrown anyway, and the track marshals would remove it.

4) Even if the tire did make it to the track, there is no sense in risking another life out there. At the end of the day it's just a sport, no one should die for it.

EDIT While looking for cars hitting wheels footage, I found this gem:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/103039...taches_itself/