Round 6: The 99th Indianapolis 500

[fredd1]

So......these great, overblown pigs really fly!
Maybe even better then they did, what with those long overdue aero achievements.
Lets face it, the basic design is screwed.
Powers that be just don't have the gonads to face up to it.
Nothing new really.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

https://youtu.be/THfIvk628eo

Same deal as Helio's; contact with wall and then airborne. 2 for 2. Have there been any similar spins/incidents, without wall contact to compare these 2 with this May? I know, hard to spin at the speedway and not hit the wall.

Good news here-drivers walked away, even though Josef looked winded (probably from impact with wall), but they were all alone so bad news, it could have been worse in a pack...

Do CFH have a spare chassis and/or the bits to repair that one?

And do the teams have to continue to run that engine, even though it has been upside down, to escape penalty?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by fredd1

So......these great, overblown pigs really fly!
Maybe even better then they did, what with those long overdue aero achievements.
Lets face it, the basic design is screwed.
Powers that be just don't have the gonads to face up to it.
Nothing new really.

A Lola or Reynard it isn't.

[BudLightJaguar]

Not good at all. Now when this has happened twice it may be just a matter of time when a car takes off for the third or fourth time.

[ger80]

Suggest they move back to the Dallara aero kit for the 500

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by ger80

Suggest they move back to the Dallara aero kit for the 500

So far these two incidents have only involved the Chevy aero-kit.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by tux

In practice today Josef Newgarden had a similar crash to Helios which again led to his car flipping, this needs to be investigated and fixes tried before its too late.

Now, any car that spins and gets air under it at 150mph+ is probably going to take off and in the majority of cases the impact once it has taken off is fairly light considering the spectacular nature of it. However i dont think we should just say, ahh well its just physics, we cant change that...

While Newgarden's crash partially had aero at play, I'd say the car also flipped partially due to the way it hit. In my opinion it had a lot of similarities to Rick Mears in 1992 and Scott Riggs in 2005 - the latter being a NASCAR crash. So I wouldn't blame the aero - which I do think needs to be looked at, after Castroneves' crash - alone in this particular crash.

Rick Mears 1992:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmvvkqTd_2k

Scott Riggs 2005:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h33CM-0eX0w

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by fredd1

So......these great, overblown pigs really fly!
Maybe even better then they did, what with those long overdue aero achievements.
Lets face it, the basic design is screwed.
Powers that be just don't have the gonads to face up to it.
Nothing new really.

A really enlightening post with no addition of facts to inform the opinion. Keep it coming

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Tbh I think Newgarden's doesn't have much to do with the aero kit seeing as there was very little of it left when he got airborne! Imo that was lift from the chassis and energy, not like Helio's, although it obviously needs looking at!

[tux]

The Indy 500 made the BBC Sport website!

Surprise Surprise it was focusing on the accidents..

[10TENTHS]

No wonder people come to the conclusion that ovals are dangerous. The ghoulish media only shows crashes. Never mind the other 1995 laps that were turned yesterday without problems...

[MoMedic9019]

As Mulsanne Mike will be quick to point out. Any car will fly at the right angle and speed.

Before we hit the panic button, lets see how the rest of the month goes. If it becomes a regular occurrence, then perhaps more investigation is warranted.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Here's the link to that BBC sport article about the 500.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motorsport/32751484

[bjohnsonsmith]

IndyCar are streaming Fast Friday.

http://racecontrol.indycar.com/

[Nikki Katz]

I'm getting really nervous about this now. Two in a week can't be a coincidence. They said they're looking into it, but what are they actually doing? There isn't much time left before the race and I'm frightened at the thought of 33 of these things on the track at once.

[10TENTHS]

Newgarden's crash was triggered by a puncture, for what it's worth.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying postponed until tomorrow because of rain.

http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/05/...ay-one-wrap-up

[tux]

Ed Carpenter has had a crash which then resulted in his car becoming airborne. Hes ok, the car less so.

[Nikki Katz]

This is ridiculous. They should postpone the race until it's fixed.

[tux]

Originally Posted by Nikki Katz

This is ridiculous. They should postpone the race until it's fixed.

I agree with you but you cant "fix it", the only thing that can really be done is for the Chevy teams to run some more rear downforce to stop the things from getting loose and hitting the wall.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by tux

Ed Carpenter has had a crash which then resulted in his car becoming airborne. Hes ok, the car less so.

Having seen the footage the car doesn't become airborne like Hélio Castroneves car. The rear of the car does come up but I think that may be due to the combination of the impact of the car hitting the wall and the left rear wheel propelling the car, which then spectacularly fails in an orange flash.

https://youtu.be/qrRfsKcztH0

[canamman]

Can't get over these wrecks this year happening to
veterans. Use to be rookies for the most part.

Hope to get a pole sitter today!

[tux]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Having seen the footage the car doesn't become airborne like Hélio Castroneves car. The rear of the car does come up but I think that may be due to the combination of the impact of the car hitting the wall and the left rear wheel propelling the car, which then spectacularly fails in an orange flash.

https://youtu.be/qrRfsKcztH0

Your right, i think the impact was what first caused it to get airborne and then once it was aiborne the air caught it and over it went.

Seems like something might be going on over at Indy,

Marshall Pruett tweeted:
On the crash, Ed saying he believes there are problems besides the aero kits, but declined to elaborate.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by tux

Your right, i think the impact was what first caused it to get airborne and then once it was aiborne the air caught it and over it went.

Seems like something might be going on over at Indy,

Marshall Pruett tweeted:
On the crash, Ed saying he believes there are problems besides the aero kits, but declined to elaborate.

I'm interested to know what these other problems are.

It is a fact that when the late Dan Wheldon initially tested the DW12, it had balance issues, with much of the weight at the rear of the car and this was compensated for, by putting a metal weight in the nose; not exactly a high tech solution.

[GTRMagic]

Or the whole field runs the Honda kit...