Rounds 17 & 18, 2013 Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston - Page 4

Marcus666 · 6 Oct 2013, 20:56 (Ref:3313797)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Marcus, hope you're happy in Hades.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...dixon/2932683/

Im glad he is ok! Terrifying crash...

mythoughtsareracing · 6 Oct 2013, 21:10 (Ref:3313805)

Unconfirmed reports of Dario having a broken ankle.

[EDIT]
A commenter on the story from the local ABC website:

Quote:

I was there, the debris flew over our heads and a section of fence landed directly on the spectators in the bleachers. The crash happened right in front of us. The real question is why did the section of fence end up in the crowd? A frightening few seconds.

[EDIT 2]
Here's a link to video of the crash from a fan.
There's nothing graphic, thank goodness. At the end, you can see fans moving to get debris off of people.

http://t.co/IMRpN1So4X

Lagunaseca_4life · 6 Oct 2013, 21:56 (Ref:3313831)

^^^^Man that is terrifying, especially seeing a man holding his child a row or two from where the fence landed.

Here's what happened, truly terrifying hopefully the two head do the hospital are ok.http://youtu.be/G_wQaGyqlF4

Paradise City · 6 Oct 2013, 22:07 (Ref:3313841)

Vicious crash reminiscent of Toronto years ago but hopefully without any of the terrible human cost suffered from that.

As for the race itself, it was a strong race that put the NASCAR event in the shade in terms of action. Unfortunate for Helio, it seems this championship is back on.

mythoughtsareracing · 6 Oct 2013, 22:15 (Ref:3313844)

**bjohnsonsmith** · 6 Oct 2013, 22:16 (Ref:3313846)

Not wanting to apportion blame on anyone, regarding this accident and this is merely an observation but Sato seems incredibly accident prone.

mythoughtsareracing · 6 Oct 2013, 22:20 (Ref:3313849)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Not wanting to apportion blame on anyone, regarding this accident and this is merely an observation but Sato seems incredibly accident prone.

He said post-race that he pushed too hard and got wide and into the marbles.

No attack, no reward.

Paradise City · 6 Oct 2013, 22:20 (Ref:3313850)

That car ripped through that fence like butter.

Lagunaseca_4life · 6 Oct 2013, 22:22 (Ref:3313851)

I don't know man, he got loose.the speed through there is high and blind.not much DF could have done to avoid him as he was right be hind him.besides it wasn't just sato today, I saw a lot of race cars sliding and squirming around :/

**bjohnsonsmith** · 6 Oct 2013, 22:23 (Ref:3313854)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paradise City

That car ripped through that fence like butter.

Better than the fence ripping through the car like butter.

TimRTC · 6 Oct 2013, 22:27 (Ref:3313857)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Hate the helicopter shots, too familiar.

Crew took forever to get there, nobody stopped to help even though the track was nearly blocked.

Retrospect now but surely moving their cars off the narrow track would be the best thing. Given the lack of fire it would be very ill advised for a driver to try and extract a colleague from their car given the risk of back injuries, all they would do is block the emergency crews.

Lagunaseca_4life · 6 Oct 2013, 22:36 (Ref:3313861)

On another note, I changed the channel to football during the helio breakdown caution.did he make it to pit lane or was he towed to pitlane and allowed to repair? I question this because at Baltimore Dixon was crashed out by a PENSKE and was not allowed to return to pit lane for repairs to salvage any possible points.today helio breaks his car and is allowed to repair and salvage some points.so is there a regulation I missed somewhere? Can't fix a car if you're crashed out,but you can fix a car that you break or crash on your own(will power autoclub speedway 2012)? Or am I just making things up in my mind? Fishy fishy

thetool · 6 Oct 2013, 22:39 (Ref:3313863)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Better than the fence ripping through the car like butter.

Not really. If I'm being brutally honest, drivers lives are expendable - spectator's aren't. Spectator fatalities are always far worse for circuits/series/everyone involved than a driver. Catch-fencing containing the accident on the track, like it did in the Wheldon crash, always has to be number 1 priority.

Paradise City · 6 Oct 2013, 22:43 (Ref:3313866)

Sato's crash in this race is sometimes what happens in this sport and could happen again with a completely different set of drivers.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 6 Oct 2013, 22:43 (Ref:3313867)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetool

Not really. If I'm being brutally honest, drivers lives are expendable - spectator's aren't. Spectator fatalities are always far worse for circuits/series/everyone involved than a driver. Catch-fencing containing the accident on the track, like it did in the Wheldon crash, always has to be number 1 priority.

No one's life is more expendable.

Paradise City · 6 Oct 2013, 22:53 (Ref:3313873)

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Dario Franchitti was admitted awake and alert to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston for a concussion, spinal fracture that will require no surgery and a fracture to the right ankle. He will be kept overnight.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 6 Oct 2013, 22:58 (Ref:3313875)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paradise City

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Dario Franchitti was admitted awake and alert to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston for a concussion, spinal fracture that will require no surgery and a fracture to the right ankle. He will be kept overnight.

More here.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/110417

TheMightyM · 6 Oct 2013, 23:25 (Ref:3313881)

From the Houston Chronicle:

Quote:

An IndyCar spokesperson said Franchitti was awake and alert and will be kept overnight at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center for treatment of a concussion, a spinal fracture that will not require surgery and a fractured right ankle. An IndyCar official and two spectators were also transported to the hospital after debris and fencing sailed into the grandstand. Eleven spectators were evaluated on-site.

More here.

rwintle · 6 Oct 2013, 23:42 (Ref:3313885)

What I find incredible is how there seemed to be a chunk of fence right at the top of the grandstand. That is terrifying.

Also, I don't think anybody's yet mentioned the wheel - I think from Viso's car - that launched way up in the air. Must have cleared the fence, I just hope it got stuck in that big tree and didn't come down on anyone (apparently not from reports so far, but haven't seen or heard anything definitive).

Scary stuff.

TheMightyM · 7 Oct 2013, 00:00 (Ref:3313892)

Check out the frightening photo here. The catching fencing was torn away, and any additional debris would have gone into the stands.

**Woolley** · 7 Oct 2013, 00:00 (Ref:3313893)

TV coverage showed the wheel hit the bridge and dropped harmlessly on the spectator side of the fence in a grassy area.

FordCosworthPanoz · 7 Oct 2013, 00:10 (Ref:3313899)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

No one's life is more expendable.

1955 Le Mans nearly ended auto racing in Europe, nowadays if something similar happened at even a quarter as significant a rate it would cause serious national and even international ramifications for motorsport.

Imagine that same accident but at turn 1 at Indianapolis. Exactly.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 7 Oct 2013, 00:12 (Ref:3313900)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

1955 Le Mans nearly ended auto racing in Europe, nowadays if something similar happened at even a quarter as significant a rate it would cause serious national and even international ramifications for motorsport.

Imagine that same accident but at turn 1 at Indianapolis. Exactly.

No one's life is more expendable.

mythoughtsareracing · 7 Oct 2013, 00:20 (Ref:3313903)

Photos from a fan in that grandstand (posted on vwvortex.com)

The person posting the photos at vwvortex says that section of fencing was right in front of him and flew overhead to land further up in the grandstands.

rwintle · 7 Oct 2013, 01:03 (Ref:3313913)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woolley

TV coverage showed the wheel hit the bridge and dropped harmlessly on the spectator side of the fence in a grassy area.

Thanks. I didn't see that part of the broadcast. It was really, really high in the air.

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