driver killed at homestead

[byron12]

IRL driver Paul Dana was killed this morning during warmup at homestead. I don't know much else.

[charrbq]

Heard that a little bit ago on the tube. They gave no more info than you have. The IRL's getting quite a reputation for getting guys injured severely, now killed. It's motor sports, and we all know the dangers, but it makes you wonder.

[lateapex911]

Sad. Not a name I have heard of before.

It's funny you mention that safety issue. When Tony George was promoting the IRL concept in the early days, he said it was going to be all oval, he was critical of his competition for safety issues and stated that his leage would only race cars that were much safer. He also wanted to harvest racers...American racers, from the oval series here in America.

Immediatley, his league allowed used errr....'preowned'...CART chassis, which were arguabley LESS safe than the then current crop of cars in the CART series he criticised for being unsafe. Today, the series is a far cry from the series he promised, and his "reasons" for seperation are nowhere to be found..

[Mattberg]

Being in Miami this was of course plastered all over the local news and in news breaks by our South Beach sensationalist media... :rolleyes:

This accident is going to raise a lot of eyebrows, as it should. It was horrific and brought back memories of Alex Zanardi's terrible accident. What was troubling was that it seemed to me to be totally avoidable. Perhaps I'm wrong here but when an accident like this happens so late after the initial incident (probably close to ten seconds after Carpenter hit the wall) you really have to wonder. Carpenter was almost at a stop after hitting the wall and then sliding along and then down to the bottom of the track before Dana finally came around and looked to hit him at full speed. Carpenter's car was literally cut in half.

It seems to me when a car hits the wall everyone should pretty much be at safe speed within five to ten seconds and certainly during a practice or warm up session. It just doesn't make any sense to me. :(

[lateapex911]

I just watched the video and replays. Very sad, and it does appear that it was avoidable. One video was from an incar of a car that was lapping at the same speed, and initially, a few feet from the killed driver. As the smoke appeared from the spin, the driver in the car with the video braked and downshifted to 1st. But the other car continued at what appeared to be full speed. Telemetry is quoted as having an impact speed of 176, as the car struck the gearbox/engine of the spun car, 8 seconds after the start of the original incident.

It seems that during practice a more conservative reaction would have been in order... but thats just the reaction from my view of the incar.

Sad to see, young guy, coming back after a long injury, had landed a great ride with Rahal.

[Daryl DeArman]

It would seem that lateapex911 watched the same Speed News broadcast interview with Robin Miller, I saw.

I have always been entertained by Robin Millers' outspokeness, probably because I've always agreed with just about everything he says, the more anti-IRL the better, until now.

Maybe he's right, maybe he's not...I just don't think the timing was proper (respect to Rahal-Letterman and Dana family) to say that (paraphrasing) it is too easy today for someone to get a ride in the IRL and that inexperience is what led to the crash.

We don't know what kind of dash warning or radio transmission Dana saw or heard. Maybe his spotter was telling him "go low" since the impact was up high, maybe Dana was transmitting something at the time of the yellow, maybe someone from the crew was coaching him to get some heat in the tires before putting in a flyer. We don't know and it doesn't do anything to change the outcome.

Pretty horrific crash. Godspeed Paul Dana.

[Bill Miller]

It's always a sad day when we lose someone to this passion we call a sport. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

I watched the SPEED News that Jake and Darryl mentioned. I was actually surprised how many times they showed the replay. In fact, I was surprised that they showed the replay at all. That was a HORRIFIC crash, and the fact that Carpenter is alive is amazing. Robin Miller's comments may or may not be correct, but I agree that the timing was wrong. Raise the issue, but not immediately.

Godspeeed Paul Dana. :(

[Geo]

Maybe he's right, maybe he's not...I just don't think the timing was proper (respect to Rahal-Letterman and Dana family) to say that (paraphrasing) it is too easy today for someone to get a ride in the IRL and that inexperience is what led to the crash.

[/b]

I agree. I thought Robin Miller was rather crass.

[RacerBill]

Yes, yesterday was a sad day for racing, and our prayers go out to the Dana family and for Paul.

I did not see the Miller broadcast, but I did see one replay of the accident and the commentator was saying that the spotters were telling the drivers to stay low (second hand information, sorry), which is ok as long as the intial car stays high against the wall. So the spotters MAY have contributed to the accident.

I can't speak for yesterday, but when I left the IRL (I worked ias a Timing & Scoring Official and was colocated with Race Control) the cars were equipped with a radio-operated light on the dashboard that is VERY bright and flashes immediately after a yellow flag comes out. When first developed by Delphi Electronics, it was manually activated, primarily because there were so many different systems for activating the track lights at each track we went to.

I cannot draw any conclusions from the limited information I have, but it is had to imagine that cars can be designed to withstand this type of crash, as well as the human body. What we do is danerous, and there will always be some set of circumstances that will compromise all the safety that we engineer into the car, the track, and our personal safety equipment.

Be safe out there!

[charrbq]

One of the arguements Tony George put forth for oval racing was that it eliminated the multiple variables of a street or road course race. No sudden braking, no right or left turns, no walled race tracks on city streets, etc. Reality was and is, he ran an "oval", the main oval, and that is most of what he understood. He knew what the France family knew in that when you put it on a plate in front of the stands, the fans eat it up.
What he failed to recognize was the inherent danger of racing an oval...everything, the good and the bad is captured within itself. NASCAR has major incidents every weekend at speeds approximating those of the IRL. The drivers don't get injured or killed as often due to the construction of their cars. However, the IRL places drivers in reclining, carbon fiber tubes, complete with exposed rotating masses that will launch the errant pilot into the stands.
The IRL's safety record is pretty shaky. I won't question the skill of any of the drivers, but it does seem like there are more incidents where limited experience and poor judgement are a factor in someone's injury. No one will ever know what caused a driver to hurtle into another car so long after the incident, and if they did, the outcome will still be the same.
Another person with a future, a hope, a dream...someone loved by family, respected by many, and responsible to others is gone.

[zracre]

I have never been a big fan of IRL, I like to see cars turn left AND right...but it is racing. I was on my way home from Moroso race and my father called me all worried after hearing about a racer killed. I told him id never race IRL...then told him to remember Michael Schumakers comments on 60 minutes (or was it 20/20) a few years ago...Indy? too dangerous. Racing those things on some of the tight ovals is just too much. At HSR they wont even let the Formula cars run there as they are afraid of the speed attainable. It is a shame to see someone go...

[joeg]

Looking at the video, it was simply bad luck. It appeared that a number of cars went by Carpenter at a pretty high rate of speed.

[RSTPerformance]

Someone or something failed. I don't know the entire story of this accident and many excuses can be made, but in the end it was an avoidable accident that never should have happened. Lessons can and should be learned.

For us here in IT world, lets all learn from this and remember that our corner workers are not holding or waiving yellow flags for no reason... Stay alert of the flags and when you see a yellow expect anything, and adjust your driving accordingly. NO car should be hit 8 seconds after an initial accident, especially after it has come almost to a complete stop.


My heart and prayers go out to the friends and family, thankfully he was doing something he loved;

Raymond