7 NASCAR Fans Injured by Debris at Talladega

[underpants]

Source: Fox News



Apr. 26: Carl Edwards flips into the catch fence on the final lap of the Aaron's 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway.

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Seven fans sustained minor injuries after being struck by flying debris when Carl Edwards' car went airborne into the safety fence on the final lap of the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Track medical director Bobby Lewis said none of the injuries was life-threatening but two women were airlifted to Birmingham hospitals. Lewis said one, who was taken to UAB Hospital, likely had a broken jaw and also had a cut on her mouth. The other was transported to Brookwood Hospital because of an unspecified medical condition but was not hurt.

Lewis said they were airlifted because of traffic, not the severity of the injuries.

"No. 1, Carl. No. 2, the spectators. It was a sigh of relief when the car came back on the (track)," Hunter said. "I think that's the first time that fence has been hit."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518036,00.html

[Mnpaul]

1. Here's a better shot

Some got a real closeup view of the crash.

[jobycom]

3. Right away you can see the fence wasn't built by the Army Corp of Engineers.

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. A 3,500 pound stock car going airborne at 200 MPH,

and it didn't kill anyone. I've been there, and it's one helluva' fence.

[jobycom]

5. I just watched the video, and I'm a believer.

Someone did something right with that fence. It gave enough to save Carl Edwards, and held enough to save everyone else. The hero of that race wasn't in a car.

[Elwood P Dowd]

6. NASCAR has made dramatic improvements in safety the past few years.

From the fences to the safe-barrier walls to the cars, it's a much safer sport.

[Posteritatis]

52. Good point

I was looking at the fence and going "they've got that to protect them?" and then I stopped to think about the physics package that just smote the thing. Now I'm sold on the idea that someone did something right making the thing, given most of the alternatives.

[Enrique]

2. that's what they go there for

the rest of the fans were jealous.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. That's not true.

90% of the fans go there for racing and competition. People who say they go there for wrecks know nothing about race fans. There are always a few drunks that are there just for the party, but the vast majority simply want to see some good old fashion side-by-side racing. People don't pay $150.00 for a ticket to see wrecks. The majority of NASCAR races never produce spectacular wrecks like the one today. I've been to a few that never even had a caution flag.

[snooper2]

20. "There are always a few drunks that are there just for the party"

Just a few :rofl:

I'll have to take you to Texas Motor Speedway sometime :rofl:

[alfredo]

40. wrecks stop the action.

[DeadEyeDyck]

32. I was there with my company

We were seated near the wall where the crash happened. Trust me, we were nto there for that. My wife-to-be and I road the Harley from Florida and tent camped there Friday and Saturday night. It was great. We met and talked with hundreds of people and the weather was beautiful.

I get pissed when so many go on that these are white racists southerners out to see people killed in car wrecks. Actually, the concern shown after the crash was admirable. Last weekend I met some of the nicest people I know. No one talked politics. Just racing and a lot of beer and BBQ. We loved it.

[jb5150]

7. These kind of events are inherently dangerous,

remember the deaths just a short while ago at the monster truck events...

[Rebubula]

11. LOL

LIFE is inherently dangerous, my friend.

Just as a reminder, more people have been killed this year by household accidents than have been killed at NASCAR or Monster Truck shows in the history of the 'sport'.

[Mopar151]

13. Even baseball

has occasional injuries from a ball going into the stands! And even 'Dega fans in the infamous infield don't riot like European soccer mobs or NBA fans.

[KamaAina]

39. Bats, too

There's a craze among hitters for bats made from maple, rather than the traditional ash. Big problem: They shatter. A chunk of one flew into a woman at Dodger Stadium. It got her right in the kisser. Ouch. And no one has been able to demonstrate that they give hitters any advantage over ash bats.

[jb5150]

16. I never said not to attend these events

I just said that you take your chances when you do....check your ticket for the fine details.

[alfredo]

41. Rallys are really dangerous.

Watch the old guy at about 1:50. He's a real veteran of such events.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_6AyjDIqZA

[CRF450]

42. Stock cars are safer than what you and I drive.

Keep that in mind. A regular street car would be obliterated into many pieces in a wreck like that.

[Syrinx]

9. I saw something on the news about Carl Edwards running across the finish line

Is that "legal?" Is it allowable to finish the race on foot? I'm not really a NASCAR fan, so maybe I misunderstood.

[underpants]

10. Really? Life immitating art.... at Talladega

[Mopar151]

12. Show biz, mostly

Scoring is done with a transponder (transmitter) attached to each car, so the scoring stops where the car stops.
In the old days, there were several famous dramatic finishes where the driver "helped" - I beleive Tazio Nuvolari pushed a burning car across the finish line in a Grand Prix in the 30's, and Don Prudhomme pushed a broken dragster across the finish line to win the US Nationals after his opponent "redlighted" (foul start).

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

15. And then...

Pridhomme promptly collapsed, due to the heat and the fact that back then, drivers were not the fittest guys on the planet. These days, Tony Schumacher or Antron Brown could carry the dragsters across the finish line and then run a few laps to cool down.

Now, my friend Bob Wilber, Tim Wilkerson's team manager and former minor league baseball player...I dunno. He'd probably fall down. ;-)

[melm00se]

34. no

it's not. your car has to cross the finish line for it to count.

This is a la Talladega Nights

[Are_grits_groceries]

14. And this is with restrictor plates.

They fly on these Superspeedways. When these huge tracks were first built, the drivers even balked at them. They still don't like driving on them.
Drivers Irate After Terror at Talladega
http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/26/terror-at-talladega-fans-hurt-by-debris/

[Bombero1956]

17. I am mildly surprised

that this thread hasn't turned into the "Nascar fans are southern inbred dimwits" and "Nascar is a complete waste of time and fuel" diatribes I see so often here at the home of the supposedly enlightened.

[tabasco]

38. If you don't like what you read here.

What are you doing "at the home of the supposedly enlightened."

Maybe you can find more enlightened people on a Nascar forum.

[Bombero1956]

47. because its the one area in which I have a problem here

on all other subjects I fit in nicely thank you. My point being that anytime there's a thread related to Nascar the haters come out to post the same crap. I know how they feel on the subject so there's no reason to beat a dead horse.

[auburnblu]

53. Maybe things are changing

It is encouraging that this hasn't been a beat up on southern race fans thread. Thats a good thing. A few will rant on and on, but maybe the day of the "I'm enlightened" crowd has come to a close. Thank goodness.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. ROFL...feed the victim complex! Feed it!

:rofl:

:thumbsup:

There's nothing funnier than somebody getting all sniffy because other people don't particularly care for their personal tastes. It's like that teenager you knew who was always trying to get you to "like" a song he was playing on the car radio, and got all upset and disappointed when you'd just rather have a conversation. Do people have no self-awareness anymore?

:rofl:

[Bombero1956]

27. oh I don't give a shit what others think

The same can be said about folks who don't like something you like and feel that they're somehow morally and intelectually superior and feel the need to remind you every fucking time the subject comes up.

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. "I don't give a shit what others think"

:rofl:

Uh huh.

:rofl:

[Occulus]

25. *snort*

:rofl:

[Renew Deal]

26. Apparenly, so are NASCAR haters

[southpaw]

35. Wow...

I thought it was obvious that I was joking around!

I just typed the two things Bombero1956 said he/she was surprised someone hadn't already said.

Sure, I could have posted my comment as a reply to Bombero1956 or used a silly emoticon to indicate my light-hearted intent... but I opted for a more subtle approach.

Sorry 'bout that.

[Renew Deal]

36. It wasn't that obvious.

But it was funny.

[Javaman]

19. And what of the driver? is he okay? nt

[underpants]

21. Carl Edwards

no serious injuries (hard to believe) two people were flown to a nearby hospital but that was just because traffic would have taken forever

[Mopar151]

43. Not hard to beleive.

The seats and restraint systems are constantly evolving, and the current state of the art is amazing. You are not allowed to use them on the highway, because IIHS and NHTSA do not think that you are smart enough.
The track manager at Talladega is already reviewing video of the incedent, and I'm sure that the NASCAR tech center will be blowing some more cars over with their corporate jet.

[catnhatnh]

22. Yep-Carl Edwards....

He was leading the race and attempting to block a car when the crash occurred. Since the wreck was on the final lap he climbed from the car and ran across the finish line to cheers from his fans. Also he said, to show his mom he was ok. And no-running across the line doesn't count although cars have slid across the line upside down for the win...

[FarCenter]

24. In 1955 a Mercedes-Benz went into the crowd at Le Mans, killing 80 spectators

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster

The most deaths in a single racing accident.

Had the fence not held, this could have been as bad.

[Renew Deal]

28. If this car hit that crowd

The numbers would have been comporable. Low seating is actually not the best at NASCAR. It's better to sit higher up. It's slightly less noisy and you can see more of the track. And I guess there's less chance of being killed.

[FarCenter]

31. In the Le Mans case the car broke up before going into the crowd

The NASCAR vehicles are stronger, but if an engine parted from the frame, it would probably go through the fence.

The other thing that increased fatalities at Le Mans was that the magnesium body caught fire and burned.

[RamboLiberal]

37. And the Le Mans crash was over 50+ years ago

All of racing safety has improved tremendously in that time period. For instance fire at one time was a huge killer of drivers. You rarely see a sustained fire because of fuel tank improvements.

[Renew Deal]

29. I saw the end of the race.

It was amazing how this car took off. He got spun and then someone ran into the back of the car which sent it flying into the fence. It was very dangerous for the fans and the drivers. I'm actually surprised the fence held the car. That was a near worst case scenario. The only thing worse would have been multiple cars hitting the fence. Thankfully the drivers weren't hurt.

[brentspeak]

33. Ten years, 3 spectators were killed when a tire spun off an Indy car

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/05/01/sports/main45325.shtml

[jmowreader]

44. Remember the response to that incident?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0VCW/is_19_25/ai_57294888/

Executive summary: because Lowe's Home Improvement has its name on the speedway, some dumbasses down here decided Lowe's was responsible for the deaths. Bombs were found in three Lowe's stores--in the paint departments, where they would have been most effective. IIRC one of the bombs that didn't go off was an incendiary bomb; the fire department said that if the bomb HAD gone off the fire would have destroyed the store.

Remember that the next time you shop in one of those places: if the paint department catches fire, the whole building is going to evaporate. Which is why Lowe's and Home Depot have sprinklers right in the racking system.

[Blue_Tires]

45. i wanted to scream at the epsn commentator

who was talking about how 'exciting' a finish this was...dude; please FOAD :eyes:

someday nascar should just fully convert to a demolition derby format, or drive on an intersecting figure-eight track...

[Scout]

46. the finish WAS exciting, even if the wreck had not happened

it was exciting before the wreck, i was watching the finish.

[Mopar151]

48. You're an "On the Edge" fan...

It's all good - I love women's team demo derby (I could'nt make this up!), but i ain't messin' whith those ladies, :evilgrin:they're mobile and hostile:yourock:
Hey, this sport has plenty of showbiz for everybody - check out a "Night of Fire" at the drags, or the CORR trucks - why the NASCAR hate?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

49. "Shake N' Bake!!!"

:hide: Somebody had to say it.

[flvegan]

50. Restrictor plate racing, designed to keep the pack close.

When the pack is that close, you have big crashes. There was at least one other big crash that day.

That's why I like F1.

Kudos to the engineers on that fence. When I saw the crash the first time a couple days ago, I was amazed at the structure. Also, kudos to the NASCAR engineers that have come so far with the design of the cage in the car that a crash like this can happen and the driver is out and running across the finish line.

[One_Life_To_Give]

51. Restrictor Plates due to Insurance concerns

Restrictor plates came out over IOnsurance company concerns with the cars exceeding 200MPH at the larger tracks. Every time the lap speeds start to go over 200 the size of the restrictor is changed to slow them back down to 180-190MPH.