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Posted on 08/24/2015 6:13:05 PM PDT by arbitrary.squid
Edited on 08/24/2015 7:20:20 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has died from a head injury suffered when a piece of debris struck him at Pocono Raceway. He was 37.
IndyCar made the announcement on Monday night at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
(Excerpt) Read more at abc30.com ...
Yes, prayers for the family, but it sure makes you appreciate the full cabin used in NASCAR.
Actually it’s time for people that never sat in a race vehicle of any type to stop telling people in race cars what it’s ‘time’ for them to do.
Why not ban snowmobile racing where you sit atop a 200HP buzzsaw of sharp ice spikes. Or motorcycle racing. Or motorcycle riding.
In motorsports, death happens. Watch, participate or do not. Amazing how fast people are to call for more regulation.
Well put....
Amen brother.
Racing...be it drag racing...stock car or formula one...is a sport all participants know can be fatal.
They all trade the knowledge that death is a hair breadth away at all times for the thrill of pushing a machine to the very edge of it’s limits....all for the glory of speed.
I would wager any amount of money that if one could ask EVERY racer of any series that died on track if they would change anything because of their death...I’d bet most would slap you.
Racing is inherently deadly. Of course no one wants to intentionally kill themselves in ‘unsafe’ vehicles, but there is only so much bubblewrapping one can do before you take the whole point away. One may as well get a copy of Gran Tourismo on a PS4 or something.
In truth, Indy/F1/Open wheel cars are inherently safer than any car on the highway today. Even with no F-16 canopy. But accidents happen and accidents are a part of racing. I get that lots of people think it’s insane to participate in the sport/sports. I get that some want maximum safety. But maximum safety means staying home.
I do feel bad for his family and I have known a couple racers over the years that were seriously hurt and even killed. It’s never a good thing.
Yup. It’s a mindset some have and some don’t. Those that don’t just cannot understand it.
Wow, that is terrible.
I don’t follow racing so I didn’t know him but RIP. Lost my young -ish cousin a few weeks ago from a traumatic brain injury. Still hurting.
Exactly. These are people in incredible physical condition doing a very complicated and dangerous job at the limits of human endurance. That’s what I love about F1 and Indy and high-level college football, olympics, just anything where people are performing at the limits of what is possible to do and doing it well.
The thing about carbon fiber is that it doesn’t weigh a lot, really, and when it does break, it shatters into so many pieces that a large amount of the impact against the wall is dissipated, reducing the shock to the driver, and the shrapnel isn’t something that will normally puncture a helmet or even a driver’s suit. But things like springs or metal parts remain a danger. So do the supports that keep the cars from killing fans in the stands, like happened with Dan Weldon.
Horrible! Prayers for his brave and sweet soul and prayers for his grieving family.
Lord, hear our prayers.
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So sorry for you lose!! That was terrible!
Prayers, condolences, RIP.
IndyCar travels a full safety and medical crew to all their events and they would have treated Justin at the hospital. Were it not for this crew, James Hinchcliffe would have likely died in his practice crash at Indy this year. His femoral artery was severed in his crash.
Dangerous occupation no doubt. The body kits used the past two years sure seemed to have made the cars more susceptible to bad crashes.
I work with folks that are gone half of nearly every week for auto racing's sake (pit crew, logistics folks, commms specialists) and they would all agree with this statement. Also worth noting as said earlier - the sport overall is still safer than most other forms of motorsport. Safety is always paramount and changes to car construction over the years bears this out.
One last opine....If you took open-cockpit out of the various series classes of sports and open wheel racing, those classes would disappear within a few seasons. My 2 cents.
RIP Justin.
Having been a “race car driver” in my past, I can tell you that the open wheels of formula cars contribute to far more incidents than do open cockpits.
Open cockpits exists in formula and sports car classes.
I have been hit in the helmet by hard debris at speeds in excess of 130 MPH. It’s loud, and you do see it coming, from my experience.
The one’s that hit your visor are the scary ones.
Most common debris is ‘tire worms’ ... and they stick ;-)
Amen. Been there done that. My FReeper handle “Blueflag” is a vestige of my prior high speed heritage.
The thrill has risks.
My wife and I watched this happen; very sad.
Prayers for his family and the entire racing-sports family.
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