Only if you don't understand the physics involved. That NASA estimates the delta-V at ~500 MPH would seem to indicate that they, too, grasp the physics I've already described better than you appear to...
The distance from release point to impact point being 50 feet is a limiting factor. You really believe that the foam decelerated several hundred miles per hour in 50 feet??? In less than 1/6th of a second?
The distance is not the "limiting" factor... There are several involved- surface area exposed to the full force of the air flow, the relatively low density of the material, the hardness of it, etc.
It's way too simplistic to ignore these things...
ONLY when you ignore the physics involved, does damage from the foam insulation appear remote (if not impossible). To anyone who does understand these issues, the chances go from "slim-to-none" to "quite possible" or even "probable," depending on who you ask...
My money has been- since I heard about the insulation hitting the wing- that this is the primary reason the Columbia was lost.
I get the same response from enviro-Nazi's from time to time, when they get on their soap-box about the long-lived radioactive isotopes associated with nuclear power... (My specialty happens to be nuclear power and robotics, not astrophysics...) Common misconceptions or a fundamantel ignorance of certain facts are far more interesting, than reality- which is why enviro-nuts are strictly anti-nuke... They simply fear (and therefore protest) something they obviously don't understand...
When you look at the big picture with regard to the shuttle... this is the only that makes sense... Everything points to this...