Motorsport safety on TLC

[Joe Fan]

I just watched a program on The Learning Channel about motorsport safety. Even though the program was primarily about IRL cars, there was some good information about improving safety and causes of injuries. This one guy who worked for GM in the area of safety research said that it is not how fast a car hits the wall, it is how the car hits the wall and how quickly the force behind the crash is stopped that causes the injuries to the brain and neck. Bascially, what he is saying is that a blunt hit directly into a wall at 120mph is worse than many crashes at 200mph where a car doesn't hit the wall squarely. This is why the nose cones on open wheel cars are small and pointed as it helps prevent a blunt impact into a wall and the nose cone that comes to a point help transfer the force of the impact away from the driver.

I think this is what killed Adam, he hit the wall too squarely in a situation where the car was not losing speed due to a stuck throttle. Thus he had to absorb too many G forces too quickly. Either way, whether he was in an IRL car, a Champ car or a stock car, he would have died in that situation but should NASCAR attempt in the future to have manufacturers come up with more rounded front noses to help deflect some of the energy? Would it make that much of a difference unless the tubular chassis is changed somehow since the noses of the cars are sheet metal anyway?