Soft Walls

Roselady3 · 29 Nov 2001, 21:29 (Ref:180357)

I just kind of fell over this one:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011127/272086_1.html

Emfa · 29 Nov 2001, 23:37 (Ref:180403)

This sounds VERY interesting, and with some good potential too. Thanks for posting that article Rosie!

I wondered if these were the soft walls that Humpy Wheeler had been trying, but they appear to be totally different. It will be interesting to see what develops...

(BTW - I assume the double post was a mistake - maybe could be merged or deleted, Joe?)

Roselady3 · 30 Nov 2001, 00:55 (Ref:180422)

I alreday sent him a message-
It took forever to load- I assumed that it didn't go-
I nearly feel asleep waiting for it to post! LOL.

Yeah- It's a good start. We'll see how NASCAR views it.

Ax Slinger · 30 Nov 2001, 02:41 (Ref:180429)

Have you seen this? This is the best reason for for having softwalls that I can think of...

Jimmie Johnson's crash at Watkins Glen.

Budmakesmewiser · 30 Nov 2001, 04:23 (Ref:180438)

that would be a mistake if you ask me,it is the cars that they need to work on,they will ruin the sport if they pad the walls,the sport is going to be called the National Association of Woos Wall Auto Racing.I have a new head and neck restriant device that gives your head as much room as you want,need and at the same time protects you from all angle impacts.

Ax Slinger · 30 Nov 2001, 06:06 (Ref:180448)

Ok. Go crash head on into a concrete wall at 180 MPH. Then tell us how you feel. If you feel anything.

Joe Fan · 30 Nov 2001, 07:22 (Ref:180452)

Quote:

Originally posted by Tim B
Have you seen this? This is the best reason for for having softwalls that I can think of...

Jimmie Johnson's crash at Watkins Glen.

This is a great example of why we should never give up on the soft wall concept. The potential is there to make NASCAR stock car racing virtually death-free. The HANS device was a big step in cutting fatalities but I feel optimistic that we could go ten years without a death in all of NASCAR's top three divisions if we can come up with a soft wall for oval tracks that we disipate the same energy as those styrofoam bricks. And remember that NASCAR has never had a problem with drivers ending up as paraplegics due to crashes so the safety that I envision would be awesome given the nature of the sport.

Ax Slinger · 30 Nov 2001, 10:53 (Ref:180485)

The styrofoam blocks worked pretty well, but have you ever seen those barrels with water in them on freeways? They work pretty well too. And styrofoam cups and coolers hold water, right? So here's an idea. Make styrofoam blocks with cells to hold water and hose attachments to fill them with, once they are placed. I think that would work as well or better than just a styrofoam block would.

Roselady3 · 30 Nov 2001, 13:49 (Ref:180549)

The reason why they don't incorporate the Styro type of barrier, is that when it is hit- It makes a huge mess & they would have to halt the race until they cleaned it up & replaced the item. Do you remember how long it took for Ricky Craven's BIG accident when he went airborn, went into the fence & Cracked the wall? They had to fix the wall & it took forever. NASCAR took alot of grief for that from fans , media & just about all involved including their TV coverage. Styrofoam was cost prohibitive too. They need something more durable....that does the same thing. Something that won't disinagrate when hit one time at a low impact.

The old tire around the edge that was done for years has been ruled out because it often "bounces" the cars back into danger. It also, snags the cars as it grips one area of them, causing uncontrolled spins & additional damage. So sometimes the cures can be more dangerous than the illness that they are trying to take care of.

This new thing- Well I certainly am interested HOW it can spread the impact force over a large area, with out "snagging" the cars. & what about the cost?- Durability?

I'm all ears & eyes.

nem · 30 Nov 2001, 20:23 (Ref:180668)

Here ya go Roselady:

http://www.safariassociates.com/news_test.php

Cost $200-$600 per foot.

KC · 30 Nov 2001, 20:45 (Ref:180687)

No avenue of safety should be ignored or passed over. Everything should be at least investigated and tested. It is in the best interest of NASCAR, the drivers, the team owners, the sponsors and the fans to continually make it safer to race. It does not make a driver a wimp just because he wants to live. It does not diminish the racing to make the tracks and cars easier to survive a crash.

It is good to see NASCAR take a proactive stance on the issue of safety.

27tim · 30 Nov 2001, 23:52 (Ref:180811)

Someone tell me more about Jimmie Johnson's crash, I can't believe he walked from that! That is the most severe impact I think I have ever seen! Totally incredible!!

Roselady3 · 1 Dec 2001, 05:23 (Ref:180843)

Quote:

Originally posted by nem
Here ya go Roselady:

http://www.safariassociates.com/news_test.php

Cost $200-$600 per foot.

Thanks NEM- that answered alot of questions that I had. As for the price- OUCH! That's a hell of a price! I suppose they could just use the product in the more dangerous parts of the track--that would help-But OUCH- There go ticket prices!

I'll be waiting for the results of the NASCAR testing. Should be interesting in what they say!

Budmakesmewiser · 1 Dec 2001, 23:46 (Ref:181079)

IT IS THE DESIGN OF THE CARS,THE WALL THING YOU CAN COUNT OUT,IT IS TO EXPENSIVE AND CAUSES TO MUCH OF A MESS.IF YOU TILTED THE FRONT SIDE ENGINE BARS AND OTHER METAL PARTS TO A 180 DEGREES OR SO IT WOULD ABSORBS THE IMPACT ALOT,THE CARS WOULD HAVE A MUCH BETTER ROLE CENTER ALSO.

R · 2 Dec 2001, 13:01 (Ref:181224)

There was a soft wall where Jimmie Johnson crashed? What an impact! And he just walked out of the car and cheered...

Soft walls is the way to go, no doubt about it.

Roselady3 · 3 Dec 2001, 00:37 (Ref:181472)

Since most of this SAFTY CONCERN is pro-active from DE's death---look at the many causes. There were a number of reasons....all of them contributed. They need to look into the soft walls. They need to determine the safty belts failure points & make changes to that. They need to ( & have) required that a head & neck device be worn. They also need to check into the seating compartment "Cocoon" & make that the safest it can be. They need to check into softening the chassis & they need to find a way to slow the cars down, without putting them into "Packs".
NO one thing is the cure. It will be a combination of these that will make racing the safest that it can be.

Budmakesmewiser · 3 Dec 2001, 02:04 (Ref:181488)

why don't we just rap them in five feet of padding and put them into go-karts with top speeps of "5"mph,and we could also have a computer run every part of the car so the drivers don't risk their arms getting scratched and then they nobody would have anything to complain about.Man i wish Dale Sr was still around,he wouldn't stand for this.

Roselady3 · 3 Dec 2001, 05:15 (Ref:181508)

That is a dumb statement.
This is not what I suggested at all.
My suggestion was for all the areas's to be covered.
NO 1 single FIX would would have eliminated his death.

I don't think Dale would be having a fit. He would have done all that was required of him. (But then IF he was still with us....None of this concern about the safty of our drivers would be present.) He wouldn't object to them expermenting with soft walls. He wouldn't object to them softening the chassis. If it was explained to him, he would have accepted the 6 point harness over the 5 point. He would have worn the HANS or the hutchins device (with out too much grumping.) if it was required of him. He certainly WOULDN'T have objected to changing the areo package for the restrictor plates races.
As for the seats- I am concerned about some of the drivers seats that they have come up with. Jeff Burtons seat for example. It wraps completely up his right side, leaving only a small hole. If he would get into an accident with fire & the drivers window was against the wall...he would have no escape ( remember Mikeys accident earlier in the year?) Dale wouldn't have that problem, because his seat wasn't like that.

Joe Fan · 3 Dec 2001, 10:24 (Ref:181549)

Quote:

Originally posted by 27tim
Someone tell me more about Jimmie Johnson's crash, I can't believe he walked from that! That is the most severe impact I think I have ever seen! Totally incredible!!

If I remember correctly, Jimmie drove down into that corner, stepped down on his brakes and then the brakeline broke. So he had no means to slow the car down, it was like a runaway freight train. I was watching that race at that time and the first thing I thought, "Oh no, another dead driver and this time it is on a road course like J.D. McDuffe." I was never so relived to see him get out of the car.

Emfa · 3 Dec 2001, 16:19 (Ref:181693)

Quote:

Originally posted by 27tim
Someone tell me more about Jimmie Johnson's crash, I can't believe he walked from that! That is the most severe impact I think I have ever seen! Totally incredible!!

Watkin's Glen last year, wasn't it?

nem · 5 Dec 2001, 01:25 (Ref:182374)

There is nothing wrong with the seatbelts they currently use.

The problem is drivers who think they know more than the belt manufacturer as to how they should be installed in the car.

That was a costly mistake Dale Earnhart made. So did Jeremy Mayfield.
At least NASCAR got them all together and gave them a summary of the manufacturers installation recommendations, which are based on extensive testing, not on what a driver just thinks would work.

Budmakesmewiser · 8 Dec 2001, 20:37 (Ref:183731)

YET DALE SR WOULD WHERE A FULL FACE HELMET FOR THE LIFE OF HIM ROSELADY,HE MIGHT HAVE AGREED WITH SOME OF THAT STUFF,BUT COME ON IT IS LIVING ON THE EDGE THAT I THINK EARNHARDT AND SOME OF THE DRIVERS FIND APPEALING.THEY HAVE GOT TO STOP BEEING SUCH WOOSES,DALE SR SAID THAT IF HE WAS KILLED IN A RACE CAR THAT WOULD NOT BE A TRAGEDY BUT IF I GOT KILLED GOING TO THE STORE THAT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY.

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