View Full Version : Tempting the grater one more time
cameraman
08-30-14, 12:34 AM
Very very lucky he isn't dead...
http://instagram.com/p/sTornECxfJ/
cameraman
08-30-14, 11:32 AM
That is Mikhail Aleshin. He has broken ribs, a broken collarbone, unspecified chest injuries and a concussion. Serious but stable condition.
Winston Wolfe
08-30-14, 11:49 AM
Local ABC station covered it last night.....
Said there was expected to be 150,000 (that's right..... 150,000) spectators to see the race on Saturday night.
I think he meant to say there are 150,000 "empty seats" at the race.....:tony:
He is very lucky, and those cars still seem to get airborne and into the grater far more quickly than I can remember the Champ Cars / CART getting into the fence.... sure, they used to hit the wall a lot, but I don't remember getting into the fencing at Fontucky...
And I never missed a CART race at Fontana
But I HAVE missed plenty of EARL / mINdY / PepBoys / Northern Lights / IZOD / Verizon races....:thumbup:
wait, maybe not really "missed" them..... as much as "chosen not to go" to them....
cameraman
08-30-14, 11:53 AM
This would be a tire & suspension imbedded in the fencing…
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/tire.jpg
TravelGal
08-30-14, 11:57 AM
Brought back memories I'd rather not bring back. Looked like the Indy Cars of old. I was just thinking about Fontana last night--how I used to go every year. How I got "a feeling" and didn't go the year we lost Greg. Never went again. It's as if it's on the other side of the continent, not 70 miles away. Memories are flooding back now. Dan, Alex, Cristiano, even Katharine's crash at Road America. I do *not* watch for those moments. It's Labor Day Weekend. Be safe out there.
I don’t know if I could blame the current crap wagon spec for the altitude (as much as I’d like to)
Aleshin had help from that other car getting airborne.
I hope he recovers quickly.
That crash was like a compilation of the "IRL's Greatest Airbourne Wrecks of ALL TIME", all in one crash. I saw elements from Dana, Brack, Briscoe, Wilson, Renna, Franchitti, Wheldon, and Hamilton's disasterous wrecks in there. Hope the kid is going to be ok, but dang them are some nasty injuries he got.
This is one of the most violent accidents this IR-12 chassis has seen. I'm kinda shocked it didn't come apart more...that thing is too stout.
Local ABC station covered it last night.....
Said there was expected to be 150,000 (that's right..... 150,000) spectators to see the race on Saturday night.
I think he meant to say there are 150,000 "empty seats" at the race.....:tony:
He is very lucky, and those cars still seem to get airborne and into the grater far more quickly than I can remember the Champ Cars / CART getting into the fence.... sure, they used to hit the wall a lot, but I don't remember getting into the fencing at Fontucky...
And I never missed a CART race at Fontana
But I HAVE missed plenty of EARL / mINdY / PepBoys / Northern Lights / IZOD / Verizon races....:thumbup:
wait, maybe not really "missed" them..... as much as "chosen not to go" to them....
Auto Club Speedway slashes grandstand seating by 26% to 68,000 (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/21/sports/la-sp-sn-nascar-fontana-seating-20140321)
Keep this in mind if it's only a quarter full.
Keep this in mind if it's only a quarter full.
That's quite a "quagmire" they have there.... :laugh:
TravelGal
08-30-14, 04:25 PM
Auto Club Speedway slashes grandstand seating by 26% to 68,000 (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/21/sports/la-sp-sn-nascar-fontana-seating-20140321)
Keep this in mind if it's only a quarter full.
TravelGuy says NASCAR is doing this to all their tracks. (Except that I didn't see Fontana on the 2015 schedule. Did I miss it?)
The stated reason is to add family fun zones. The real reason is how difficult it is to provide entertainment for aluminum people and their families. (with thanks to whomever here used that term first. best :laugh: all week.)
TKGAngel
08-30-14, 06:16 PM
TravelGuy says NASCAR is doing this to all their tracks. (Except that I didn't see Fontana on the 2015 schedule. Did I miss it?)
The stated reason is to add family fun zones. The real reason is how difficult it is to provide entertainment for aluminum people and their families. (with thanks to whomever here used that term first. best :laugh: all week.)
Fontana's on the 2015 NASCAR schedule - fifth race in.
I can't get over that green flag for this monstrosity is 10:20pm ET. That small rating is going to get even smaller when you consider the start time, competition from college football and other Saturday night shenanigans.
Fontana's on the 2015 NASCAR schedule - fifth race in.
I can't get over that green flag for this monstrosity is 10:20pm ET. That small rating is going to get even smaller when you consider the start time, competition from college football and other Saturday night shenanigans.
But but but it's Double the points! To make it extra special!
Bad accident, but one lucky kid. Nobody wants to see something like that.
Mary
Hard Driver
09-07-14, 10:27 PM
Still don't think indycars should be on high banked ovals.
Andrew Longman
09-08-14, 01:55 PM
Still don't think indycars should be on high banked ovals.This track copies Michigan and both were built specifically for Indycars of that time. They are not particularly high bank (18 degrees is I guess high by open wheel standards, but not tracks in general) but built to let an Indycar really unwind without the comparatively tight flat radius turns at IMS.
But the big difference IMO is that Indycars of late seem to catch air and get into the fences much more than before. And they run closer together more of the time meaning wheel to wheel and car to car contact is more common which seems to lead to more cars getting into the air. MIS is scary fast even in a stock car and cars/drivers have taken very big hits over the years but I think it has more to do with the flowing design and flat out speeds than the banking.
Tifosi24
09-08-14, 02:31 PM
If I recall, Fontana's banking is lower than Michigan and it is probably to help with speeds. It has been over 15 years, so my memory is fuzzy, but I think De Ferran's lap record at Fontana was 240mph. I finally watched the video today, and the thing that gets me is how Aleshin's climbs the SAFER barrier. This is not the first time I have seen a car climb the SAFER barrier. I don't know if that would happen without the barrier, and I know on the whole the system is a positive, but I have noticed cars climbing it, then again, maybe I am seeing things.
Andrew Longman
09-08-14, 05:25 PM
California is 14 degrees but otherwise identical, except it has never been repaved.
As for SAFER causing a launch, maybe. I suppose the "give" also creates some "bite" that might grab the car more than a concrete barrier would, but Mikhail also was plowed into tuhe side pod by the nose of another car and lifted. I think that had more to do with it.
MIS was designed for IndyCar. Opened in 1968. Well, then it was USAC. Granted, since then the cars and speeds have changed dramatically. But since then we aren't losing a couple of drivers each season, if not more. I first went in 1971. I don't think it's particularly unsafe for IndyCar. There a far worse, the cookie cutter tri-ovals come to mind. It's a perfect track to watch a race at.
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