OT: Let's Try This Again, Daytona 500
February 17th, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
OK, I obviously don't like racing as I stated in the other thread, but have a serious question. It was rescheduled due to rain. I was under the assumption that races still occur during rain. Aren't there tires specifically made for wet tracks or was the rain too heavy yesterday?
February 17th, 2020 at 4:27 PM ^
No, the tires on these cars are slick in rain. They can't go at these high speeds with a wet track.
February 17th, 2020 at 5:24 PM ^
Most cars do race in the rain (F1, Indy Car [road course only], IMSA, SCCA, etc.). And, yes, there are specific tires for racing in the rain as well as 'intermediate' tires that are usually hand grooved from slicks. NASCAR has never raced in the rain. They have given it some thought, on road courses, but have never tried it. I think a lot stems from the weight of the cars as well as the skill of the drivers (as most have never raced in the rain). As someone who has raced and raced in the rain, it takes a special skill set to be really good at it.
February 17th, 2020 at 5:40 PM ^
The Art of Racing in The Rain... Just saying...
February 17th, 2020 at 7:23 PM ^
Most series do include rain tires for road courses. It changes the conditions, but races can still be run.
But that’s road courses. Ovals are different, with serious demands on grip and major G-force penalties at risk. Indycar, which runs in the rain on road courses, does not run in the rain on ovals. NASCAR is mostly oval-based, and while they have run rain tire tests, the infrequency of road courses means that they don’t bother developing rain tires.
Even with that in mind, particularly heavy rain can cause interruption of road races as well.
Rain races are weird, because setups and skills are completely different. Some drivers are better at it than others; Ayrton Senna was a genius at driving in the rain, both in his car control and his instincts for when to change tires.
February 17th, 2020 at 4:26 PM ^
Motorcycle racing is wayyyyyyyy better than NASCAR.
Though actually being at a race does sound like the experience is better than watching on TV.
But what do I know. I'm just a plain, simple ol' farmer boy who has a thing for MSU girls.
February 17th, 2020 at 4:46 PM ^
I'm more of an F1 fan myself, but it's still a cool race.
February 17th, 2020 at 4:48 PM ^
You can always count on Ricky Stenhouse to take out someone.... just didn’t think it would be this early in the race.
February 17th, 2020 at 5:40 PM ^
way too early for him to attempt that shit.
February 17th, 2020 at 7:03 PM ^
wondering if jimmie johnson can hold on for the last 29 laps to take a win in his last daytona 500.
February 17th, 2020 at 7:21 PM ^
The last 10 laps of a restrictor plate race take 10x longer than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:09 PM ^
Hoping Newman survived that crash. It did not look good.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:15 PM ^
a lot of carnage these last few laps.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:18 PM ^
That wreck at the end was bad. Like...really bad. I'm not even a NASCAR enthusiast but that was obviously a major injury to Ryan Newman. Thoughts for him and his family
February 17th, 2020 at 8:35 PM ^
I’ve seen a lot of bad racing crashes. More than I care to count.
That wasn’t the worst crash I’ve seen, but it was really bad. It’s a freak occurrence, but Newman’s car got hit at high speed right at the driver window. There is serious deformation of the roll cage structure, which you almost never see in a stock car. Then the car scraped along the roadway right on the driver’s window.
It’s scary. I have my aesthetic issues with NASCAR, but the cars are, for racing vehicles, extremely safe. Even when they flip, or when they hit walls hard, they absorb energy and protect the driver remarkably well.
But this was an accident that happened in exactly the wrong way. Frightening.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:50 PM ^
Yeah. The fact that they had the black screens out really makes feel sick. Praying he is ok.
February 17th, 2020 at 10:21 PM ^
hitting the wall was bad but it got really bad when he was drilled right in the crown of the driver side window by the next car that couldn't avoid him. sent him spinning through the air. really hope he is ok. one of the most brutal crashes i've seen.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:52 PM ^
Even this wreck didn’t result in serious injuries. But even as safe as cars are today, bad things and freak accidents are still possible, especially at Daytona and Talladega. This is already by far the worst accident in NASCAR—at least at the top level—since Earnhardt died 19 years ago. Just heart wrenching.
February 17th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
Stock cars are extremely safe, especially today. They work to make them so, and their immense weight (which makes them ponderous and slow on road courses) includes tremendous crash structures that protect the drivers terrifically well. All racing is safer than it used to be, and NASCAR is as safe as it gets.
But this is a high speed sport. There is risk.
The bitter irony about the Earnhardt crash is that it didn’t look that bad. This looks much worse than that one did, but we don’t know the outcome.
100% agree that it’s the worst accident since Earnhardt in NASCAR. Obviously other series have seen bad ones since then, but for NASCAR this is as bad as it gets.
February 17th, 2020 at 9:23 PM ^
Earhart would still be alive if he had a HANS device back then. Newman's crash today was awful. He has been my favorite driver since he came on the circuit. A Purdue grad with an engineering degree. An all around good guy.
As a side note, Newman and his wife are separating. His wife was on vacation out of the country and their two daughters were at the race watching their dad. Horrible, terrible, gut wrenching feeling for those little girls and what they are going through right now
February 18th, 2020 at 1:08 AM ^
Dale Sr. had also made unauthorized mods to his seatbelts which contributed to his death.
The manufacturer, a family run org, got death threats immediately after the race.
February 17th, 2020 at 8:59 PM ^
Great last 19 laps!!! Well few added in OT. Spring is around the corner.
February 17th, 2020 at 9:12 PM ^
Just heard about the crash. Hope he is ok
February 17th, 2020 at 10:23 PM ^
Fox news just announced that Ryan is alive and in stable condition right now at 10:20 pm. May God be with him.
February 17th, 2020 at 10:24 PM ^
February 17th, 2020 at 10:46 PM ^
Amazing to survive that. The much-criticized HANS Device had to have helped.
February 18th, 2020 at 12:03 AM ^
HANS has saved numerous lives. It really shouldnt be criticized.
It seemed like the worst part of the impact was when he was upside down and got T-boned at 200 mph in his driver side window.
As an engineer, I am amazed at the advancements in these cars since Earnhardt's death.
November 28th, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
Hi. Good post. I always read your posts. Recently I decided to discover motor racing and it turned out to be very cool! Now I follow all such events and sometimes watch them in live. It is something like my hobby now!