Daytona 500 major wreck at end

[dennishoddy]

Just heard a part of a report that said the roll cage saved him. Didn't catch the extent of injuries if any, but it appears he survived to this point.

 

[dennishoddy]

Serious condition but not life threatening is the latest.

 

[Snattlerake]

Thank you Lord.
I watched In the Blink of an Eye a few days ago about Mike Waltrip's first win and the death of Dale Earnhardt.
Waltrip only had 4 wins in 784 starts.

 

[MacFromOK]

We were watching when Dale Senior was killed. It didn't even look like he hit the wall that hard.

But he hit it pretty much head on, and it snapped his neck. :/

 

[Snattlerake]

We were watching when Dale Senior was killed. It didn't even look like he hit the wall that hard.

But he hit it pretty much head on, and it snapped his neck. :/

I said the exact same thing. He didn't hit that hard. I think his wreck was the reason for no more open faced helmets and the new HANS device.

 

[MacFromOK]

I said the exact same thing. He didn't hit that hard. I think his wreck was the reason for no more open faced helmets and the new HANS device.

IIRC, you are correct on the safety improvements.

 

[TeleStratMan]

Unfortunately several NASCAR drivers had to die of the same head injuries before Dale SR. Once he died then the changes were made.

"On May 12, 2000, in a practice session for the Busch 200 race[1] at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Adam Petty's throttle stuck wide open going into turn three, causing the car to hit the outside wall virtually head on. Petty was killed instantly when he suffered a basilar skull fracture.[2] He was 19 years old.

Petty's death, along with 1998 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Kenny Irwin Jr.'s in the same corner at the same track eight weeks later,[3] led NASCAR to mandate the use of a kill switch on the steering wheel and the adoption of the Whelen Modified Tour restrictor plate for the September Cup race; the plate was abandoned after that race. These two adjustments addressed the cause of the deadly accidents, but did not address the basilar skull fractures suffered by both drivers. At Texas Motor Speedway, Truck Series driver Tony Roper died on October 14, 2000 of a similar head injury. Mandatory use of the HANS or Hutchens device (designed to prevent the rapid-deceleration head-and-neck movements associated with the injuries associated with the Petty, Irwin, Jr., and Roper deaths) was mandated by NASCAR in October 2001, months after seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt died of the same injury on the last lap of the Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001."

 

[MacFromOK]

Unfortunately several NASCAR drivers had to die of the same head injuries before Dale SR. Once he died then the changes were made.

Sadly, this does not surprise me. :/

 

[kwaynem]

For some reason I recorded the race where senior was killed I still have it on vhs

 

[SoonerP226]

Unfortunately several NASCAR drivers had to die of the same head injuries before Dale SR. Once he died then the changes were made.

I think a lot of that had to do with Earnhardt refusing to wear the HANS device or a full-face helmet. That's a stand-off that NASCAR didn't think they could win.