One of NASCAR's fastest tracks has a history of raising issues.
By BRANT JAMES
Published April 4, 2004
It's a question that nags at the foundation of auto racing.
When is fast too fast?
As technology has made race cars reach mind-boggling speeds the past decades, those attempting to make the machines safer are scrambling to keep up. Even as engineers at the University of Nebraska's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility or NASCAR Research and Development produce breakthroughs in impact reduction and ability to escape, aerodynamics and track design keep nudging the human body toward terminal velocity.
Few places in auto racing's big leagues illustrate that better than Texas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR's Nextel Cup series races today.
Since it held its first Winston Cup race in 1997, the virtual twin of its sister track in Atlanta has been among the fastest in racing. At 1.5 miles and banked at 24 degrees throughout, the sweeping quad-oval allows drivers to maintain heavy throttle virtually all the way around. The positive: speed, like Bill Elliott's qualifying record of 194.224 mph set in April 2002, and exciting racing when driver and car are under control. The negative: the potential for mayhem when physics equations go awry.
"The track configuration and how these guys get around it plays more into it than raw speed," said Bobby Hutchens, director of competition at Richard Childress Racing, and developer of a neck-restraint system that bears his last name. "(Texas is) a very fast racetrack that's fast all the way around and has a lot of grip."
Last fall, driver Kenny Brack survived one of the more violent crashes in recent racing history when his car touched wheels with Tomas Scheckter's and went airborne at the finish of last season's Indy Racing League finale at TMS. Brack's cockpit was the only part of the car's body left intact. Though he broke both ankles, a leg, his sternum and lumbar vertebrae, he is rehabilitating in hopes of making a comeback this season.
In 2001, Championship Auto Racing Teams (now Champ Car) canceled a race at Texas hours before the start because 21 of 25 drivers complained of dizziness and disorientation after practicing at speeds in excess of 230 mph. NASA engineers later determined they were suffering from G-forces sufficient to cause unconsciousness after as few as 20 laps.
"We already recognize, I think, what is too fast," retired world champion Mario Andretti said. "The decision was made to go (to Texas) and it was flawed. What we feared was proven, the human element, the body could not recover from the G-force from corner to corner as fast as they were going. If you don't cancel that race the guys are going to be going through the wall. (CART) was criticized for it, but it was a responsible, extremely responsible decision."
Texas alone is not the problem, however. Andretti's incident in testing in April 2003 and the death of Tony Renna in October at Indianapolis Motor Speedway prompted the IRL to mandate a reduction in engine size from 3.5 liters to 3.0 beginning with the May 30 Indy 500. The aerodynamics package also has been adjusted to help cars stick to the ground.
NASCAR's answer to curbing speeds has been restrictor plates, which inhibit the flow of air into the carburetor and reduce horsepower. The plates have been mandated at Daytona and Talladega since 1988, the year after Elliott blazed a 212 mph lap at Talladega and, on the same weekend, Bobby Allison's car launched into the catch fence after cutting a tire. Still, three drivers, including legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., have died in accidents at superspeedways since their implementation. NASCAR has no plans to use them at Texas, according to NASCAR director of research and development Gary Nelson, and would ultimately like to find an alternative.
Loathe to consider fear or express it, most drivers in any series contend that speed is relative and the equipment is safer than ever.
"There's no question these drivers have the best chance ever - a real chance - to retire of their own decision rather than because of a bad accident or worse," Andretti said. "Could things be better? That's open for argument, but we've come a long way. "As crazy as we think we are, I never wanted to get killed doing this."
