Keith Groller: Sunday’s IndyCar crash a harsh reminder of just how dangerous auto racing is
There's a water fountain at one of the entrances, a dog park, a children's playground, fireworks, fan fairs, concerts and many other attractions to see on a race weekend.
The one place that no one wants to be, however, is standing outside the infield medical center with a medevac helicopter whirring across the parking lot preparing to transport a driver to
It happened in 2015 when IndyCar driver
It happened again Sunday on the seventh lap of the ABC Supply 500 Verizon Indycar race when rookie
The scene was one of the most horrific ever at
The race was red-flagged for nearly two hours as the fence was repaired and debris cleaned up.
Almost all of the drivers expressed immediate concern and best wishes to Wickens, who, it was later revealed, had sustained injuries to his lower extremities, right arm and spine, according to IndyCar officials. He also sustained a pulmonary contusion and was to undergo an MRI. According to the
Wickens has a few broken bones and numerous bruises but is expected to race again one day -- if he chooses to get back in a car.
And he likely will because drivers accept the risks and inherent dangers of flying around tracks at excessive speeds while trying to get in and out of tight spaces to pass others.
Both Wickens and Hunter-Reay are lucky to be alive. The outcomes could have been worse -- if Wickens' car went into the fence cockpit first, if the protective tub had not remained intact, if the debris field had been fractions of an inch lower as it sailed over Hunter-Reay's head.
Enough ifs to ignite a renewed safety debate, calls for different fencing at ovals or halos over the cockpits to protect drivers' heads.
But racing is never going to be 100 percent safe. If risk was not part of the show, there would be no show.
The open-wheel cars on the IndyCar circuit go much faster than the
The average speed of Sunday's race was 191.304 mph. The average speed of the
Vicious crashes occur in the Monster Energy Cup Series, too. In fact, the trauma center at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center was dedicated in honor of the Mattioli family in part because the hospital saved the life of
But IndyCar has had more tragedies in recent years with a crash taking the life of
During Sunday's lengthy delay, Nazareth racing legend
"The sanctioning bodies have certainly been responsible and have reacted to issues of track safety with [steel and foam energy reduction] barriers at these tracks," Andretti said. "And the cars themselves are safer. But it's a work in progress because each incident provides something new, a new aspect that leads to 'I think we can do this better.'"
Andretti said when he was a driver, "the risk was accepted. We had to. There was no other choice. But as time went on, we got smarter. The cars got faster, the engineers had more knowledge. If we can make the car go faster, why not also make it safer so we can race another day?"
Mario's son,
Perhaps he was just compartmentalizing. Andretti has lost enough friends to racing accidents -- including Wheldon and Wilson, who was driving an Andretti car in the fatal 2015 accident at Pocono -- to understand the emotions enveloping the paddock on Sunday.
No matter how safe they make the cars and tracks, if you put people in cars going extremely fast and bunch them together on a track, bad things can happen.
That's why there's a church service at the track before every race.
It's why auto racing, although not nearly as popular as the stick and ball sports, is something that appeals to the most adventurous side of us.
In promoting the race last week, both
The fans that stayed the course at Pocono got a show on Sunday -- one that fortunately had a happy ending.
610-820-6740
___
(c)2018 The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
Visit The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) at www.mcall.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Blue Cross affiliate Stella Development invests in startups
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News