PEDS Barrier

Has Tony George been screwing around with the PEDS barrier for 50 to 100 years? Or does it just seem like 50 to 100 years? Putting up a section of PEDS barrier and waiting for someone to randomly run into it is not a controlled experiment. A controlled experiment is taking an Indy car, turning it into a radio controlled car, putting a crash test dummy in it, and deliberately running it into a PEDS barrier. With ultra slow motion photography. Then doing it all over again on a different section of track.

I don't understand this type of experiment either. The barrier would be easy to test at the National Transportation and Safety Headquarters where all road cars are certified for crash worthiness. Consumer Reports magazine has a similar test bay. Why they do not use this I'll never know. Used Indy Cars/Champ Cars are not hard to come by, most are not run the next year. I think secretly they don't want to spend the money on the barrier and this is their way to appease everyone without it costing them anything.

Hmmm.....what does happen to old Champ cars? Do most of them wind up in shopping center malls, or in displays at motor shows? They still probably wouldn't be too cheap, but some team owners are generous.

Geeesh, what a short memory you have, Frankie !

First you complain that they aren't doing field trials during the laboratory conditions controlled testing stage ( which they've done a lot of), and now you are complaining that they haven't done enough controlled testing now that they've moved into the field trial stage !

Make up your mind !!!!!

Enzo,

I don't remember ever hearing any mention whatsoever of a "laboratory test stage" with the PEDS barrier. In fact, as best I can tell, the section of PEDS barrier installed at Indy IS the "laboratory test stage."

I'm hoping that the phrases "crash test dummy" and "Tony George" are synonymous?...

Frankie:

I think you've been in the Twilight Zone for the past 2 years. The PEDS barriers were installed 2 years ago after a years + worth of testing a Wayne State University.

The lab results proved the basic soundness of the design & now the field trials have begun.

What more do you want?

Hmmm....i wish they didnt go around deleting topics, cause we could make a real ass out of Franklin on this one...

What was your arguement Franklin? Something along the lines of "they didn't have time to test the Apollo rocket, we dont have time to test energy absorbing walls".....

Bah...come on Franklie, tell us what you really think.....

Old Indy Cars and CART machines don't last very long in mainline competition. As seen in the Indy Qualifying, last years cars populate the end of the grid and the long list of "did not qualifies". CART does not allow a team to use a chassis older than last years. Older champ cars find a new life in the American Indy Car Series. These racers recycle the old Reynard and Lola chassis into a smaller more amateur series with small block Chevy V8 engines. Very much like the European F1 BOSS series. The AIS usually runs at small local road courses.

I'm trying to think 'out of the box' here Franklin, but I keep falling 50 or 100 ft. to the pavement. If only I had a wall or a PEDs barrier. Ok, which one of you guys got rid of it? ;)