Indy League drivers narrowly escape serious injury at Atlanta

In a situation that might have happeneed at Texas Motor Speedway for CART had they raced, 12 Indy Racing League drivers got caught up in a massive shunt at Atlanta Motor Speedway, another 1.5 mile high banked oval. The cars of Casey Mears, Jeret Schroeder, Cory Witherill, Billy Boat, Jimmy McGeehee, Al Unser Jr., Dr. Jack Miller, Robbie Buhl and Davey Hamilton were all involved in the massive shunt. Apparently one of the cars lost an engine in the front of the pack and caused a chain reaction. Cory Witherill and Dr. Jack Miller's cars hopped tires and launched over the cars in front of them. They hit the wall and exploded in massive fireballs. Al Unser Jr. was struck in the head by Miller's car and his helmet was destroyed by the tire and chassis components that cracked its shell. Dr. Jack Miller has airflighted to a regional hospital but was subsequently released with a concussion. Robbie Buhl suffered some severe bruising on his legs and feet.

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http://www.speedvision.com/~data/publish/racing/04IRL/010430a.PHOTO_LARGE.jpg

These pics show the amount of debris and damage that went on. What they do not show is that a tire got over the 22 foot debris fence into some empty seats.

It is the first chance for the IRL chassis manufacturers G-Force and Dallara to see their cars in a huge crash and it seems that the cars did their job and kept the drivers alive. The six tires that were shed are being investigated by the IRL to determine if any more can be done with the tethers to contain them. Several of the drivers said the crash looked just like those in the movies as it happened around them. I wonder how many of them saw "Driven" before that race.

I think that the 1.5 mile and over high banked superspeedways, originally designed for NASCAR machinery, are too dangerous for the current breed of Indy Cars to navigate. They generate too much speed, both series cars, for the tracks that are designed for and home to sub-200 mph stock cars. Low-banked circuits like Michigan, Fontana, and Indianapolis force the drivers to slow for the corners and this keeps most of their speeds in check. When are the powers-that-be going to realize that high banks are not for the current open wheel formula? Its not a matter of driver bravery or machismo, its a matter of common sense.

saw that crash the other night, what a shocker, hope everyone is alright and all drivers make it to indy...

This was a very serious crash KC and i was amazed no one was really badly hurt ...especially Jack miller who was hit by several cars in and around the cockpit of his car.

I dont know about the speedway debate that much but I feel this crash was just pure bad luck..it wasnt as if any driver was being a dangerous driver or anything it was simply a engine letting go and the others all chaecked up behind and eventually ran into each other...the rest of the race ran trouble free but obviously there does need to be some consideration taken into account about these types af race tracks..I didnt know about the wheel going over the fence at all..guess its lucky that the IRL doesnt attract huge amounts of fans like the CART series.

not what the tems needed either in the lead up to Indy with time trials starting this week I believe..but at least no one was badly hurt wich is a testament to the cars and how they are built.

My question is, how will this affect their lead up to Indy? With 11 cars involved, that is an awful lot of machinery to be fixed/repaired..