Readers of these columns who bypass the Tuesday entries because they deal with sports, especially automobile racing, might want to stick with us for a while today because we’re going to explain how a miracle happened Saturday night—or maybe it wasn’t a miracle because the event had been anticipated and a plan was in place..
NASCAR has not had a fatal crash in one of its major touring series since Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death in 2001. Saturday night, at Daytona, with the laps winding down and drivers desperate to claim one of the sixteen spots in the Cup series playoffs, Ryan Treece got turned into the car of teammate Chase Briscoe. What happened next is recorded from the NASCAR site, NBC Sports, and Youtube:
treece crash nascar – Google Search
It is difficult to quantify what we have just watched here—a 3,500 pound car travelling 200 mph or thereabouts rotates in the air about thirteen times, strikes the ground about five times and finally lands on its wheels.
Treece got out of the car and stood talking to medical personnel before he laid down on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital for observation. He was sent home the next day.
If your or I were to roll our car at, say, a mere 70 mph, our chances of survival would be limited even with airbags and seat belts and shoulder harnesses.
Treece survived because his car protected him.
Here’ s a drawing from NASCAR of the frame of his car.
The center section is welded steel designed to keep the roof from collapsing. Along each side is foam padding to minimize damage from side impacts. But it’s the roof that is the key in this crash. The cockpit was so rigidly built that when the car stopped after landing on its top during its long series of rollovers, the windshield was still in place and the roof was still up. The roll cage is designed to withstand forces from all angles.
The driver sits low within this cage in a seat that is made to fit his body with side and leg protections built in.
The driver is tightly strapped to his seat so his movements are severely limited despite the g-forces generated by an extreme crash of the type Preece experienced. Not visible in the picture but required by NASCAR is the HANS device that was mandated after Earnhardt’s death from a basilar skull fracture, a severe movement of the head forward and back in a collision that causes a spinal breakage. The Head and Neck System is a collar that slips over the shoulders of the driver and is attached to the driver’s helmet, limiting the movement of his head in a collision.
In Preece’s case, he probably took his hands off the steering wheel and probably crossed his arms during the barrel rolls —so that his arms and hands did not fly around—and rode it out.
Earlier this summer, Indycar driver Simon Pagenaud survived a similar horrifying rollover crash. The video of the crash starts at about 2:45 into this excerpt from the NBC broadcast.
As you watch Pagenaud get out of his car and walk away, you’ll seen the HANS device as the black collar on his shoulders. His personal seat, tight seat belts, and HANS device kept him anchored inside the safety of the car’s cockpit.
A few years ago, IndyCar adopted what it calls an Aeroscreen, a cockpit protection system that not only provides greater protection than a roll bar provides, but also provides protection against foreign objects getting into the cockpit during a crash. The system was developed after debris from a crash struck driver Justin Wilson, causing fatal head injuries in 2015. Pagenaud has ben ruled out for the rest of the IndyCar season because concussion symptoms remain. We’ll learn soon whether Preece’s crash produced concussion symptoms, too.
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Now the races—
(NASCAR)—Chris Buescher has won for the third time in last five races to establish himself as the driver with the momentum going into the last ten races of the year that will decide the eventual NASCAR champion.
Martin Truex Jr., finished the first 26 races as the regular season champion despite crossing the line 23rd at Daytona.
Buescher’s win was good news for a guy who finished 12th in the race, Bubba Wallace, who is the last driver to make the 16-driver field on points.
(L-R) Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, (the regular season championship trophy), Martin Truex Jr., Kule Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick , Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace (NASCAR photo)
Buescher was second on the last restart of the race—after the Preece crash—with teammate Brad Keselowski behind him. Keselowski pushed him into the lead and the teammates finished 1-2, the first 1-2 finish for what is now Roush-Fenway-Keselowski racing since Columbia’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., went 1-2 at Briston in 2014.
The 1-2 finish was the first for RFK Racing since Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed the top two spots for owner Jack Roush at Bristol in 2014.
The first three-race round of the playoffs will be next Sunday at Darlington.
(INDYCAR)—Scott Dixon has outrun two other drivers whose COMBINED ages are only one year more than his. Dixon, 43, famous for stretching a gallon of fuel farther than anybody else in IndyCar, finished more than 22 seconds ahead of Pato O’Ward, 23, and David Malukas, 21.
Dixon started 16th but ran a three-pit stop strategy while other drivers were making four or five, and led the last forty laps with an unaccustomed time cushion. He led 123 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway within sight of the Gateway Arch. It’s his 55th career victory, second only in IndyCar history to A. J. Foyt. He, O’Ward, and Malukas were the only three of the 218 drivers to finish on the same lap. His winning margin over O’Ward, 22.2256 seconds was the biggest margin for an IndyCar race in track history.
Defending champion Josef Newgarden was hoping to win all of the oval races on the IndyCar schedule this year. He led 96 laps but got into the turn two wall trying to regain the lead just past the halfway point. The crash also put him out of contention for the national championship.
Season points leader Alex Pallou was seventh and saw his lead over Dixon shrink to 76 points with two races left in the season—both on road courses, which are more to his liking. If Pallou comes out of the next race, in Portland, with a lead of 55 points, he will lock up the championship.
Pallou and Dixon are teammates at Chip Ganassi Racing.
(FORMULA ONE)—Max Verstappen has won his ninth F1 race in a row, equaling Sebastian Vettel’s record set a decade ago. It also was his 12th straight victory from the pole, equaling a record set my Michael Schumacher in 2003-2004.
The Dutch Grand Prix was run on Verstappen’s native ground.
But he wasn’t the only record-setter. By finishing second, Fernando Alonso broke Schumacher’s record for most days between first and last podium finishes (7,399 days). And with Alonso having a solid year, this might not have been his “last” podium finish.
And it was a distinguished day for Aston Martin, which achieved its first podium finish in the 64 years it’s been competing in F1.
—FOOTBALL—
(MISSOURI TIGERS)—Our first look at what Coach Drinkwitz has molded this year will be Thursday night against the South Dakota Coyotes of the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri has never lost against a Football Championship Subdivision team—that’s a Division One level below the really big-time schools.
South Dakota as 3-8 last year. Missouri is 20-0 agaianst FCS Schools. Drinkwitz says the Coyotes are a “very good football tam” with a “great head coach.” The coach is Bob Nielsen who is 32-42 in seven seasons.
Coyotes like to run and these do—averaging about 185 yards a game on the ground last year.
Their starting quarterback has some top division experience. Aldan Bouman was at Iowa State Last year, completed 61% of his throws. Eight of them were for touchdowns. One was intercepted.
Missouri could use multiple quarterbacks—last year’s starter Brady Cook, redshirt freshman Sam Horn and maybe Mike Garcia, who transferred to Missouri from Miami in the off-season.
(CHIEFS)—The Chiefs open their NFL season the Thursday after Labor Day. The Detroit Lions will be at Arrowhead.
—BASEBALL)—
The St. Louis Cardinals need to win six more games (going into Monday’s night’s contest) to eliminate the possibility of losing 100 or more games this year. They start the week 56-75. The Cardinals opened a series last night in St. Louis against the Padres. The Royals were at home against the Pirates
The road is tougher for the Royals. They’ve already lost 91 games (as of Monday night). They have to go 21-8 or better to stave off the 100-loss year.
The Cardinals have been playing miserable baseball for a week and a half. They’re 2-9 going into last night’s game and they’ve been outscored 73-30.
The Royals also are 2-9. They’ve been outscored 66-36.
What will these teams look like next year? Mark your calendars:
The Cardinals first spring training game actually is two games. They’ll split their squads and play the Mets and the Marlins on February 24. The Royals first game will be on the 23rd against the Rangers.
Just thought we’d give you something to live for.