It's not hockey but you have to see this!

Arguably the most horrific crash ever.

It's on the sidebar on the right. Click on the video.

http://espn.go.com/rpm/irl/2003/1012/1636638.html

OH man, how did he even survive!

OH man, how did he even survive!

Because the car did precisely what it was supposed to do...exploded into a zillion pieces.

/bc

Because the car did precisely what it was supposed to do...exploded into a zillion pieces.

/bc

True. Absorbs all the energy that way.

BTW, if you don't follow the IRL, you should. It's the greatest racing series out there! Unfortunately they get little press (sound familiar?) compared to NASCAR. Races in the IRL are regularly decided by fractions of a second, when's the last time that happen in NASCAR?

True. Absorbs all the energy that way.

BTW, if you don't follow the IRL, you should. It's the greatest racing series out there! Unfortunately they get little press (sound familiar?) compared to NASCAR. Races in the IRL are regularly decided by fractions of a second, when's the last time that happen in NASCAR?

The only part of that statement with which i'd disagree is the bit about it being the "best" circuit...that title goes to F1 imo (but IRL's a close 2nd.

To me, that footage illustrates exactly what I adore about all open wheel circuits...the idea that, to be successful, the driver MUST control his car on the very ragged edge of its abilities. Immagine if that incident had happened in a NASCAR race....we'd all be reading today about how Driver X is mad at Driver Y for bumping him with 16 laps left, and driver Y's team would respond that "rubbin's racin".

Rubbin' ain't racin' boys...it's nudging the other guy out of the way because you either don't want to or CAN'T put a 220 mph automobile within 2" of your opponent, and make a clean pass.

Real racer car drivers don't use fenders.

/bc

Yep, but the sad thing is that is what is bound to happen when you get guys going 220 mph within 3 inches of each other. I agree F1 is the best of the best, only complaints is that the team budgets are totally out of wack, where you only have 3 or 4 teams with a real shot to win a race, and the lack of racing, this is where NASCAR and IRL have it on F1, you rarely see any races for the lead and if there are, it's normally when the leader pits. Lastly, the selling point of NASCAR, the wrecks... F1 the only time you ever see anything close to NASCAR is during the first lap, after that it's normally just mechanical problems that lead to one car wrecks. But I do agree that F1 is way more superior than anything else on the market today...

You're absolutely right on several counts, PF77:

1) Team budgets ARE out of whack in F1, no question. But, arguably, Schu's won at least 3 of his 6 (6 F1 titles...that's...just...mind boggling) titles in cars that were NOT as well funded/built as the other teams of the day. Heck, half the reason Ferrari's recently been criticized for having "an unfair advantage" over the last 3-4 years is precisely BECAUSE of some of the rule changes in 98-99 that were implemented because ferrari had an "unfair DISadvantage" at the time. So, while I agree it's heavily weighted, at least it's not ALWAYS Chevys. ;)

2) I would disagree with the statement about races for the lead. It's always struck me that what LOOKS like "not racing for the lead" is actually an illusion in many F1 events. A guy can be 3-4 turns behind the leader, and he looks like he's "out of it", when, in fact, he's shaving .1 or .2 seconds a lap off, and at that rate will catch the leader in 5-10 laps. As a result, next couple laps around, the leader sets best lap times of the day, and extends the lead. IMO, despite the fact the cars don't appear to be physically "close" to each other, they're within 3-4 laps either way of the lead changing hands. EVERY SUNDAY I hear the MRN guys talk about how so_and_so will catch Jeff Gordon in another 3-4 laps, and this is "exciting racing" to them. My personal opinion is that 10 car lengths on a straightaway looks a LOT "closer" than the same 10 lengths with 3 curves between the cars.

3) You're 100% right that NASCAR has become what it is, in large part due to the wrecks. One of the reasons I DESPISE NASCAR. If I wanna see guys whose definition of 'racing" is "run my car into the other guy until he gets knocked out of my way...if he wrecks, it'll probably be ok..besides, MY car won't spin out", I'll go rent a comfy chair on the edge of Briley Parkway. ;)

/bc

Crash rated at 200 G's. That means the 170 pound Brack weighed 34,000 pounds!

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_story.asp?id=57442