The worst daytona 500 ever?

[38P]

[38P]

Note that the tire/wheel/suspension assembly appears to be behind the damaged fence at a lower than expected altitude (consistent with an upward trajectory considering how high up into the stands it landed). Also note that the car has passed the primary point of structural failure.

[BBR]

that's the pic I was about to post. Tire/wheel went though fence.

[TheSilverBuick]

Note that the tire/wheel/suspension assembly appears to be behind the damaged fence at a lower than expected altitude (consistent with an upward trajectory considering how high up into the stands it landed). Also note that the car has passed the primary point of structural failure.

Yeah, that does pretty much confirm a through the fence entry point. I stand corrected.

[Scott Liggett]

Video shows the wheel, tire and suspension flew over the fence and landed in the crowd. The car spinning in the air after its initial contact gave it a Dr. J style hook shot toss over the fence.

[38P]

Yeah, that does pretty much confirm a through the fence entry point. I stand corrected.

You're way ahead of the press . . . I didn't see or read any news accounts that said anything other than the wheel went over.

That reporting biased my thinking until I started breaking down the accident today and couldn't figure out how the wheel could have gotten over the cant of the fence.

I suspect the press reports are based on the altitude that the wheel assembly achieved. But with the car so close to the fence when it disintegrated, the geometry and physics didn't seem to work.

Perhaps we ought to team up as forensic acccident reconstructors . . . (although I suspect the real pros in that field saw it almost immediately) .

[38P]

Note how the fence leans out over the SAFER Barrier and curves toward the track at the top.

Another point for the experts to discuss . . . Does the fact that the SAFER Barrier provides a "shelf" for an airborne car to "ride" on increase the vulnerability of the fence to a direct impact?

And is the value of the fence cant somewhat neutralized by the width of the SAFER barrier?

[38P]

Video shows the wheel, tire and suspension flew over the fence and landed in the crowd. The car spinning in the air after its initial contact gave it a Dr. J style hook shot toss over the fence.

I'd like to see the angle you're talking about. I've reviewed a lot of video and what it seems to show is that what appears to be the wheel emerges from the smoke at a high altitude after its already over the grandstand. However, I'm open to new data, so please post it.

For the wheel to come off on track, there would also have to be something that converted its momentum from forward to at least 70 degrees upward. The most likely things that could have ripped the wheel off the car (other than the fence post) were all moving toward the finish line. This suggests that the force necessary likely didn't come from impact with a moving car.

[TheSilverBuick]

As Scott mentions, the video's sure make it look like it went over, and with rotation things do curve in the air.

[BBR]

It's clearly behind the fence in that pic. Sheared off by the fence poles just like the whole front end of the car.

The real issue to me, and I don't have an engineering solution for it, is the fact the fence poles act like knives when something hits them at 200+ mph. They did very little impact absorption/containment and did a whole lot of nom nom nom. They did keep the main part of the car out of the stands, but chewed hunks off of it along the way.

Some sort of hanging containment chainlink net might be a better idea than rigid poles with chainlink and cables. Something to absorb the energy and not saw hunks off the car.

Just brainstorming....

[TheSilverBuick]

NERF poles.

[38P]

Also note that the point of structural failure is in front of a break in the lower grandstand (see the COPD sign over the "tunnel"(technically it's a "vomitory" but I don't want to start another controversy).

The photo with the wheel is clearly in front of that COPD sign. This suggests that the wheel wasn't dropping at the time of the photo (it it had been, it would have landed much closer to the "tunnel" and the front walkway.

[Cyclone03]

I think the tire/wheel/chunks ended up closer to the Red banner wall in Post 67. Anyway...
I too think the chunk came through the fence,sheared off by the polls.

I too wonder if the Safer Barrier reduces the effectiveness of the catch fence,but my thought wasn't the car "rideing"it,it was the barrier acting as a ramp.

[Scott Liggett]

[38P]

The video @ 0:26 through 0:30 clearly show the tire didn't get high enough to clear the fence.