Bad looking crash on the first green lap between Robert Wickens and Ryan Hunter-Reay. James Hinchcliffe, Pietro Fittipaldi, and Takuma Sato also involved. Wickens vaulted over Hunter-Reay's car and into the catch fence. No word on his condition yet, but the car's tub looked to be intact. I'm a Wickens fan, so I'm holding my breath.
IndyCars at Pocono
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IndyCar just said he was awake and alert and being transported for observation. Hinch and Fittipaldi were still in the medical center waiting on x-rays.
Not pretty.
Unofficially the rumor is 2 broken legs, broken ankle, and a broken hand with no neck or soine injury. This was from someone listening to the NBC scanner at the track. If that is true then Robert is extremely lucky.
Thankfully, it wasn't worse. Maybe there should be a fresh look at how fencing could be improved, like the project that resulted in the SAFER barrier.
SeaBass wasn't happy about the repair made to the fence.
SeaBass wasn't happy about the repair made to the fence.
This wreck was similar to Kenny Brack's crash in Texas in 2003. That wreck essentially ended his racing career in IRL.
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Hitting the fence is what killed Dan Wheldon, too.
Yeah, he went in cockpit first. Both Brack and Wickens went into the fence laterally, which is what saved them. Austin Dillon had a real close call as well. If his car went in roof first he wouldn't have walked away. His car went from 180 MPH to 0 in about 10 feet, tearing out the engine and transmission in the process.
Hitting the fence is what killed Dan Wheldon, too.
Yeah, he went in cockpit first. Both Brack and Wickens went into the fence laterally, which is what saved them. Austin Dillon had a real close call as well. If his car went in roof first he wouldn't have walked away. His car went from 180 MPH to 0 in about 10 feet, tearing out the engine and transmission in the process.
I read an update this morning in the Guelph paper. Robert has two broken ankles, a broken arm, possibly a fractured vertebrae, and a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung). So I think he'll be back, but not for the rest of the year. Wickens had been a threat to win since his first race in IndyCar this season, and I thought he was going to break through.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I read an update this morning in the Guelph paper. Robert has two broken ankles, a broken arm, possibly a fractured vertebrae, and a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung). So I think he'll be back, but not for the rest of the year. Wickens had been a threat to win since his first race in IndyCar this season, and I thought he was going to break through.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
Watching the video on Youtube, which is Hunter-Reay's in-car camera, it looks like Hunter-Reay tried to squeeze him below the yellow line and bumped into Wickens and then spun. It looks to me like Wickens held his line. I'd say this one is on Hunter-Reay.
I read an update this morning in the Guelph paper. Robert has two broken ankles, a broken arm, possibly a fractured vertebrae, and a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung). So I think he'll be back, but not for the rest of the year. Wickens had been a threat to win since his first race in IndyCar this season, and I thought he was going to break through.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
Watching the video on Youtube, which is Hunter-Reay's in-car camera, it looks like Hunter-Reay tried to squeeze him below the yellow line and bumped into Wickens and then spun. It looks to me like Wickens held his line. I'd say this one is on Hunter-Reay.
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Wheldon, Krosnoff, Renna...airborne cars and catch fences are not a good combination.
Franchitti fared better, but it was his sign to step out of the car.
All it takes is one pole to meet the noggin; no helmet can protect against those impacts.
If Wickens flight had been a bit shorter, RHR could have been in bad shape.
Camera angles and TV packages make racing look benign, and lull the audience into complacency, but every so often there are reminders that it's serious business.
Franchitti fared better, but it was his sign to step out of the car.
All it takes is one pole to meet the noggin; no helmet can protect against those impacts.
If Wickens flight had been a bit shorter, RHR could have been in bad shape.
Camera angles and TV packages make racing look benign, and lull the audience into complacency, but every so often there are reminders that it's serious business.
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I read an update this morning in the Guelph paper. Robert has two broken ankles, a broken arm, possibly a fractured vertebrae, and a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung). So I think he'll be back, but not for the rest of the year. Wickens had been a threat to win since his first race in IndyCar this season, and I thought he was going to break through.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
Watching the video on Youtube, which is Hunter-Reay's in-car camera, it looks like Hunter-Reay tried to squeeze him below the yellow line and bumped into Wickens and then spun. It looks to me like Wickens held his line. I'd say this one is on Hunter-Reay.
It's more of a racing thing than anybody's fault. I saw the interview of Hunter-Reay, and he said he tried to give Wickens room, but Turn 2 is too narrow for two cars to go side-by-side. Wickens should have backed out and followed him through the turn.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I read an update this morning in the Guelph paper. Robert has two broken ankles, a broken arm, possibly a fractured vertebrae, and a pulmonary contusion (bruised lung). So I think he'll be back, but not for the rest of the year. Wickens had been a threat to win since his first race in IndyCar this season, and I thought he was going to break through.
On his previous oval races this year, he had hung back and learned how to race each track and manage the traffic before trying to race to the front. But at Pocono, he got too aggressive too early, trying to go two-wide into The Tunnel Turn on cold tires, and the car couldn't hold.
Watching the video on Youtube, which is Hunter-Reay's in-car camera, it looks like Hunter-Reay tried to squeeze him below the yellow line and bumped into Wickens and then spun. It looks to me like Wickens held his line. I'd say this one is on Hunter-Reay.
It's more of a racing thing than anybody's fault. I saw the interview of Hunter-Reay, and he said he tried to give Wickens room, but Turn 2 is too narrow for two cars to go side-by-side. Wickens should have backed out and followed him through the turn.
Latest on Robert from Schmidt Peterson
http://spmindycar.com/2018/08/20/medical-updates-on-robert-wickens/
"Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens continues to be treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest following injuries sustained in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 19. An MRI was instrumental in revealing the most appropriate surgical course and Wickens is undergoing surgery Monday evening for a spinal injury. Further updates will be provided when available."
http://spmindycar.com/2018/08/20/medical-updates-on-robert-wickens/
"Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens continues to be treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest following injuries sustained in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 19. An MRI was instrumental in revealing the most appropriate surgical course and Wickens is undergoing surgery Monday evening for a spinal injury. Further updates will be provided when available."
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Hitting the fence is what killed Dan Wheldon, too.
Yeah, he went in cockpit first. Both Brack and Wickens went into the fence laterally, which is what saved them. Austin Dillon had a real close call as well. If his car went in roof first he wouldn't have walked away. His car went from 180 MPH to 0 in about 10 feet, tearing out the engine and transmission in the process.
This is the wreck that gave me the greatest respect for catch fencing. It kept Dillon's car from going into the crowd, thereby saving NASCAR from a colossal lawsuit. Closed cars like NASCAR stockers protect the drivers better than open-cockpit IndyCars when they go into the catch fencing. If Dillon's car had gone into the catch fencing top-first he would have survived. If Wickens car had gone top-first into the catch fencing, it would have ripped his head off. Paul Tracy was very critical of catch fencing on the NBC broadcast. But I think the priority for the sanctioning body is to protect the crowd at the cost of more risk to the drivers.
I bet IndyCar is having some misgivings about eliminating the rear wheel guards that were added after Dan Wheldon's death. They were intended to keep cars from climbing over one another in the event of tire to tire contact. But as we have seen in NASCAR, even heavy closed wheel cars can climb over each other.
Originally Posted By: Brigadier
Hitting the fence is what killed Dan Wheldon, too.
Yeah, he went in cockpit first. Both Brack and Wickens went into the fence laterally, which is what saved them. Austin Dillon had a real close call as well. If his car went in roof first he wouldn't have walked away. His car went from 180 MPH to 0 in about 10 feet, tearing out the engine and transmission in the process.
This is the wreck that gave me the greatest respect for catch fencing. It kept Dillon's car from going into the crowd, thereby saving NASCAR from a colossal lawsuit. Closed cars like NASCAR stockers protect the drivers better than open-cockpit IndyCars when they go into the catch fencing. If Dillon's car had gone into the catch fencing top-first he would have survived. If Wickens car had gone top-first into the catch fencing, it would have ripped his head off. Paul Tracy was very critical of catch fencing on the NBC broadcast. But I think the priority for the sanctioning body is to protect the crowd at the cost of more risk to the drivers.
I bet IndyCar is having some misgivings about eliminating the rear wheel guards that were added after Dan Wheldon's death. They were intended to keep cars from climbing over one another in the event of tire to tire contact. But as we have seen in NASCAR, even heavy closed wheel cars can climb over each other.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
If Dillon's car had gone into the catch fencing top-first he would have survived.
I wouldn't bet on it. Going in bottom first it still had the energy to rip the entire engine and transmission out of the car, and throw it completely across the track. It had to tear away a lot of frame work and suspension components to accomplish that. Going in roof first would have easily torn the entire top half off that car.
If Dillon's car had gone into the catch fencing top-first he would have survived.
I wouldn't bet on it. Going in bottom first it still had the energy to rip the entire engine and transmission out of the car, and throw it completely across the track. It had to tear away a lot of frame work and suspension components to accomplish that. Going in roof first would have easily torn the entire top half off that car.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I bet IndyCar is having some misgivings about eliminating the rear wheel guards that were added after Dan Wheldon's death. They were intended to keep cars from climbing over one another in the event of tire to tire contact. But as we have seen in NASCAR, even heavy closed wheel cars can climb over each other.
Wickens' right front tapped the side of RHR's left rear, sending him into a slow spin.
As RHR spun 90 deg to the left in front of him, Wickens' right front then climbed over RHR's left front.
Rear wheel guards would not have been a factor at all.
In Dixon's Indy 500 crash, he nailed Howard's left rear wheel guard directly, and it did nothing to prevent Dixon from riding over the left rear tire and launching into the air.
The only thing the wheel guards really accomplished was to prevent incidental contact and maybe some aero. At big oval speeds, with high disparities, they were not stout enough to prevent crashes like Dixon's.
The Holmatro guys did get some exercise plucking their debris off the course at some street races.
I bet IndyCar is having some misgivings about eliminating the rear wheel guards that were added after Dan Wheldon's death. They were intended to keep cars from climbing over one another in the event of tire to tire contact. But as we have seen in NASCAR, even heavy closed wheel cars can climb over each other.
Wickens' right front tapped the side of RHR's left rear, sending him into a slow spin.
As RHR spun 90 deg to the left in front of him, Wickens' right front then climbed over RHR's left front.
Rear wheel guards would not have been a factor at all.
In Dixon's Indy 500 crash, he nailed Howard's left rear wheel guard directly, and it did nothing to prevent Dixon from riding over the left rear tire and launching into the air.
The only thing the wheel guards really accomplished was to prevent incidental contact and maybe some aero. At big oval speeds, with high disparities, they were not stout enough to prevent crashes like Dixon's.
The Holmatro guys did get some exercise plucking their debris off the course at some street races.
The latest update as of this morning.
http://spmindycar.com/2018/08/20/medical-updates-on-robert-wickens/
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens underwent surgery Monday, August 20 at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest to stabilize a thoracic spinal fracture associated with a spinal cord injury sustained during the INDYCAR event at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 19. Titanium rods and screws were placed successfully in Wickens’ spine during the surgery, which was performed without complication. The severity of the spinal cord injury is indeterminate at this time. He is expected to undergo further surgeries to treat the fractures in his lower extremities and right forearm. He remains in stable condition. Further updates will be provided when available.
http://spmindycar.com/2018/08/20/medical-updates-on-robert-wickens/
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens underwent surgery Monday, August 20 at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest to stabilize a thoracic spinal fracture associated with a spinal cord injury sustained during the INDYCAR event at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 19. Titanium rods and screws were placed successfully in Wickens’ spine during the surgery, which was performed without complication. The severity of the spinal cord injury is indeterminate at this time. He is expected to undergo further surgeries to treat the fractures in his lower extremities and right forearm. He remains in stable condition. Further updates will be provided when available.
I expect Wickens to be transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis soon.
The spinal cord injury doesn’t sound good.
Regarding the catch fencing, did anyone see/hear SeaBass not wanting to get back in the car after seeing the fence repair? IndyCar has done a great job pioneering the SAFER barrier. Now it’s time to re-engineer catch fencing so it doesn’t become a cheese grater whenever an IndyCar gets into it.
The spinal cord injury doesn’t sound good.
Regarding the catch fencing, did anyone see/hear SeaBass not wanting to get back in the car after seeing the fence repair? IndyCar has done a great job pioneering the SAFER barrier. Now it’s time to re-engineer catch fencing so it doesn’t become a cheese grater whenever an IndyCar gets into it.
Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Regarding the catch fencing, did anyone see/hear SeaBass not wanting to get back in the car after seeing the fence repair? IndyCar has done a great job pioneering the SAFER barrier. Now it’s time to re-engineer catch fencing so it doesn’t become a cheese grater whenever an IndyCar gets into it.
I fired up his scanner on the app after NBC showed him running around on the golf cart. He used a lot of colorful metaphors to describe the repair job.
Regarding the catch fencing, did anyone see/hear SeaBass not wanting to get back in the car after seeing the fence repair? IndyCar has done a great job pioneering the SAFER barrier. Now it’s time to re-engineer catch fencing so it doesn’t become a cheese grater whenever an IndyCar gets into it.
I fired up his scanner on the app after NBC showed him running around on the golf cart. He used a lot of colorful metaphors to describe the repair job.
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