Ryan Newman Talledega Crash

[troublesome one]

South Bend native Ryan Newman survived this crash this weekend even though he had to be cut out of the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHyZvBPNPeY

A tribute to stout engineering.

[Night Owl]

A tribute to stout engineering.

Well said! One think Nascar has done is to better engineer the car to protect the driver's safety. Not enough can be said about that.

The Fall Talledega race was at both ends the spectrum this year. The 1st half was boring (single file racing) and the end had multiple cars summersaulting (sp?)
20 minutes into the race, and the announcers are saying "at least the last 30 laps should be good." Glad I didnt pay to see that one!

[ebbieday]

We watched this crash happen live (on TV). I must say, for several minutes it was hard to believe he was going to walk out of that without some kind of injury. It's great that he's ok, but I'm still not sure what he was so ticked at NASCAR about. Their safety standards most likely saved him a lot of pain, or even his life. I will say that the single file racing was Zzzzzzzzzz boring. It's the wrecks that the fans like to see, providing everyone walks away unhurt. This one was a doozy!

[BigDeel]

I was at Daytona for one of Ryan Newman's other big wrecks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqJXuiv59x8
It happened right in from of me and I got pictures of the whole thing as it happened. I remember thinking right after I clicked the last picture that I hoped that I did not photograph his last race.
The cars have came a long way. The safety improvements are huge.
You do not have to be racing at a big track like Talladega to have a bad one.
This is on a 1/2 mile track from 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVlj7F8OJCY
That is why the safety devices are important at you local tracks too.

[HoosierHelen]

We watched this crash happen live (on TV). I must say, for several minutes it was hard to believe he was going to walk out of that without some kind of injury. It's great that he's ok, but I'm still not sure what he was so ticked at NASCAR about. Their safety standards most likely saved him a lot of pain, or even his life. I will say that the single file racing was Zzzzzzzzzz boring. It's the wrecks that the fans like to see, providing everyone walks away unhurt. This one was a doozy!

I'm also confused what he was so ticked at NASCAR about on that one. I'm wondering if the crash hadn't left him a bit off balance with his thinking?

I've been in one heavy duty car crash in my life which caused me to take a pretty hard hit on my head. 3 other friends who were in the car at the time tell me what I was saying on the way to the hospital. I have no recollection of that conversation, and it sure didn't sound like what I would normally think or say. They knew it didn't sound like me. Hospital kept me overnight and by the next morning, I was back to thinking and talking like my normal self.

Doc said I had a minor concussion.

He was very fortunate to walk away from that crash. Tip of the Hat to the engineering that provides that level of protection to the drivers.

[RaceFan]

If you ever want to go watch some great racing with high banks nearby go to Winchester Speedway(Winchester,IN.). This track has been around a long time and some of NASCAR's greats have raced there.
The track was built in a cornfield by Frank Funk, opening in 1916. It operated as a 1/2 mile flat, oiled dirt oval through 1921. It operated as a 1/2 mile high banked oval from 1922-1929. The high banked oval was oiled from September 1st, 1929 through May 30th, 1942, and then after WWII from August 14th, 1945 through 1951. NASCAR Grand National ran on the high-banked oiled oval on October 15th, 1950. The track was paved in 1951 and has operated continuously since, except for 1961 and 2004.
The track has also operated as Funk's Lake and Funk's Motor Speedway. Frank Funk promoted the track from 1914 through 1963.

It has a legendary feel, and rightfully so. It was the world's first half-mile oval race track and, to this day, remains one of the steepest and fastest half-mile tracks in the country. Its every nook and cranny has seen many of the legends of short track stock car racing, and all of racing in general, pass over it at one point or another. It has seen some of the best racing moments in stock car racing, some of the worst accidents and plenty of heart-warming and hear****reaking moments.

Winchester Speedway history starts in 1916 with Frank Funk. The track was the first half-mile oval in the United States, which was made out of a clay surface. It is the oldest running short track in operation, and falls second to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the oldest speedways still under operation. The first season began with three scheduled events. The first show was much less than a success, which carried over into the track's second race, where only a few fans returned.

Pete Wales owned the track for a brief 10 years, from 1960 to 1970. Wales was instrumental in getting the track paved for a first time, covering up the old clay surface. In the 1970s, another new owner, Roger Holdeman, took over responsibilities of the speedway. It was during Holdeman's tenure that the speedway underwent numerous surface changes, as well as pushing the track into its prime. It was 1970 when Holdeman was involved in getting the first 400-lap late model stock car race running, the one that would eventually turn into one of the most decorated races in all of the country, the Winchester 400. Upon his death in February of 1996, his widow, Linda, took over the track responsibilities and held them until November of 1997.

The track was sold to three gentleman, Jim LaBar, Jeff Jeffers and Charlie Shaw in November of 1997. As a result, immediate changes started taking place and additional work was being done to improve the track. The immediate goal of the group was to bring the family environment back to the racetrack and to make Winchester Speedway one of the premier half-mile ovals. In late 1999, Shaw purchased a majority of the vested interest in the track, and, along with partner and open-wheel legend Tom Bigelow, began an even more extensive plan to help modernize the facility.

The track has always been and remains a staple for both stock car and open wheel racing. Some of the best drivers in the country regularly flock with some of the best sanctioning bodies in the country to the "super-speedway short track" to help hone their skills. Some of the top drivers in stock car racing now; Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Mike Eddy, Bob Senneker, Jeff Gordon, Mike Cope and Scott Hansen, have all made Winchester Speedway their home at some time.

[ebbieday]

If you ever want to go watch some great racing with high banks nearby go to Winchester Speedway(Winchester,IN.). This track has been around a long time and some of NASCAR's greats have raced there...

My husband loves that track too. He went with a buddy a couple of years ago and says we're going back. He had a great time and, hey, it's a "hometown" track.

[BigDeel]

My husband loves that track too. He went with a buddy a couple of years ago and says we're going back. He had a great time and, hey, it's a "hometown" track.

I took the family there this year for the Winchester 400(My 7th in a row). It was cold,but we had a great time. My 5 yr. old got to met Kyle Busch and get his autograph on a official Winchester 400 shirt. Kyle went on to win the 400 later that day.

That makes the shirt very valuable and the weekend priceless.