Doug in the woods
Nitro Member
Why the larger roll cages if Medlin never hit the roll cage sides or the steering wheel as stated in the press conference.
????
am sure there is a reason but ???
????
am sure there is a reason but ???
Nitromater
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John Force Racing...LATEST UPDATE....
- Thread starter Jay
- Start date
Doug in the woods
Nitro Member
Why not a snug fitting roll cage or padding to "lock" the drivers head into position and avoid any side to side motion?
Dr. John Melvin, who holds a PHD in Biomechanical Engineering, and is a former consultant to NASCAR and is now affiliated with Wayne State University in Michigan, stated that preliminary examination of all the data available, plus a thorough examination of Eric Medlen’s race car chassis, indicates he died as a result of severe side-to-side head motion. It could be said that his injuries were similar to those seen in Shaken Baby Syndrome, but this was far more violent. Medlen’s head did not strike any portion of the roll cage area behind his head, nor did his helmet strike anything forward, such as the steering wheel.
Dr. John Melvin, who holds a PHD in Biomechanical Engineering, and is a former consultant to NASCAR and is now affiliated with Wayne State University in Michigan, stated that preliminary examination of all the data available, plus a thorough examination of Eric Medlen’s race car chassis, indicates he died as a result of severe side-to-side head motion. It could be said that his injuries were similar to those seen in Shaken Baby Syndrome, but this was far more violent. Medlen’s head did not strike any portion of the roll cage area behind his head, nor did his helmet strike anything forward, such as the steering wheel.
Bullet
Nitro Member
I'm with you... RESTRICTOR PLATES MANDATORY ON ALL 1/2, 3/4 and 1 MILE TRACKS!!!!Restrictor Plates should do it.......................................
Bullet
Nitro Member
See RED
From what I can gather from the statements his head was going side to side very quickly with great force with extreme change in direction. From the statement above I assume his helmet did hit the sides of the cage, or the padding on the sides.
topdigger
Nitro Member
Why not a snug fitting roll cage or padding to "lock" the drivers head into position and avoid any side to side motion?
I think the snug cage would only easier contact with the bars.And if you wer to have padding to hold their heads I'm sure they wouldn't be able to with all the vibration being applied straight to their heads.
Just my opinions not based on any science that I know personally.
The cup cars are getting wider ans taller for a reason with the COT.And their seats are amazing also.In the future the NASCAR seats will be attached to the car and the driver will be attached to the seat with the belts in the proper position for each driver.Unlike now where they are attached to the chassis with a seat in between them.
I think the snug cage would only easier contact with the bars.And if you wer to have padding to hold their heads I'm sure they wouldn't be able to with all the vibration being applied straight to their heads.
Just my opinions not based on any science that I know personally.
The cup cars are getting wider ans taller for a reason with the COT.And their seats are amazing also.In the future the NASCAR seats will be attached to the car and the driver will be attached to the seat with the belts in the proper position for each driver.Unlike now where they are attached to the chassis with a seat in between them.
MM
Nitro Member
From what i understand, his head hit the padding on the sides of the cage hard enough to basically turn his brain to mush. That padding is almost like concrete when you hit it that hard. I'm guessing if there was no padding on the cage it probably would have majorly cracked, possibly even shattered
r2
Nitro Member
I really hope that everyone reads the transcript before yanking plug wires, mags, pumps, etc. etc. etc. I was lucky enough to listen to the teleconference today and go back and read the transcript as well... Here is one sentence from it... JOHN FORCE: This car hit the wall at about 120 miles an hour at such an angle that it just brushed the wall and went right down the wall. The problem wasn't there, trust me. It happened way before that.
How slow do you want these cars to go??
SPEED was not an issue in THIS case... PERIOD...
I understand in the future is what you must be thinking...
But not in this case whatsoever...
How slow do you want these cars to go??
SPEED was not an issue in THIS case... PERIOD...
I understand in the future is what you must be thinking...
But not in this case whatsoever...
I'm at a loss for words here, the cause of Medlin's crash has been addressed and will inevidibly result in rule changes to the effected areas. Yet so many suggest rule changes that will cost these teams a TON of $$$! Smaller fuel pumps? How much are those Pumps they run now cost? Smaller Mag's? How much do those Pro Mag's these guys run cost? We're talking about rendering most of these teams parts inventories worthless! Walk into one of Force's or Kalitta's trailers and count how many Fuel pumps or Mag drives you'll see, or Blower's and Heads!
This sport is Dangerous, always has been. Want to make it safe? Eliminate all classes that go over 100 MPH!
This sport is Dangerous, always has been. Want to make it safe? Eliminate all classes that go over 100 MPH!
topdigger
Nitro Member
I tell you right now the padding in my car is almost as hard as the steel itself.lol .But I guess the soft stuff isn't as safe because it doesn't spread the energy load as well in high impact.it just squashes.
TAFC 5 81
Nitro Member
You are correct, it it not always how fast you crash but how you crash. We have all seen Earnhardt have worse looking wrecks than the one that killed him. I worry that power these things are making today (then add the downforce and clutch load) is overtaxing the tires, chassis, etc.
No problem with getting you on the call...And as for muting, well....it would have been kind of difficult for me to say, " Excuse me...Uh, John Force....can you please stop talking for a second so that I can let my buddy, who by the way, is NOT a member of the media or sports marketing world, but is on the teleconference ANYWAY, to MUTE HIS FU%&#NG PHONE!!!!......Ok John..you may continue..."
yoda
Nitro Member
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The Counterfeiter
Nitro Member
Dr. John Melvin, who holds a PHD in Biomechanical Engineering, and is a former consultant to NASCAR and is now affiliated with Wayne State University in Michigan, stated that preliminary examination of all the data available, plus a thorough examination of Eric Medlen’s race car chassis, indicates he died as a result of severe side-to-side head motion. Medlen’s head did not strike any portion of the roll cage area behind his head, nor did his helmet strike anything forward, such as the steering wheel.
Since this is now public knowledge, I'm going to reply to this and it will probably prompt some very angry responses.
I gather from some comments during the press conference that it appears that John may be wearing an R3 device that has been modified to provide more lateral protection. I don't know if a full HANS device would have helped in this situation, but I was told by a person very involved in the development of restraints that a device that was not rigid and not secured by belts offered virtually no lateral protection. A larger roll cage and more padding will not help if the driver's head is being shaken laterally in relation to his spinal column.
Just my opinion. And . . . all of this endless speculation about slowing the cars down has NOTHING to do with this! - Jim
Since this is now public knowledge, I'm going to reply to this and it will probably prompt some very angry responses.
I gather from some comments during the press conference that it appears that John may be wearing an R3 device that has been modified to provide more lateral protection. I don't know if a full HANS device would have helped in this situation, but I was told by a person very involved in the development of restraints that a device that was not rigid and not secured by belts offered virtually no lateral protection. A larger roll cage and more padding will not help if the driver's head is being shaken laterally in relation to his spinal column.
Just my opinion. And . . . all of this endless speculation about slowing the cars down has NOTHING to do with this! - Jim
yoda
Nitro Member
Don't sweat it Bro...LMFAO
Ray's great with a wrench.. it's those little buttons that give him trouble sometimes tho!!
yoda
Nitro Member
You guys wanna lube me with 30wt atleast here...
You know the three of us can delete these posts, and nobody ELSE needs to know...
GREAT... MORE little buttons....
You guys wanna lube me with 30wt atleast here...
You know the three of us can delete these posts, and nobody ELSE needs to know...
Why would we do that????? lolYou gotta get some sh!t once in a while, too, Ghio....
johnny
Nitro Member
Really...
The health of the sport is and has always been NHRA's primary function. Safety and parts attrition issues are relative to any and all participants.
Period.
DCM
Nitro Member
Lateral movement is not really the design arena of HANS either. The HANS is very effective in relatively low angle frontal collisions, but once the impacts are lateral it becomes much less effective. The HANS design is to prevent large forward displacement/rotation of the head via the two tethers on the rear. Those two anchors are not really placed to prevent side-to-side rotation.
From what it sounds like, Medlen's injury was not from excessive displacement of his head [i.e. Earnhardt basal skull fracture], but a lack of displacement due to contact with the roll cage, and the acceleration to the head resulting from that contact.
