Paul Dana Crash Video

MilesBeam · **Joined:** Fri Aug 15, 2003 1:57 pm **Posts:** 427

For those of you interested, here is a link to a forum site where one of the authors has some interesting video of the crash. Look on about the 7th message down the page. Don't know how long that link will stay valid though.

http://www.teamjuicyracing.com/forums/s ... 1#post9961

Aaron Buckley · **Posted:** Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:16 pm

I think that video could end the investigation pretty quickly. He was certainly going to track out away from Carpenter, but when he hit the debris, it moved him towards the infield and he had no control of the car. Granted, he never ever should have been going that fast at that point. - AB

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:30 pm

I don't know anything other than what I have read, but it seem that most likely we will never know what exactly happened. It seems that there was time to slow down, but Dana looked to have just passed someone on the inside and maybe that was were his attention was focused. If reports about him not slowing down are accurate then he must have missed the yellow and anything a spotter may have said to him. It does seem odd that he pretty much just drives into the other car. Even watching the in-car from a car behind him you would have thought he would have seen some of it and done something (slow, take a different line, or both). My guess is that he didn't see it, or register what was happening until he was right on top of the other car.

About 15-20 yrs ago, I was at an autocross in which a driver went wide on a turn at a decent speed and was then heading toward a light pole. He locked up his brakes and just slide straight into the pole at about 15+ MPH or so. All he had to do was let off the brakes and steer around the pole. But for some reason he didn't.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:46 pm

Aaron Buckley wrote:

I think that video could end the investigation pretty quickly. He was certainly going to track out away from Carpenter, but when he hit the debris, it moved him towards the infield and he had no control of the car.

It is hard to tell, but actually I see it the opposite. If you watch the in-car from the car behind him, you see him tracking out a bit after he finishes the pass (36-37 seconds into the video), but I believe he actually starts to take a tigher line and move down slightly toward the white line just right before you see him hit the debris. This all takes place in about 1-1.5 seconds, so it is hard to say what was going on. I think he is 4-5 car lengths (very close) away from the stationary car when he hits the debris and that IMHO it didn't affect the direction of the car much.

Maybe the move to the left was him seeing the accident and guessing (wrongly) that he could go under the car, but who knows. The data should show which way he was trying to turn and if there was any sudden changes (i.e. he saw the car and did something like lift, turn, brake, etc.)

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

From what I've read, the yellow caution lights were on well in advance of the wreck. I also have read that he passed cars that were observing the caution.

I'm not sure whether or not IRL uses spotters during practice either. Danica made a comment along the lines of drivers aim toward the wreck because the car won't be there by the time you get there. I guess that that reasoning was wrong in this case.

Patrick Wellenius · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:23 pm

Yeah, b/c Carpenter's car had just about stopped when Dana got there.

Aaron Buckley · **Posted:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:41 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

Danica made a comment along the lines of drivers aim toward the wreck because the car won't be there by the time you get there. I guess that that reasoning was wrong in this case.

NASCAR guys use this philosophy too, although I would much rather be in a Cup car in a wreck than anything open wheeled. - AB

Charles Wolthusen · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:40 pm **Posts:** 6

The easy one first, if you focus on an object rather than an alternative route, you will hit it. Now the hard one, you have a failing racing series, with minimal attendence and car count, how do you fill the field? Robin Miller questioned the experience vs buy in theory. No longer a rookie, but injured most of last season. No substitute for seat time. My 2 cyber credits. Charles

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