Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I agree with whoever said it, the harder hit was cage into the concrete.  I always laugh when people state reasons why people dont come to this board and then proceed to bash someone.  Pot kettle.  Also dont think you can say, with certainty, that JJ would be here today.

JMO

Maybe someone would like to post their opinion if you would give them a chance. Who gave you the right to "close" the "case" anyway? Nobody is right or wrong all the time including you. Some of us would like to hear other opinions besides your opinion. What, nobody can disagree or add their opinion because you have to get the last word in? It might damage your ego if that happens? Common man, give someone else a chance to add their 2 cents. Show some respect for others that care enough about the sport to try and make it better and safer. This is suposed to be a forum for everyone not a place just for you to express only your opinions and goof the whole thing up for the rest of us. No one seems to agree with or care to hear your insults and negative comments directed at others. It contributes NOTHING of any importance. Other people are entitled to their opinions and comments just as much as you. Anything you want to add to this?

Devil’s advocate here. Who says JJ actually is the one who twisted up that beam. For all you and I know that beam could have been bent from another wreck or as another poster pointed out that sometimes things are built from reclaimed damaged stuff.  Not saying JJ didn’t bend that beam, but you’re making the assumption it wasn’t bent before. 

Fuck you. 

See what I mean? Other people's opinions may differ from yours. How about another beer. Sounds like you could use one. Let The Ragin Cajun Race In Peace in Dirt Track Heaven. You should have made a fuss before we lost him, not now. Show some respect and quit draggin'  his name through the mud please.

I'm not sure if you have more information than other people who saw the video.  But I have a hard time believing "if there was a catch fence in place he would still be here, case closed".  You could be right, but if the cage or other safety equipment was compromised in the first impact with the wall, the catch fence could have easily thrown the car back on the track hitting the bent cage first.   Also he was racing for the lead, that catch fence would have probably thrown his car, which by that time more than likely had a bent cage, right in front of the field.  I'm certain nobody on here, if anyone knows the full details.

Not that it matters but are you gay?. Nobody on this forum gives a shit who you sleep with. NOTHING you have posted has helped at all to make racing better or safer. Race In Peace Ragin Cajun.   

You realize a well-constructed catch fence is supported by steel poles cemented into the ground? Ones that shouldn't move when impacted by airborne racecar. Thats why Im grouping together the billboards/i-beams. In my opinion they acted similar as a catch fence would've. But whatever you say you dipshit.

   -"I am simply a person with a mind that has the God-given ability to apply simple logic to an observation...something that, I submit, is grossly void of in the mind of "SAF92"."

Keep ignoring the fact Johnson hit a concrete wall (which didn't move an inch) at top speed with the top of the cage first. Mind blowing you can sit there and say he'd still be with us.

   -"to twist and bend one (again, as can clearly be seen in the abovementioned photo) would take a considerable amount of force."

Also... you wanna talk about grouping together things that aren't similiar... "bending" and "twisting" of an I-beam are two completely different failure modes. Yet you're grouping them together like they're the same. An I-beam's shape is designed such that it can carry extreme loads without "bending" when fixed at both ends. When an I-beam is supported at both ends, like in building construction, a twist would still be a severe failure but thats not the case here... The beam is basically cantilevered, meaning its only fixed at one end, the ground. So an applied load or force along a cantilevered beam could result in twisting with lower loads than you might think. But I would expect you understand all this.

I'm done wasting anymore time.

Signed,

A mechanical engineer that knows more than you.

Thank you. That's what I call facts.

Checkmate!  I liked the Im a engineer and I know more than you quote.  Should have added a case closed after that.

Shall we just say w/love Race In Peace forever #41 Amen.

     I'm not sure where you are from, but in my part of the world most race tracks utilized a lot of salvage materials when they built things- especially things like billboards and their supporting structures. Most billboards I've seen are made with some reclaimed steel and used utility poles.

     I've never been to that speedway, so I have no idea if it's different there. I'm just saying it's entirely possible. A lot of things are cobbled together at a lot of race tracks, whether they have been hit by a race car or not.

    I think if you hadn't been in such a rush to insult someone you disagreed with,  you would have figured out like the rest of us did that glhayden is a woman. Reread her post. It's pretty obvious.

A guy got killed & we're trying to figure out ways to prevent it from happening again (or make it less likely, realistically)

Can you guys PLEASE stop the hostility & name calling???????

nteresting information, thanks...

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

These days a marriage does not have to be between a man and a "woman". Maybe what you "figured out" is not so accurate. It really dosen't matter if it is a man or a woman. The person deserved to be scolded if you look at the stuff that was posted. Is this all you can contribute to try to help make racing better and/or safer? 

JJ hit the billboards at a very glancing blow didn't look like he hit the billboard hard at all. He did hit the wall at a not direct but fairly strait on impact and there is a sort of an explosion of concrete dust. From the video I've seen there is not doubt in my mind hitting the wall was the problem I think the billboard was a non factor. The video I watched is from the back straightaway just up from the track entrance where he wrecked. It can be viewed on live leaks.com

     Whatever dude. Name calling and homophobic slurs don't make you look any smarter nor does it contribute to making racing better and/or safer.

"Dude"? For all you know I could be a woman too. By the way, "Dude" is a bit of a slur to some people. But, I'll take it like you ment it as a compliment. Is that the best you can do to help make racing better or safer? Give it another try. But not the same old stuff please. Race In Peace Forever # 41...

     At he risk of raising some hackles with some people who can't handle differing opinions..

     I'm not an engineer. In my work I deal with structural engineers and materials. Looking at he photo, here's what I can tell you- The billboard surface itself is made out of plywood. Generally 3/4" plywood is used. The horizontal members in the photo are ordinary 2x4's. If this billboard was at ground level, you could probably back through the plywood and wooden parts with your car at about 20 miles mph and make a thousand splinters of it.

     The vertical members are possibly aluminum, but more likely steel. Technically they are I-beams but there are all kinds, sizes, grades and thicknesses of I-beams made. I'd guess that these I-beams are relatively light gauge and more than likely salvaged from some other use. Otherwise, used utility poles would have been used because they are less costly and easily obtainable. Yes, lighter gauge I-beams would easily twist. They were designed to carry a uniform load from above when laid horizntally. These were probably originaly in a roof system, like in a K-Mart store for example. They were never intended to deal with a concentrated load at one point, like the impact of a moving race car.

     Look at the damage to the billboard surface. The car would have hit it with the front to the left at the verticle member and the cage to the right where the plywood is split. An impact hard enough to do the damage it did to the car and driver should have gone on through the plywood & 2x4's. The fact that it didn't suggests that most of the energy of the crash was disipated before the car hit the billboard.

     Based on the photo, the information I've read and the videos I've watched, I'd agree that the culprit was the impact with the wall. I've never been to Beaver Dam so I can't say if I thought that a catch fence would have helped. However, race cars hitting non-moving objects are always scary. There definately should be something in place to keep the cars out of the billboards.