IRL's Renna killed at Indy

"IRL racer Tony Renna died Wednesday after crashing at close to 220 mph during a test drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, team owner Chip Ganassi said."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/racing/10/22/renna.dies.ap/index.html

 

Another example of how dangerous racing is...under his picture, it said 67 people had been killed at that track. I swear, if i didn't believe in God, I wouldn't be racing, because it seems like you hear about another poor person getting killed doing what they love

 

I have no clue who he is. But only 26 years old. Shame.

Scott Brayton was the shiznit.

R.I.P. guys...

 

Be prepared for the people that will soon sue to stop all racing in the US..... Class Action against NASCAR, AMA, IRL, NHRA....

 

Sorry to hear that, my thoughts are with his family and friends....................

To me, IRL/NASCAR and the like are stupid racing that will get racers killed every now and then. The speed involved in those high speed oval tracks are just too high. Did you ever paid attention to their average speed for the races? It's stupidly fast! One mistake and you'll kiss the wall. You are lucky to walk away with just mild concussion, and if you are not lucky, think about what it would do to you when you hit the wall at say at least 160+ mph................

 

Sunny,

How can you say car racing on an oval is more dangerous then riding a bike at a track?

Sure, they hit a wall at 220 mph, but it is usually a wall that is only a few feet away and they usually hit it at a shallow angle and walk away – Nascars usually drive away.

How about Spies crashing at 186?

At least the car guys have a car around them to protect themselves.

 

My boss had the opportunity to take a ride around the speedway yesterday in a two seater IRL car. But chickened out at the last minute. Guess he had a bad feeling...

 

Yeah, since 1909 and the last fatality was in 1996. Considering how many laps have been turned there and how many crashes there have been 67 is a pretty small number.

Doesn't change the fact that it sucks, but your post made it sound like it was 67 in the last couple years or so.

 

I am saying it's more dangerous due to the average speed you are dealing with.................... Most of their crashings are at 160+ mph!!!!!!!!!!! One mistake and you hit the wall pretty square instead of just brushing over, and then there may be cars behind you which are traveling at 50+ mph faster than you that couldn't stop nor avoid you on time T-boning you..................

Yes, motorcycle racing is very dangerous as well, but most crashings are not of such relatively high speed. Yes, I am aware of Ben's road rash/burns (I too crashed at 100 mph with only jeans and t-shirt on me when I was younger, and I know this kind of injury hurts like hell; I hit a tire sized pothole on highway and tankslapped to a lowside crash and slid for 150 yards before I came to a stop), and Kato hitting the wall at Suzuka, and other motorcycle accidents just this year alone................ I definitely agree that IRL and NASCAR did well with their safety measure about protecting racers in case of crashing, but you can only do so much when things went wrong at real high speed.........................

 

Local reports said pictures after the wreck show he left the track after sliding out, ending up in the Northeast Vista somewhere. A part of the safty fence is missing, they said. Tragic indeed. God Speed, Tony.

As far as the safty issue, IRL has an issue now. Mario flew further than the Wright brothers first flight at IMS this year. Brack just went it the most violent in air tilt a whirl spin I've ever witnessed. And now this. Is it the speed, or the current aerodynamics? Didn't Mclaren have to redo one of their designs because they had a tendancy to fly? I remember a short flight into the trees at Road Atlanta.

I recall AJ Foyt talking about driving at Indy is much more like flying a plane now, just upside down. Perhaps that's where the problem lies. What will happen when your upside down plane becomes upside down? You're going to fly.

 

Did anyone see the crash of (I think it was) Kenny Brack at Texas back on the 12th? It's amazing that he was not killed. A couple of broken ankles I think is all he suffered. What a horrific crash though.


Condolences to the Renna family.

GODSPEED Tony Renna

 

I'm not normally at a loss for words. All I can say is look at that crash. You can't even begin to describe what it's like. In all my years of following motorsports I've never seen such a thing. Relly, never, nothing even close. Hollywood would have been laughed at if they created it with special effects. It really is that unreal.

 

There are rules in place designed to prevent that from happening, for example some aerodynamic devices like body and rear winglets are banned. There are also strict rules regarding the construction of the driver's cell to absorb some mind-boggling impacts. But unfortunately racing will always be a very dangerous sport.

-peekay

 

Also, Geoff Bodine's crash in the truck race at Daytona was pretty bad too. There wasnt hardly anything left of that truck either. Pretty scary. He was very lucky.

 

NASCAR and the like are stupid racing that will get racers killed every now and then.
Read what Hemingway has to say about what a true sport is.

One mistake and you'll kiss the wall. You are lucky to walk away with just mild concussion, and if you are not lucky, think about what it would do to you when you hit the wall at say at least 160+ mph...........
Been there, hurt less than highsiding at 80mph.

 

I would imagine that Mr Conger would be the Authority in this forum on the relative safety of both sports!

 

Michael Waltrip at ,I believe, Bristol. Hit the wall right at the crossing gate. Car looked like dynamite went off inside it. He stood up without releasing the belts and walked away. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw Brack's crash.

 

I've got to jump in here and set a few things straight. Dying at any kind of racing sucks. But we all know this isn't for everyone, and that shit happens.

And yes, something broke on the front of Renna's car, dragging him severely to the right at over 218 mph, hitting the concrete wall, climbing the Safer system on the walls and proceeding into the catch fence, still doing 28 gs. The fence did not do what it was supposed to do and catch all the debris, but instead, a piece was torn from the fence. Part of his gearbox, rear wheels, and some bodywork ended up in the grandstands in the shortshoot between 3 and 4, also taking out part of the metal stairways. His car did what it was suppose to do and blew apart, absorbing some of the crash damage/speed, although he was still hitting at an estimated 15gs. He was 26, due to be married next month, and finally got the ride of his life...

Mario hit a piece of debris, hidden from his vision on the track, which made his car "take-off" like a plane. He got lucky and landed on his "feet" (all four wheels).

Scotty Brayton died when his car was airborne, out of his control, and his head hit the wall first. This was in 96 before the HANS, the Safer Barriers, the nth of engineering in the racecars today. For a track that has been open for going on 90 years, and there is a month of racing (24 days to be exact) in each and every one of those years, and there is only 57 deaths (including when they had riding mechanics), that's damn good odds and I'll be there everytime.

Racing isn't for everyone. And unfortunately crashing is a part of it. Sometimes you walk away, and sometimes you don't. Godspeed Tony, say hi to all our friends for me.

 

Schwantz raced both 2 wheels and 4 and I remember reading an article where he said something like:

On the motorcycle I was always worried about crashing and getting hurt but in the car I never think about it.

Or something like that...


STEVE