VIDEO: Think the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow's not tough? Watch this.
You've heard it all before. "People watch car racing for the crashes," has been a familiar refrain for what seems like forever. While that stereotype surely applies to a portion of the viewers who tune in, most fans watch motorsports because they like motorsports. (How novel, we know.) That said, there's no denying that some crashes are hard not to watch, regardless of your level of interest in racing.
One these occurrences took place yesterday at the Texas Motor Speedway during qualifying for tomorrow's Samsung 500 Sprint Cup race. Michael McDowell was piloting his #00 Aaron's Toyota Camry when the rear end got loose coming out of a turn. Things then got very bad, very quickly, and McDowell went into the wall at around 180 miles per hour. The engine bay burst into flames and the car went into a slide on its roof that led to several barrel rolls before it finally came to rest. Track officials helped McDowell out of the burning car and with a wave to the fans, he walked away.
It's got a silly name, it's not much to look at, and it further homogenizes the field, but the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow seems able to take some very serious punishment while keeping its driver safe. Ultimately, that trumps everything else. We're glad to see that McDowell's okay. Bummer about your car, though, dude.
Thanks to Taylor for the tip.
[Sources: NASCAR, YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
purecoda @ Apr 5th 2008 4:35PM
That'll buff right out.
/obligatory
Yar @ Apr 5th 2008 4:38PM
Wow, helluva thing.
geo.stewart @ Apr 5th 2008 5:27PM
Leave it to a rookie to test something no one wants to test!
I wonder if Burton will count this as a lesson.
And all ye F1 fans who want to talk about bad wrecks...
Taylor @ Apr 5th 2008 4:38PM
Yay, thanks for posting this Autoblog. I think my jaw stayed open for about five minutes afterwards of that crash. Thank you COT.
Brett- BMW Advo @ Apr 5th 2008 4:46PM
world record of flips? i think i counted 9?
Taylor @ Apr 5th 2008 4:53PM
They recorded 8, but yeah, I think that broke Casino Royale's 7 car flip scene.
TwinTurbo3000GT @ Apr 5th 2008 4:47PM
god damn. that was a nasty crash right there.
Jeff Banks @ Apr 5th 2008 7:26PM
Pretty crazy stuff. Fifth Gear had an episode devoted to NASCAR this season. I actually have a lot more respect for what these guys do after watching the behind-the-scenes stuff. I still wouldn't really be motivated to watch it, but i'm a little more understanding about why its so popular.
I actually do watch professional cycling though... but thats something I won't try to force on anybody :)
johnny @ Apr 5th 2008 4:56PM
whoa all i got to say is boosh
Egon @ Apr 5th 2008 4:57PM
Man, this is AWESOME!! Thanks to YouTube, now I don't have sit through all those other boring ol' roundy-round laps! Thrill of victory, agony of defeat? Bah...bring on the wrecks!
Sam @ Apr 5th 2008 5:05PM
Shake n' Bake!
RLQ @ Apr 5th 2008 8:24PM
OMG its Rick Bobby.
Ricky Bobby @ Apr 6th 2008 11:54AM
There can't be two number one's. That'd be eleven.
If you're not first, you're last.
AmericanTruckGuy @ Apr 5th 2008 5:09PM
Heck, if that was part of nascar I'd be a fan. Otherwise, I see no fun in watching cars go in circles.
Tim UF @ Apr 5th 2008 5:18PM
While i am sure the car of tomorrow is part of the reason McDowell walked away, Don't discount the soft walls either. if you can pause the vid at the moment of impact and see how much the wall deflects. It aborbed a hell of a lot of energy too.
combine that with the head restraint system (the name of which, eludes me), and the improved structure of the CoT, and the driver walks away, rather than being another tragedy like Earnhardt Sr.
Paul @ Apr 5th 2008 8:01PM
HANS device ^
John Johnson @ Apr 5th 2008 5:52PM
Commonly known as a HANS device.
Tim UF @ Apr 5th 2008 8:31PM
Thanks.
havoc @ Apr 5th 2008 5:50PM
"You've heard it all before. "People watch car racing for the crashes," has been a familiar refrain for what seems like forever. While that stereotype surely applies to a portion of the viewers who tune in, most fans watch motorsports because they like motorsports."
Well perhaps, but look critically at the advert spots that TV uses to build interest in NASCAR racing. 90% of the 30 second commercials are used in displaying racecar carnage. The "smart" people in the industry wouldn't be wasting bandwidth and advertising dollars on this type of product if this didn't create excitement and anticipation for the audience.
Jay @ Apr 5th 2008 6:04PM
Ok, so when someone comments "Why don't they race Stock Cars like it says in the name", show them that video.