Firestone Indy 400 - Safety Concerns

Safety Concerns

During the CART era, safety was always a major concern due to the high speeds of the CART cars. In fact, much of the discussion by the CART Board of Directors centered on safety issues when they approved increasing the race to 500 miles (800 km) in 1981. Crashes at MIS ended the careers of Chip Ganassi, Emerson Fittipaldi, Hector Rebaque and Danny Sullivan, and crashes injured Derek Daly, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Jr., Gordon Johncock, Mario Andretti and Bobby Rahal among others. Most crashes resulted in a total write-off of the vehicle, and high speeds resulted in many mechanical failures.

While no drivers have been killed at a MIS open-wheel event, many drivers expressed grave reservations about racing at such speeds during the CART years, and it is fair to say that few drivers looked forward to racing at MIS. Michael Andretti and Nigel Mansell both complained publicly about the high speeds; ironically, both won in the years that they complained the loudest.

In 1987, a dogleg was hastily built on the backstrech, but was never used, partially due to fear of gearbox failure, but mostly due to concern over fan reaction. No effort was ever made by CART to reduce horsepower and thus slow the cars, an approach NASCAR tackled in 1987 following a bad crash at Talladega Superspeedway that injured several spectators.

Al Unser, Jr. averaged 189.727 mph (305.336 km/h) in the 1990 Marlboro 500, which is still the fastest 500 race ever run at MIS. In 1996, Paul Tracy was clocked at 256.948 mph (413.518 km/h) during a practice session. In 1997, Richie Hearn was clocked at 249.018. Paul Tracy set the track record for qualifying at 234.949 in 2000, which is still a track record.

In 1998, the Hanford Device was introduced. It was a spoiler attached across the back of the rear wing to greatly increase of drag. The result was a massive increase in the slipstream, and suddenly became a powerful force in Indycars. It provided wheel-to-wheel competition as well as multiple lead changes per lap. In 1998, CART counted 62 official lead changes, but since lead changes were only counted at the start-finish line, the number was much higher.

Also in 1998, three spectators were killed, and six others injured, when debris from a single-car crash flew over the 15-foot (4.6 m) fence into the grandstands. All of the injured and dead were local residents from Michigan. In spite of the improvements to the fence, subsequent attendance in races declined greatly over previous totals.

By 2001, it was clear that change was needed. CART drivers and teams still complained about the high speeds, with the corresponding safety and cost concerns that it generated. The Hanford Device cost $50,000, and was blamed by some for the death of Greg Moore in 1999 at Fontana. In 2001, an early attempt at a "soft wall" was tried, using tires to line the exit to turn 2, but it was ineffective, as the lone crash into the tires resulted in a total loss to the car and a trip to the hospital for the driver. The popularity of the series was also in freefall with declining attendance.

In the final CART race at Michigan the lead changed 63 times.