Extreme G-Forces Prompt Race Cancellation
F O R T W O R T H, Texas, April 30 -- CART drivers knew something wasn't right as they practiced at Texas Motor Speedway. They just didn't realize most of them were experiencing similar symptoms after dizzying laps.
In an unprecedented move, CART postponed the inaugural FirestoneFirehawk 600 just before its start Sunday because of concerns aboutsafety and the possibility of overbearing G forces causing thedrivers to pass out while driving 250 laps.
"It was a problem all of these drivers were experiencing, butthey had no clue what they were experiencing," said MichaelAndretti, CART's winningest driver. "This is an area that we'venever been before physically."
Dizzy and Disorientated
Dr. Steve Olvey, CART's medical director, said the firstindication of a problem came Friday when two drivers — he didn'tname them — pulled off the track after long stints at over 230 mphand said they were dizzy and disoriented.
Widespread problems were discovered when Olvey met with the 25drivers after qualifying Saturday. All but four had experiencedvertigo or a similar symptom after running more than 10 laps. Theothers, including Andretti, didn't go those distances.
"Everybody was silent," said driver Bryan Herta. "Each guyprobably felt, `Well, I must be the only one having this problem.'CART was able to put it in an environment where everybody couldcome forward. It was shocking."
In Danger of Blacking Out
Olvey said extended exposure to the G force felt in practice —up to 5 ½ Gs — could have caused some drivers to lose consciousnessduring the race.
This was the first safety related postponement by CART since1985, when tire concerns after qualifying delayed a race atMichigan International Speedway for six days.
Never before, however, had a race been postponed on the day ofthe event because of safety concerns.
CART never did open testing at Texas and was caught off guard bythe impact of the 24-degree banking on the 1 ½-mile quadoval. Bycomparison, the banking at Indianapolis is just 9 degrees, and noother track in the CART series is steeper than 18 degrees.
