Tethers do their job in first Indy test

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Posted: Sunday May 30, 1999 07:55 PM

The tires stayed put during most of the crashes like Sam Schmidt's on Sunday. AP

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The wheel tethers did their job.

Only once in five crashes in Sunday's Indianapolis 500 did a wheel come loose from a race car, and the new restraint system slowed it enough to pose no danger to fans or drivers.

The tethers were put on the cars Thursday, less than a month after three spectators were killed and eight others injured when a wheel and other debris hurtled a catch fence into the grandstand during an IRL race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Just nine laps into the Indy 500, the tethers got their first major test, and media-weary IRL officials were watching closely as Eliseo Salazar crashed into the outside wall on the second turn. His right rear wheel wobbled loose but remained attached to the car.

"The restraint system performed very well and certainly reduced the amount of debris on the track, especially wheels," said Fred Nation, vice president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Safety Wheel Energy Management System (SWEMS) is designed to keep the wheel assembly attached to the car in the event of a crash. Even if the wheel becomes detached, the SWEMS system reduces the energy and velocity of the wheel, Nation said.

In a crash late in the race by Mark Dismore, the right front wheel broke free but merely rolled across the track. As the car was being towed back to Gasoline Alley, the safety tethers were stripped of their casing, revealing badly frayed cables.

The tethers on Salazar's car were also badly frayed, although Sam Garrett, a spokesman for chassis-builder Dallara, said that does not necessarily indicate weakness in the tether.

"The fact that the tethers are frayed allows some strands in the cable to be severed without severing the wire itself," Garrett said. "The wheel came off with less energy than it would normally."

The original Indy racer was designed to dissipate energy in a collision, Nation said. Wheels and pieces of the racer's chassis would splinter away from the car to protect the driver.

With the fatal accident in North Carolina, IRL officials speeded the installation of safety tethers, which had been in development for the past two years.

Each wheel is anchored to the chassis by cables to prevent it from leaving the car, but the cables do not stretch and are not long enough to snap back and hit the driver, Nation said.

In addition to the safety tethers, IRL will lower the speed at which cars can race. Beginning June 12 at the Texas Motor Speedway, engines cannot operate at more than 10,000 rpm.

This is a reduction from the current 10,300 rpm maximum and will reduce race speeds by 5 mph.

 

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