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 IRL reducing speeds for Texas race
Posted: Thursday May 27, 1999 01:17 PM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Taking another step to improve safety following a crash that killed three fans, the Indy Racing League announced Thursday it will reduce speeds for the June 12 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Leo Mehl, the IRL's executive director, said engines will be required to operate at no more than 10,000 rpms after Sunday's Indy 500. The new specifications, which reduce the cars' horsepower, will be used for the remaining seven IRL events, beginning with the Longhorn 500. The IRL already reduced rpms from 10,500 to 10,300 at the beginning of this season. Mehl said he expected the change to reduce the top speeds at Texas to about 220 mph, a reduction of 4-5 mph from last year's speeds at the 1.5-mile track. "After the incident at Charlotte, we need to try to contain the speeds as much as we can," Mehl said. Three fans died and eight were injured when debris sailed into the stands during a wreck at the May 1 Visionaire 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The Texas track and Lowe's are almost identical high-banked ovals. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is much flatter, so the risk of debris flying into the stands is not as great. Earlier this week, the IRL announced a new safety system that uses cables in cars in an attempt to prevent wheels and suspension parts from reaching the stands during wrecks.
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