I watched this live and I'm still in awe over the finish to this race. Keep a close eye on the speeds once they appear.



In case you are wondering, eight spectators were hurt during this accident, but none are believed to be serious or life threatening.

Holy hell! How did that fence survive that impact!?

I love the fact that he said "Shades of Ricky Bobby"

I saw the last few laps too, unbelievable finish. Quite amazing how Edwards walked away from that

(04-26-2009 08:35 PM)HuskiemobileMan Wrote:  Holy hell! How did that fence survive that impact!?

The catch-fences that surround the race tracks like Talladega are bolted and sunk into the track surface and the ground below. They're also made of extra strength steel composites so that they'll withstand an impact like that.

And in case you're wondering, they call it a catch-fence for that very reason. It's designed so that when a car goes airborne like that and gets into the fence, the fence acts like a slingshot and throws the car back onto the racetrack, keeping it out of the grandstands.

And just to follow up on something that the announcer's were saying during the broadcast, here's the past accident that they were referring to.

Now keep in mind that this was from 1987, well before NASCAR became as safe as it is now. The driver involved was NASCAR legend Bobby Allison and this was one of the accidents that many say changed the sport forever.



Notice what happened to the fence surrounding the racetrack. It's scary how close it came to taking down the flagstand as well. It's pretty much the same place that the one today happened.

Brad Keselowski is MY GUY. That's seriously the best finish I've ever seen.

Absolutely incredible.

What's wrong with you people?
I'm leaving town in a month, and you just now decide to start talking about NASCAR. If I had known there were some other fans around, I might have stuck around DeKalb longer.

Not really--I'd be outta here anyway, but I sure wouldn't have felt like such a fish out of water for so long.

But let me guess, y'all just watch it for the wrecks, right?

(04-28-2009 06:02 PM)NIUMgmtProf Wrote:  What's wrong with you people?
I'm leaving town in a month, and you just now decide to start talking about NASCAR. If I had known there were some other fans around, I might have stuck around DeKalb longer.

Not really--I'd be outta here anyway, but I sure wouldn't have felt like such a fish out of water for so long.

But let me guess, y'all just watch it for the wrecks, right?

Of course not. I've been a fan since I was 8 years old. The first season I started watching was 1996 when Terry Labonte won the championship. I thought it was the same around here too, which is why I never brought it up.

(04-28-2009 06:02 PM)NIUMgmtProf Wrote:  What's wrong with you people?
I'm leaving town in a month, and you just now decide to start talking about NASCAR. If I had known there were some other fans around, I might have stuck around DeKalb longer.

Not really--I'd be outta here anyway, but I sure wouldn't have felt like such a fish out of water for so long.

But let me guess, y'all just watch it for the wrecks, right?

Nope, I watch the highlights for the wrecks. Watching the actual race is like watching golf.

I've always watched teh races every now and then. Only races I've ever sat through the entire time have been the Indy 500 (numerous times) and Daytona.

Once I actually started going to races at Chicagoland I started enjoying the races on tv alot more, but sitting through an entire race is tough. It's is quality side tv material

Mgmt if you were into racing, there is a clay track just 15 minutes away from NIU, I'm sure there are plenty of NASCAR fans there every Friday and Saturday night.

(04-28-2009 06:02 PM)NIUMgmtProf Wrote:  But let me guess, y'all just watch it for the wrecks, right?

Not at all. I'm a big fan of turning left.

(Clint Boyer fan here - man did he get the bad luck bear at the first crash)

(04-28-2009 06:02 PM)NIUMgmtProf Wrote:  But let me guess, y'all just watch it for the wrecks, right?

Absolutely not but in some boring places like New Hampshire and Pocono, they help to keep me awake.