Terrorist attack at NASCAR race?

[QuickHitCurepon]

Hmm. I am highly skeptical that it was a terror attack. Probably a gas leak and the engine blew up. It looked as if he knew he was having some kind of engine problem before it even happened.

Wouldn't it be good when you have an engine problem it was like NASCAR.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

No projectile. I'm a mechanic. Something came out the left side of the engine. All of the black smoke indicates oil burning. No bomb would cause that to happen. The sheet metal would be blown outward. Instead the engine exploded and caused minimal damage to the sheetmetal other than the hood but the block is toast.

Why it exploded with such veracity at that low engine speed I don't know. I've seen dragster engines blow at high speed and it can blow the car apart but not at idle.

Time for a pit stop.

 

[westwall]

Guys, this is now trending on social media... an unusual violent explosion of Derick Cope's car during the NASCAR Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. The "official" story is that his engine blew up but people who have been involved in racing for 40 years or more are saying they never saw anything like this before. Others have speculated it was a tire exploding due to overheated brakes... again, not any previous incident of tire explosion has resulted in something this violent.

Look very closely to the left of the car near the ground just before the instant of explosion and you can clearly see an incoming projectile! Something was intentionally fired at this man's car! I feel like I am the only person in the country who is seeing this because it's not being mentioned at all in any of the trending posts... Look closely, tell me what you see?



Engine explosion? Tire failure? Or... terrorist attack?

I see nothing out of the ordinary. Race cars blow up from time to time. I don't see a projectile coming in, I do see a shockwave propagating away from the car with the explosion. It looks to me like an O2 bottle blew up. I don't know how NASCAR vehicles are set up, but that would be my first inclination.

 

[flacaltenn]

Guys, this is now trending on social media... an unusual violent explosion of Derick Cope's car during the NASCAR Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. The "official" story is that his engine blew up but people who have been involved in racing for 40 years or more are saying they never saw anything like this before. Others have speculated it was a tire exploding due to overheated brakes... again, not any previous incident of tire explosion has resulted in something this violent.

Look very closely to the left of the car near the ground just before the instant of explosion and you can clearly see an incoming projectile! Something was intentionally fired at this man's car! I feel like I am the only person in the country who is seeing this because it's not being mentioned at all in any of the trending posts... Look closely, tell me what you see?



Engine explosion? Tire failure? Or... terrorist attack?

Yeah -- there IS a streak and impact. But it COULD have a part flying off the car that was actually ON the course to his right. That car == seen entering "the bus stop" --- could have kicked off any piece of debris that just ended up hitting a vital fuel line or engine part.

Lots of braking in that part of the track --- and brake rotors just get shattered AND they are SUPER hot. You'd have to see if the car entering the proper turn went to the pits and had any problems that needed fixing.

It was NOT an explosive device. But you actually DID see something there.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Guys, this is now trending on social media... an unusual violent explosion of Derick Cope's car during the NASCAR Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. The "official" story is that his engine blew up but people who have been involved in racing for 40 years or more are saying they never saw anything like this before. Others have speculated it was a tire exploding due to overheated brakes... again, not any previous incident of tire explosion has resulted in something this violent.

Look very closely to the left of the car near the ground just before the instant of explosion and you can clearly see an incoming projectile! Something was intentionally fired at this man's car! I feel like I am the only person in the country who is seeing this because it's not being mentioned at all in any of the trending posts... Look closely, tell me what you see?



Engine explosion? Tire failure? Or... terrorist attack?

Yeah -- there IS a streak and impact. But it COULD have a part flying off the car that was actually ON the course to his left. That car == seen entering "the bus stop" --- could have kicked off any piece of debris that just ended up hitting a vital fuel line or engine part.

Lots of braking in that part of the track --- and brake rotors just get shattered AND they are SUPER hot. You'd have to see if the car entering the proper turn went to the pits and had any problems that needed fixing.

It was NOT an explosive device. But you actually DID see something there.

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

 

[Boss]

Guys, this is now trending on social media... an unusual violent explosion of Derick Cope's car during the NASCAR Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen. The "official" story is that his engine blew up but people who have been involved in racing for 40 years or more are saying they never saw anything like this before. Others have speculated it was a tire exploding due to overheated brakes... again, not any previous incident of tire explosion has resulted in something this violent.

Look very closely to the left of the car near the ground just before the instant of explosion and you can clearly see an incoming projectile! Something was intentionally fired at this man's car! I feel like I am the only person in the country who is seeing this because it's not being mentioned at all in any of the trending posts... Look closely, tell me what you see?



Engine explosion? Tire failure? Or... terrorist attack?

Yeah -- there IS a streak and impact. But it COULD have a part flying off the car that was actually ON the course to his left. That car == seen entering "the bus stop" --- could have kicked off any piece of debris that just ended up hitting a vital fuel line or engine part.

Lots of braking in that part of the track --- and brake rotors just get shattered AND they are SUPER hot. You'd have to see if the car entering the proper turn went to the pits and had any problems that needed fixing.

It was NOT an explosive device. But you actually DID see something there.

THANKS! Finally! I thought I was seeing things... still possible... digital video is funny sometimes.. angles and diffraction from lenses internally... it's complicated but it could generate a sequence of frames where that looked like something that didn't happen. Still, it's curious I no longer find the "original" HD shot... it was clear as day there. The shot in the OP is lower resolution and you can't really see it.

 

[flacaltenn]

Pretty sure after rocking back it forth over the meager 2 or 3 frames -- that the flash we see is coming OUT of the car. A part flying out the right side just before it blew up..

 

[westwall]

Pretty sure after rocking back it forth over the meager 2 or 3 frames -- that the flash we see is coming OUT of the car. A part flying out the right side just before it blew up..

That's what I see too. It looks like a high pressure tank let go and the piece you see exiting the car is from that. The explosion is the result of the piece failing.

 

[Boss]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

How is driving NASCAR different from driving? Do you drive at midnight?

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Cars were meant to be driven.

 

[westwall]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

How is driving NASCAR different from driving? Do you drive at midnight?

Probably the speed. But that's purely a guess.

 

[Boss]

Lots of drivers from other types of racing have tried their luck at NASCAR only to fail. It's a lot more difficult than it looks. The teams are very competitive in terms of details. It's a combination of talent, skill and expertise that makes it a very difficult sport to be exceptional in for very long. Very few have.

 

[flacaltenn]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

Well today with those huge head restraints -- he'd be dead. But that's random. And they started to install those "safer barriers" at all the potential wall collisions. That helps keep the car from rising over the wall (along with the roof flaps). It's a risk. But these guys are constantly walking away from crashes that simply don't look survivable.

The engine compartment firewall is probably close to bullet proof. So you're main concern is parts coming up thru the underlining or out of the wheel compartments.

That track is BRUTAL on the brakes. And there's a lot of fires on pit road when refueling because of the glowing rotors and other parts. Obviously, he has a WEIRD problem to start with, given he was crawling at a point on the track where you just decelerated by about 100mph.

 

[flacaltenn]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

How is driving NASCAR different from driving? Do you drive at midnight?

Well for starters -- could you walk away from any of these crashes in YOUR car. And immediately have a cold beer?

 

[flacaltenn]

Dont miss the crash at about 8:28 in the vid I posted. You look at that car and there's nothing left but the driver cage. And guy comes trotting out unscathed. Nascar has done a super job at safety. Maybe TOO good..

 

[ChrisL]

Dont miss the crash at about 8:28 in the vid I posted. You look at that car and there's nothing left but the driver cage. And guy comes trotting out unscathed. Nascar has done a super job at safety. Maybe TOO good..

That's incredible. I've seen a few accidents where the driver is unscathed, and in normal circumstances, that driver would have probably been killed. Of course, I think some of the crashes look worse than they actually are because the cars just seem to fall apart because they are so much lighter than a regular car.

 

[Boss]

Dont miss the crash at about 8:28 in the vid I posted. You look at that car and there's nothing left but the driver cage. And guy comes trotting out unscathed. Nascar has done a super job at safety. Maybe TOO good..

There's one of Michael Waltrip at Bristol (1990) that is much worse looking...

 

[Boss]

Worst crash I remember ever seeing was Don MacTavish's fatal Daytona crash in 1969:

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

Parts flying IN THE car are what the driver is concerned about.

Well it's something to be concerned about regardless. Drivers are taking a risk to life doing what they do. It's probably the only sport we have that is so clearly that way. Davey Allison talked once about his flip at Daytona where he landed on his roof atop a guardrail post. The I-beam stud came down through the right side of his seat! The only thing that saved his life was the momentum had thrown him over to the left. In his regular position, it would have killed him instantly.

How is driving NASCAR different from driving? Do you drive at midnight?

Well for starters -- could you walk away from any of these crashes in YOUR car. And immediately have a cold beer?

If you drove the Monaco Grand Prix, sure why not.