Crazy Elliott Sadler Crash

[Railfreak78]

I apologize in advance for pic quality. This was taken from my phone off the t.v. He hit 2 different angles of fencing at once. The Engine actually came out of the car and he crawled out and layed on the ground. He has been released from the care center. Along with this was a very crazy ride with Kurt Busch as well. Jimmie Johnson wrecker Kurt causing him to hit the outside, then inside wall on the driver door. Kurt broke a tire off as well. Jimmie is fine and running. Sadler was an innocent victim but is ok. No picture of the 19 in the fence but a picture where he hit.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Railfreak78

[Railfreak78]

Ugliest thing I've ever seen on a NASCAR track. I never liked the COT until today. That was a fatal crash in years past, I think. He walked away.

Mark I completely agree. I hate the splitter and look of the car but this crash, Jeff Gordons crash with Matt Kenseth ( I can't remember the track ) with the Nicorette car was scary even if your not a Jeff fan, The crash with Carl Edwards and then Brad K. The car has proven itself this year more than any other.

[Fletch]

Without a doubt the most violent impact I've seen in 30 years of watching NASCAR. There is not a thing I like about the COT, until this afternoon. I have no doubt the the COT saved Elliott's life. What a change of emotion for Elliott, wining the Truck race yesterday, to a victim of someone else's idiotic driving.

[Danno]

In many ways (trajectory, speed, etc.) very similar to Dale Earnhardt's crash yet such dramatically different outcome. Thank the COT, thank the Hahn Device, thank NASCAR's safety engineering!

[Junkman]

Can I have that engine now?

[ericfreeman]

The advancements in safety in NASCAR over the last several years has been amazing. It is a shame that it took the death of a legend to bring most of this about. There is no doubt The HANS device saved Sadler's life today.

A few random thoughts on the crash today, I'm sure there are other opinions that will be heard: First, Jimmy Johnson sounded like Steve Erkel after the crash, "Did I do that?"; second, you won't see that wall the next time NASCAR comes to Pocono; lastly, Rusty Wallace is an idiot.

[highway]

Ugliest thing I've ever seen on a NASCAR track. I never liked the COT until today. That was a fatal crash in years past, I think. He walked away.

Mark, obviously you must either not be much of a NASCAR fan, or maybe just not following for many years, but don't feel bad! I'm surprised no one else has mentioned one of the worst crashes in NASCAR history where the driver survived, but is one of the first ones that came to mind when I seen that wreck today. Michael Waltrip demolished his car in Bristol in 1989 or 1990, (and I say that because the pics I found, some say 89 and some say 90) and, even though I can't remember how badly he was injured in the crash, anyone who follows NASCAR knows Michael is still quite alive and kicking. Many may not remember his win in the 2001 Daytona 500 because of Dale Sr.'s crash, but as a diehard Dale Sr. fan, I remember not only Dale's tragic death, which still gets me misty eyed thinking about it, but I remember Michael driving his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Monte Carlo to victory. By the way, a little trivia, who came in second in that race?

Anyway, enough rambling, here's some pics I found online of Michael's crash at Bristol. Oh, and these look to have been shot as it was happening.

These are a couple pics I found of the car afterward.

Please don't take it the wrong way, Elliott's crash today was horrifying to see, and I'm very happy he walked away, but there have been worse! There was also a crash at Daytona, I think, where Richard Petty also tore up a car as badly as the pics of Michael Waltrip's car here, and ironicly, Elliott Sadler's car from today is owned by Richard Petty!

Edited August 2, 2010 by highway

[highway]

I found this while looking for pics, too.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/403720-top-10-nascar-crashes

There are a few of the wrecks mentioned here, and a few I'm surprised not to see on the list, but I guess the poster thought these were his top 10. Some, if not all, also include YouTube clips of the wrecks.

[Joe Handley]

I'm surprised that Petty's '88 Daytona crash isn't on that list, I remember watching it 22 years ago!

[highway]

I'm surprised that Petty's '88 Daytona crash isn't on that list, I remember watching it 22 years ago!

Me too, Joe, that's why I said I thought my opinions differ with the poster of that link!

[ericfreeman]

"By the way, a little trivia, who came in second in that race?".

Dale Junior. Speculation is that Dale Sr. was blocking Sterling Marlin so that Junior and Waltrip could decide the race amongst themselves. Sterling got into the number 3's rear bumper, the rest is history.

[highway]

"By the way, a little trivia, who came in second in that race?".

Dale Junior. Speculation is that Dale Sr. was blocking Sterling Marlin so that Junior and Waltrip could decide the race amongst themselves. Sterling got into the number 3's rear bumper, the rest is history.

DING DING DING!! We have a winner! Eric, you win, well nothing!

No speculation, Sr was blocking Sterling, (& the rest of the pack behind him). However, what triggered the fatal accident was that Rusty got up behind Sr, & Sr got loose. Rusty backed off to give Sr a chance to get the car under control, saying later on that "Maybe if I hadn't backed off to let him get straightened out, it might have been different.", which of course we'll never know. Sr tried to block Sterling, who was coming up on the inside, (a needless move if he were protecting Waltrip & Jr. for with everything going on behind those two, they were the only ones left to compete for the win), by diving a car that he didn't have complete control of in front of Sterling, & the two cars touched. Unfortunately they happened to do so right as the left front of Sr's car hit the apron, right where the transition from the flat part of the track to the banking occurs. Anytime, (especially at tracks like Daytona & Talladega, give the degree of banking & the speeds there), a car hits that transition at that angle, it's going to veer right & usually stirke the outside wall head on. Sterling just happened to be there right at the moment Sr's hit that transition & the slight impact they had helped turn Sr's car that slight bit further to make the impact with the wall worse due to the angle.

Add in that Nascar hadn't mandated the HANS device then, (unlike every other major form of motorsports worldwide), or the SAFER barriers, Sr preferred an open face helmet as opposed to the safer full face one, & Sr's head snapped forward enough for his head to strike the steering wheel, & he suffered a basil skull fracture, which of course was fatal.

While it's tragic that he died that way, it's even more tragic that Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin & John Nemecheck all three died from the same injuries the year before, & Nascar didn't do anything about it, blaming the cause on stuck throttles & the like. If they had taken a more proactive approach to any/all of those fatal crashes, Sr might very well still be here with us today. It took his death to get Bascar to get their heads out of the sand & address what was going on.

Look the crash up on Youtube, watch it closely & you'll see everything as I described.

Mark, you are quite right in your description, and Sterling Marlin went through a lot because he was the unfortunate bystander in everything. He received death threats because of that wreck, and they were completely unfounded! I, the diehard Earnhardt fan that I am, felt that way, too, at first. After rewatching the many replays of that wreck over the days after, though, it was clear that Dale was protecting the cars he owned, and Sterling was not at fault. The helmet and lack of the HANS was the biggest factors, and it's been said he preferred not using the full face helmet or HANS because it limited his view and head movement. Also, the ironic fact to all this, and to tie back in to the main reason of this thread, the M&M's car shown in all the pics just after the crash in the right door of Earnhardt's car was driven at that time by none other than Elliott Sadler!

[highway]

Umm no on the M&M's car being driven by Elliott Sadler then. M&M sponsored the #38 Robert Yates Ford when Ellott drove it. That was Kenny Schrader in the M&M's #36 Pontiac owned by MB2, (IIRC) Motorsports in 2001. M&M's moved from the #36 team to Yates in 2002 or 2003 IIRC.

OOPS, you got me one that one! I found this on Wikipedia:

1999-2003

Sadler moved up to the Cup Series full-time in 1999, driving the #21 Citgo Ford Taurus for Wood Brothers Racing. His best finish that year was tenth at Texas Motor Speedway, and he finished 24th in points, runner-up to Tony Stewart for Rookie of the Year honors. He also returned to the Nationwide Series on a part-time basis, filling in for the injured Andy Santerre for Innovative Motorsports, his best finish fifth at California Speedway. He also drove a handful of races for Lyndon Amick. Sadler's only top-ten finish in 2000 was tenth at Bristol, after failing to qualify at Talladega Superspeedway, and he dropped to twenty-ninth in points. He also had a wild flip at Michigan Speedway after cutting a tire in practice.

In 2001, Motorcraft became Sadler's new sponsor and he won his first career Cup race at Bristol. He had another top-ten run and finished 20th in points. After seven top-tens and a drop to 23rd in points in 2002, Sadler left for Robert Yates Racing to drive the #38 M&M's Ford. In his first season of competition with Yates, Sadler won the pole at Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway, and finished 22nd in points. In 2003, Sadler had a vicious crash at Talladega after near-contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and touched the right-front fender of Kurt Busch. Sadler's car flew into the air, flipped twice, landed on his roof, spun towards the banking, and flipped six times. Sadler emerged uninjured.

That's what I get for thinking when I first wake up!

[highway]

I'm sorry that I don't get to have an opinion here. "Obviously" there's only one right answer, and you have it! Thanks for setting the record straight for all of us.

Mark, I did not mean to offend you, and I'm sorry I did. I don't have all the right answers (check my reply to Mark M. above!) and there really are no right answers to this subject. In the COT era, this has been the only crash I remember seeing the engine come out of the car and one of the worst. I was just shocked that no one seems to remember that there were many worse wrecks like Michael Waltrip's crash I posted the pictures of way before the COT was even thought about. I've seen many a torn up race car in my days of following NASCAR when you could barely tell whose car it was, because quite a few were a bare roll cage after the crash, and in the case of Waltrip's crash, it is hard to even think that was a car with a driver in it!

[Guest Johnny]

They were too far back for it to be blocking for Michael and Jr.!

Dale Sr. was blocking for himself! A third place finish would ave been great in a season where he was expecting to have a great year! Plus the added benifit of a 123 finish for DEI!

[highway]

I'm not offended, I know you weren't intending anything by what you said. I don't agree though.

While there have been crashes that left more twisted wreckage than yesterday's...for certain...the "showier" wrecks are often not the most brutal. When cars are shredded they're also shedding energy. Since it came up...look at Dale Sr's fatal crash...it doesn't look nearly as dramatic as you'd expect for a fatal crash...no rolling, or parts flying off, the problem was that too much of the impact was absorbed by the driver.

I don't disagree that the Waltrip wreck (and the others) are severe crashes and were stomach-churning to see live. Not at all.

The reason I said what I did about the Sadler wreck is that it had such a violent change in velocity...the car hits the barrier hard and comes to a near instant stop from a high speed. Luckily it wasn't exactly head-on, and the angle of the car/barrier was just enough to reduce the impact...if only slightly...which kept this from being worse than it was.

I now see what you mean, too, Mark. In fact, I understand completely what you mean with your comparison to Dale Sr.'s crash. I remember that still as if it was yesterday, and I watched the race to the finish, and just after the race ended, I turned the TV off and went to hang out with some friends of mine. I figured the race was over, and as for Dale, I had seen him in much worse wrecks than that, so I didn't even know about the severity of the crash until I got back home and heard the tragic news.

Also, after reading your explaination of what your thoughts about Sadler's wreck yesterday, the safety improvements proved themselves quite well. The reduction of the impact, as slight as it was, was helped by the factors you brought up, and I also noticed from the only camera angle ESPN had of his car actually hitting the wall, the explosion of dirt from behind the gaurdrails also helped. If that would have been a concrete wall instead of the guardrail and dirt, the crash just may have been worse than it was, because the slight impact absorption from the metal guardrail and the dirt giving would not have been there.

[71 cougar]

was watch the race yesterday, and it was "...a horrendous crash". glad that elliot is allright. could make a great dio for someone who builds NASCAR.

jack

[Guest Johnny]

Wouldn't have been a 123 finish for DEI, as Sr drove for Richard Childress Racing.

Irregardless of why he was blocking, when he tried to block Sterling by swooping down in a car he was still trying to regain control of, & it was a foolish & ultimately fatal move. Sr was nearly 50 years old & his reflexes had slowed enough where a move like that wasn't the same as when he was 30 or even 40. He couldn't pull it off safely. Don't get me wrong, he still had talent & skills, but just as with any athlete, the reflexes slow down.

I was fortunate enough to get to see Sr racing on local dirt & paved tracks in North Carolina, well before he moved to the Cup Series, & I know first hand what talent, skills & abilities he possessed. I was even at Sr's first Cup race, the 1975 World 600. I remember watching Ralph Earnhardt racing on dirt in the late 60's & early 70's, before his fatal heart attack in 1973. Both Sr & his daddy were masters of car control, but time had taken it's toll on Sr, & the move he tried that day in 2001 wasn't going to work. It was a tragic end to a great career.

Duh! Had a brain fart there Mark. But yes he was blocking an dthat set up the tragic incident that took his life!

The quick move he made more than likely had him very loose and any amout of a bump or even turbulence off another car would turn him! Bottom line it was just a racing incident late in a race! But I wouldn't go so far as to say he was too old or out of shape to pull it off. That is just an opinion and no one knows or will ever know for sure but him!

The hit didn't even look that terrible when you watched it. Looked like so many other crashes we had seen him have over the years and get out and walk away from! The sudden change in direction was the life ending factor!

I think DW was the first to realize how hard that hit was because he suddenly went from being happy for his his brother to instant deep concern over the crash! Almost like he knew how bad it was!

Ironic enough he insisted that his drivers wear the HANS device but he refused to. But then he was one of the last to wear an open face helmet too!

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

One thing about viewing the race from the comfort of the living room, is that you get the benefit of seeing it from several different angles. One also gets to see it over again, and often in slow motion. That allows one to be able to form one's own opinion of what happened. This isn't to give a right or wrong slant on what happened, or to justify anybody's actions, but we have to remember that things happen fast out there on the tracks.

I had a wreck on a dirt track where I was in a line of traffic, and the lead car checked up. I started to swing around to the right and aim for a clear space, but just as I did, a car in front of me headed for the same space. I didn't have time to react, and I nailed him in the back and sent him into some other cars. It put him out of the race, but my car was undamaged, and I continued the race. People in the stands only saw me ram one of their favorite drivers, and then get to continue racing while he was out, and I was booed for a long time after. After the race was over, I went to apologize to him, and he even stated that it was his fault.

No matter how good a driver is, things happen fast out there, and sometimes there is just not any way to avoid a wreck. I know that the little half mile dirt tracks that I drove on are a lot different than the big NASCAR tracks, and that those drivers are expected to be much more knowledgeable than those that I drove with, but it still comes down to things are going to happen, and good and bad choices are going to be made, and they're going to be made in a split second.

The wreck that ended my career would fall into the above scenario. I was driving in a main event, and was leading a pack of 5 cars ( a rare thing for me)and was coming out of the fourth turn. There was slower traffic that we were approaching, and just as we got to them, a car pulled out to pass a slower car, and struck my car. The end result was that I got clobbered but good. There were pieces of my car from turn 4 to turn 1, and I spent two years in recovery. The driver that drove up into me wasn't stupid, nor was what he did. It was just a matter of misjudgement. I'll tell you what was stupid. After I spent two years in recovery, of which several months were spent in the hospital, and I would have some injuries that would bother me for the rest of my life, I started to make plans to go back racing. Still that didn't yet hit the top of the stupid scale; that was reserved for my letting my wife find out about my plans. That, my fellow forumites, is the ultimate in stupid.

[Railfreak78]

I know there have been way more horrible crashes than this one in the past. I've been watching since 1982. I remember this Mikey crash ( thanks for the pictures as I didn't know the remainder was still around) Darrell Waltrip and Rusty had bad ones, Petty, Newman, Rudd, Dale SR, Tony, and more. This one was bad due to where it hit. If you look at the photo of the fences there is a very odd indentation before the andle of the fence changes. The front end went in there. It was an incredible fit like a puzzle piece. I do not take the credit away from Nascar's saftey in the past. Lets not forget thinking about Dale Sr. He had a couple bad ones on plate tracks. The one that killed him actually had a failure in the Simpson Harness. Hanns device may not have helped him. He still would have impaled the steering wheel. So in your discussion please know that I do not credit or discredt and crash. I'm just glad he is ok. I'm a fan. I think that he is by far not a great driver but a great personality so I am glad he is ok.

[Joe Handley]

The one that killed him actually had a failure in the Simpson Harness.

I remember hearing about that too, and the death threats that Bill Simpson started to receive afterward like the ones Sterling received. IIRC the belt installed in his car the wrong way at his request and even though Bill Simpson kept telling him that those needed to be installed correctly or they would fail, he never did have that done.