Firestone Firehawk 600
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The Firestone Firehawk 600 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) race scheduled for April 29, 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It was scheduled for 250 laps around the 1.5-mile oval at TMS. However, it was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to concerns about driver safety.
The race was sponsored by Pioneer Corporation.
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[edit] Background
The Firehawk 600 was the third attempt to run an open-wheel race on a high-banked track designed for NASCAR racing. The rival Indy Racing League had run what is now the Bombardier Learjet 550 since 1997, and ran a race in the fall from 1998 to 2004.
The turns at TMS are banked at 24 degrees, six degrees steeper than had ever been seen at a CART race. By comparison, the turns at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are only banked at 9 degrees. The turns are also very tight, which would have imposed unprecedented g loads on the cars and drivers. However, the high banks would have allowed the drivers to go at full throttle all the way around.
The drivers also expected high speeds. Mauricio Gugelmin told reporters that he expected speeds "way above 220 (mph)." However, the worries were downplayed at first because there had always been concerns about speed at the other two tracks that CART shared with NASCAR at the time, California Speedway and Michigan Speedway.
Only a few CART drivers tested at TMS. Some design changes resulted, such as a wall on pit lane between the pits and a grassy area along the frontstretch. The track's surface was also smoothed in some areas. CART never conducted extensive tests at the track, apparently believing that the IRL's successful experience and data from individual CART teams was proof that CART could race there as well. However, CART engines had 300 horsepower (224 kW) more than IRL engines at the time.
Gugelmin's predictions about speeds were borne out in qualifying. The lowest qualifying speed among the 25 drivers was 219.5 mph (353.3 km/h), with 17 drivers topping 230 mph (370 km/h). Kenny Brack (who had competed in the previous IRL races at Texas) won the pole position with a speed of 233.4 mph (375.6 km/h). The average speed during qualifying was 229.9 mph (370 km/h). Many of the drivers had never run that fast before. Bryan Herta likened the experience to being in an F-16.
[edit] Postponement
During Friday and Saturday's practice sessions, several drivers experienced dizziness and disorientation. CART medical director Steve Olvey later told reporters that two drivers pulled off the track on Friday after long stints at over 230 mph. They claimed that they felt they couldn't control their cars. The next day, another driver came to CART's mobile medical unit after being unable to walk for five minutes after getting out of his car. Olvey said that he had never seen such a situation in his 25 years in racing. The high speeds imposed g-forces as high as 5.5--almost double what most drivers can endure, and closer to what jet pilots usually experience.
At a drivers' meeting on Saturday night, Olvey asked the drivers if they'd experienced similar symptoms. All but four reported symptoms of vertigo, including inner ear or vision problems after running more than 10 laps (or 20 laps, according to CART). They also claimed that they had had virtually no peripheral vision or reaction time.
CART determined that the cars could not race any faster than 225 mph without raising safety concerns. Chief steward Kirk Russell asked the teams to take some downforce out of the rear wing and reduce the power, but this did little to slow the cars down.
With no time to make further changes, CART postponed the race two hours before it was due to start. At a press conference, CART president and CEO Joe Heitzler did not blame the track. Rather, he stressed that officials could not in good conscience allow a race with such serious concerns about the safety of the drivers. Olvey added that the vertigo symptoms might have been exaggerated since the temperature was an unseasonably warm 80 degrees, and there was even the possibility that drivers could lose consciousness. It is also likely that the high g-loads would have been outside the design limits for the HANS device, which was required for all CART races at oval tracks.
The Firehawk 600 marked the first time a CART race had been postponed due to safety issues. The 1985 Michigan 500 was delayed six days due to concerns about Goodyear's new radial tire.
TMS general manager Eddie Gossage was harshly critical of CART's decision. He argued that CART assured him it could run the race even though it hadn't conducted more extensive tests at the track. Russell argued that there was no time due to scheduling conflicts. Michael Andretti added that there was no real way to simulate 20 or more cars in a race.
CART officials held out the possibility of rescheduling the race, but there was no room in the schedule and it was ultimately cancelled.
[edit] Lawsuit and settlement
TMS' owner, Speedway Motorsports, sued CART on May 8 for breach of contract. CART and SMI settled later in the year. Terms were not disclosed, but CART said that it spent $3.5 million for the settlement and legal costs, resulting in a $1.7 million loss for the third quarter of 2001.
CART, which eventually became known as Champ Car, never attempted to return to Texas Motor Speedway. Ultimately they were absorbed into the Indy Racing League in 2008.
[edit] References/external links
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Champ Car World Series 2001 season |
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