Eric McClure

[nascarfan71080]

Hard hit, had to be cut out of his car. Hope hes ok

[DaveL]

SpeedCenter confirmed he is awake, alert, and talking to the staff at UAB Medical Center.

[ElMaestro]

SpeedCenter confirmed he is awake, alert, and talking to the staff at UAB Medical Center.

Thanks for the update, Dave! My prayers go out to him and his family. Never want to see a driver injured.

[savethemile]

Latest update is that he is awake & talking with family, but is being kept overnight for further observation. Thank goodness.

[Ken-Paul]

Latest update is that he is awake & talking with family, but is being kept overnight for further observation. Thank goodness.

Thanks for the update.

And thank goodness for the Safer Barrier.

[fivehundred2go]

Thanks for the update.

And thank goodness for the Safer Barrier.

Not to be "nit-picky," but the broadcast crew did give the correct credit to the group behind the development of the S.A.F.E.R. - My question is - why was the inside wall closer to turn 3 not covered by the S.A.F.E.R. Another few feet farther and ....

I really wonder what happened that he did not appear to brake or even let off the power. That was a hit that elicited an "OH NO" when it happened. My best thought to Eric and his family. I think I heard he is related to Morgan McClure, a winning owner of the Daytona 500.

[Jacoby]

...I really wonder what happened that he did not appear to brake or even let off the power...

I'm glad he is okay, but I noticed that too. Very strange.

[roach]

...My question is - why was the inside wall closer to turn 3 not covered by the S.A.F.E.R....

Look on the bright side - it could still be ARMCO. While the chances are slim that an IndyCar would ever hit this, there IS that chance (and I've seen some close calls). I really wish they would replace it.

[RS2]

ARMCO is the safest and best barrier that is available these days.

[Peabody]

ARMCO is the safest and best barrier that is available these days.

[RS2]

Armco is used by every new race track in the world. It absorbs energy better than a safer barrier would withs it poles that give more flexibility than a safer barrier with a concrete wall behind it. For sure The new F1 track in Texas will be lined with it. The only drawback is crash damage. On the ouside of an oval would not be an ideal place for it if you do not want to fix it all the time. But that does not mean it is unsafe. When was the last time anybody had heard of an armco related injury?

[CARTer]

Not recent, but I was at an SCCA club event more than 20 years ago when a Formula Atlantic driver went nose-first into the armco at IRP. The nose of the car split between two levels of armco, killing the driver almost instantly. That's one thing I get nervous about with armco at these speeds.

[cheeseczar]

When was the last time anybody had heard of an armco related injury?
]

Merle Bettenhausen lost an arm to it. Foyt almost lost an arm, and I think Mears hit it too...almost losing his feet.

Anyway, that was a vicious hit the kid took. Glad to hear he's alright.

[debdrake]

Anyone heard any updates past "held for observation"?

[3Paige14]

I've heard nothing new.

[Jim Wilke]

Late last night I heard 'pain in his right arm and right leg.'

[KevMcNJ]

Look on the bright side - it could still be ARMCO. While the chances are slim that an IndyCar would ever hit this, there IS that chance (and I've seen some close calls). I really wish they would replace it.

is that your view at Indy??

[roach]

is that your view at Indy??

Our view (This year)

[KevMcNJ]

[MoparsRule]

Damn good thing he didn't hit a hundred yards later where there still isn't any SAFER barrier located. Lucky kid.

[Jag-lover]

Not recent, but I was at an SCCA club event more than 20 years ago when a Formula Atlantic driver went nose-first into the armco at IRP. The nose of the car split between two levels of armco, killing the driver almost instantly. That's one thing I get nervous about with armco at these speeds.

Watkins Glen had two fatalities directly attributed to ARMCO. Francois Cervert was cut in two and Helmut Koinigg was decapitated.

[atrackforumfan]

Merle Bettenhausen lost an arm to it.

IIRC, Merle was climbing out of a burning car when it hit the armco.

[atrackforumfan]

Watkins Glen had two fatalities directly attributed to ARMCO. Francois Cervert was cut in two and Helmut Koinigg was decapitated.

In that car at that speed, Cevert's accident probably would have been fatal with any wall in that location.

[Doctorindy]

Metal guardrail isn't inherently bad, depending upon it's location and proper installation. It has to be flush, and it has to be at least triple stacked. The older tracks with metal guardrail sometimes only had one string of it (like the normal highway metal guardrail). It was easy for cars with nosecones to get under it, or slice through it. With triple stacked, it goes all the way to the ground, preventing the nose from getting under. However, it does have the chance for it to "catch & pivot."

IMS has metal guardrail in spots where it's nearly totally unlikely for cars to ever hit hard. I say that with a cringe, because you really never can assume that. But it's located on the inside of T3 and T4, which by virtue of centrifugal force, and the sharpness of those corners, it is amazingly rare for a car to hit the inside wall on the inside of the turn first. You'd really have to pinch in down to spin that way, and you'd scrub off speed in the process. The only time's we've really seen cars hit the inside of the turns at IMS is after it's hit the outside. I think Pat Bedard in 1984 might be the only one that comes to mind that hit the inside first...or Eddie Miller in 1976.


Though of another...the 2009 John Andretti/Graham Rahal crash....even Graham turned in hard and pinched it down and still didn't the inside wall.


I'm pretty sure I heard IMS was working on some of the inside walls this year...adding more SAFER.

[Jakester]

I'm with Doc on this one. The armco examples are from many years ago. Armco is still widely used and, when properly configured and installed, provides a relatively safe (no wall is completely safe) barrier for road courses. However, one will note that likely high impact areas will have additional deformable barriers in place (tire walls, etc). I believe in general, it's not the best selection for oval tracks.The SAFER is one of the more important improvements in oval track safety in MANY years.

[debdrake]

STILL no updates on Eric.

[KevMcNJ]

Merle Bettenhausen lost an arm to it. Foyt almost lost an arm, and I think Mears hit it too...almost losing his feet.

Anyway, that was a vicious hit the kid took. Glad to hear he's alright.

I think Troy Ruttmans boy was killed in a Supermod at the first race held at Pocono because he went under Armco.

This just came up on a completely different racing forum recently

[beej]

Good news

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Eric McClure was released from an Alabama hospital Monday, according to his team's Twitter feed.

By Matthew Stockman, Getty Images
Eric McClure was released from a Birmingham, Ala., hospital Monday.
EnlargeClose
By Matthew Stockman, Getty Images
Eric McClure was released from a Birmingham, Ala., hospital Monday.
Sponsored LinksThe team said McClure suffered a concussion and "mild internal bruising" from a vicious wreck in Saturday's race at Talladega Superspeedway.

McClure had been hospitalized for two days after being airlifted to University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center following a head-on crash at nearly full speed into a SAFER barrier.

VIDEO: McClure's big wreck at Talladega
The Twitter feed for his Hefty Reynolds Wrap team said, "He's expected 2 make full recovery" and that he would be available for interviews Friday at Darlington Raceway.

Before Monday night's announcement, there were no specifics given of McClure's injuries, other than reports that he was talking to workers following the race.

On Sunday, McClure's wife, Miranda, had posted on the driver's Facebook page, "It is nothing short of a miracle that he was not hurt more than he is."

[rrrr]

I posted this in the Smoke thread...quoting yourself is kinda tacky but...

Very happy he has been released from the hospital.

McClure's crash into the infield wall was terrifyingly violent. Similar to Danica Patrick's Daytona incident, the SAFER barrier likely prevented a serious or perhaps fatal injury.

[mdkiel]

Very happy he has been released from the hospital.