Gates on turn exits

[colinspooky]

What is it about track designers putting wall gates on the exit of turns. The steel will bend leaving the cars to hit a blunt end of solid wall head on.

Wasn't there a pretty nasty crash at Bristol a year or so ago during a practice. Tore a car apart.

Just noticed what looks like one at the end of turn 2 at Michigan.

Have seen these at a few tracks.

Surely this is not a good design decision. It will end in some serious tears and then people will think about putting them somewhere else, if at all.

:rolleyes:

[call_me_andrew]

At Bristol it was a concrete gate that opened onto the racetrack and wasn't properly closed and locked.

[RaceFanStan]

If they installed transporters from Starship Enterprise they could do away with the gates. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif


Beam me up Scottie. http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[carracing]

What is it about track designers putting wall gates on the exit of turns.

I always wondered about that myself but I guess RaceFanStan has a point... gates are kind of essential... I guess there's no "good" place to put one - a crash can happen anywhere.

:eek:

[call_me_andrew]

Well I wouldn't call them essential. There's still tunnels and bridges to think about.

[markabilly]

I always wondered about that myself but I guess RaceFanStan has a point... gates are kind of essential... I guess there's no "good" place to put one - a crash can happen anywhere.

:eek:


and the easy answer is.....


Well I wouldn't call them essential. There's still tunnels and bridges to think about.

I am always amazed at track safety issues that are so very obvious and yet ignored until there are enough crashes :confused:

I could not design a proper race course/track to save my own life, but then I go to the track and see obvious and dangerous conditions created by the track construction......

[ShiftingGears]

I always wondered about that myself but I guess RaceFanStan has a point... gates are kind of essential... I guess there's no "good" place to put one - a crash can happen anywhere.

:eek:

But its a lot more likely when the car is actually angled towards the gate (ie through a turn) than when it isn't. So I have no idea why anyone thought gates on corner exits are good ideas. :\

It's just dumb.

[oldhippie]

if you go to the track you will see that the big rigs pull onto to the track near a corrner cause they are so long that they cant make the 90 degree turn on to the straightaways
also when an ambulance needs to exit the tack with an injured driver
they stop the race and the ambulance exits through the gate
many nascar tracks dont have the room to build tunnels
several nascar tracks are too small for tunnels it probably takes at least a 2 mile track
an overpass would also take too much room and a big obstruction overhead would block the view for the fans

:bulb: to bitch and moan about the gates is a total waste of time imo cause they are necessary for access

[call_me_andrew]

Too small? Martinsville and Bristol have tunnels now.

[colinspooky]

i

:bulb: to bitch and moan about the gates is a total waste of time imo cause they are necessary for access



Well at least make them flush with the rest of the wall and strong enough not to bend. And I think my point was not to put them where the car is most likely to hit it. Half way along the straight would be better, although no much after seeing what happeend to the Cat car at MIS.

Now that would have been an interesting ride on the back stretch at Gateway.

And as someone just said, the two smallest tracks have managed to put in tunnels, apparently.

[nigelred5]

Well I wouldn't call them essential. There's still tunnels and bridges to think about.

There really isn't room for the approach to an underpass that can accomodate a NASCAR hauler at most short tracks, so they have to cross the track surface. Some of the gates are access for emergency vehicles. At New Hampshire, it's where the roadcourse enters and exits the oval.

[nigelred5]

Well at least make them flush with the rest of the wall and strong enough not to bend. And I think my point was not to put them where the car is most likely to hit it. Half way along the straight would be better, although no much after seeing what happeend to the Cat car at MIS.

Now that would have been an interesting ride on the back stretch at Gateway.

And as someone just said, the two smallest tracks have managed to put in tunnels, apparently.

Dover's pit wall is just after start finish and they have blown it out at least twice that I've been there for. Tunnels chew up valueable real estate inside of the track at the small places. I believe they have to move transporters in and out between races at Martinsville.

Don't have an answer for you at Michigan other than it costs money and many tracks have infamous tunnels that cause problems with the racing surface.

[BobbyC]

All tracks built in the past 20 years (Richmond, Loudon, Homestead, Fontana, Joliet, Kansas) have deep tunnels.

Lowe's (1997, Backstretch), Atlanta (1996, Turn 1-2), Daytona (2005, Turn 1), and Darlington (2008, Turn 3) have all added new deep tunnels to allow the transporters to enter and exit the track.