IndyCar Butt Bumpers send another car flipping at Indy (2nd Update)
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| Rear of Simon Pagenaud's car showing sloped surface inside the Chevy Butt Bumper |
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| Rear of Dale Coyne Honda showing no sloped surface and a flat back that won't send cars airborne |
| Photos by Rob Chinn/AR1.com |
05/17/15 Watch the Ed Carpenter video below, and you will see that as soon as Carpenter's Chevy turns backwards and the air hits the Chevy Butt Bumper the car takes flight. AR1.com has termed the silly things Butt Bumpers because they protect the butt (rear) of the car in front from tire-to-tire contact from a car that is approaching from behind. The drivers can 'bump' the car in front without touching their rear tire. The 20-year old CART Indycars didn't need Butt Bumpers to go this fast.
AR1.com was the first to reveal this major flaw days ago and still no action was taken until Carpenter became the third Chevy to flip over this morning. The Butt Bumper cause major lift forces when the cars turn backward. If you want the inside scoop on IndyCar you read AR1.com. Mark C. reporting for AR1.com
05/14/15 Josef Newgarden crashed at Indy today and his car also got airborne and he ended up on his head. He was uninjured. What is causing the cars to get airborne? It's the Butt Bumpers as we outlined in Helio Castroneves' crash yesterday. Watch the Newgarden video below and stop it exactly at the 1:01 mark. At that point the car is going backwards and the air gets into the Butt Bumpers and the car immediately gets airborne. IndyCar had better think seriously about removing the hideous Butt Bumpers before someone gets hurt.
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| When air gets inside the hideous Butt Bumpers behind the rear wheels (the area where the #1 is) the car immediately lifts and gets airborne. The sloped surface where the #1 decals are surely makes the situation worse – huge uplift there. AR1.com recommends the Butt Bumpers be removed for safety reasons. |
Josef Newgarden has been checked, cleared and released from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Medical Center following an accident during practice for the Indianapolis 500. The rear end of the car came around entering Turn 1, making contact with the SAFER barrier. The car became airborne and Newgarden landed upside down, but was able to climb from the car. He is cleared to resume driving.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 CENTURY 21 CHEVROLET: "It's still early for me, I am still trying to gather my thoughts from it. I got around pretty quick in Turn 1, it definitely surprised me. I am just lucky that everything is good, the Dallara tub held up pretty well. I want to get back with my crew and see what the damage is and see what we can do going forward."