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Thursday, May 3
Safety was first concern
By Christian Fittipaldi
Special to ESPN.com
CART went through probably the hardest decision it has ever had to make since it started in 1979 this past weekend by canceling the race at Texas Motor Speedway in the interest of the safety if its drivers and the fans.
CART had been trying to get a race in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for many years because it is a big market for the series, the sponsors and the fans. But when it was announced that CART signed the deal with Texas Motor Speedway, the drivers were a little bit surprised because of the configuration of the track and the high speeds we would probably drive. I guess the commercial value of the event outweighed the challenges.
When Kenny Brack first tested there in December, the speeds were a lot slower, and I honesty don't understand how he did that if you are running wide open all the time. After that, at the beginning of the season, CART organized a test in which eight to 10 cars were involved.
The speeds immediately grew from Brack's first test and I remember thinking that we were in for a wild ride. Days after Dario Franchitti tested with the others at TMS, we were talking at the Phoenix test and he told me that basically he parked the car after a while because no matter what he changed in it, it didn't make a difference to the speed.
With the season starting and then having the problem with the mayor in Rio de Janeiro canceling the race happening right after that, our attention was turned away a little from Texas Motor Speedway. Once we arrived in Texas and ran in the first practice session, we all got a big reality check because we could all see that it was going to be very quick because the track was only 1.5-miles long, not as wide as a super speedway and the banking made the speeds even higher. It was a combination we had never experienced before. It was also hotter than it was when CART was allowed to test and there was a little draft, which brought the speeds up more.
We knew it would be pretty fast but what we didn't know was that the vertical and lateral G's were too big for our bodies to support. After doing 20 to 30 laps in a row, drivers were starting to get lightheaded and were running around 232-236 miles per hour.
This obviously concerned Dr. Steve Olvey and CART president Joe Heitzler very much. The drivers were prepared to race but CART made an unprecedented decision to postpone the race in the interest of the safety of the drivers and the fans.
They chose to make safety more important than "the show." Maybe it is not the most popular decision and they knew they would be criticized by some but that is why it is even more commendable in this day and age.
CART had a lot of courage to pull the plug on this event. On the other hand, finding a solution to a problem of this magnitude, at least in my head, was a no-brainer.
I think that this action might hinder us in the short term but I'm pretty sure that it also could mean the beginning of the new era for CART and racing in general.
Once again, I want to personally thank CART for the attitude taken in the interest of driver and fan safety and will support them on this issue. At the end of the day, we were not dealing with extra tires in a run off area or incorrect curbing, we were talking about peoples lives and no matter how big the event is it will never be more important than someone's life.
I am proud to be a CART driver.
Kmart Toyota driver Christian Fittipaldi provides a diary for ESPN.com throughout the CART season. You can check out Christian's web site at http://Fittipaldionline.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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