From: Michael Powell 

RENNA ACCIDENT REVIEW COMPLETE

INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 - A comprehensive review of Tony
Renna’s fatal accident is complete, officials from the Indy Racing
League(R) announced Dec. 19.

Renna suffered fatal injuries Oct. 22 in an accident in Turn 3 of the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway during tire testing. Renna was turning his
first laps in a Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone.

The combined data from various technical resources provided IRL officials
insight into what happened during the crash. However, the data did not
produce a 100-percent conclusion as to why the tragic accident occurred.
There are many unknown possibilities that could have contributed to the
cause of the accident. 

The Renna family has been informed of the findings.

“We appreciate the due diligence of the League and their investigation,”
the Renna family said in a statement forwarded to the League.

The accident review focused on why the car went into the air and what
happened to the car during the accident, and while the cause of the
accident is unknown, IRL officials were able to gather valuable
information.  

“The goal of an Indy Racing League accident review is to learn as much as
we can about what happens during a crash, not necessarily why a crash
happened,” said Brian Barnhart, senior vice president of racing operations
for the Indy Racing League. “The League focuses on what happens during the
crash because that is where we learn more about chassis integrity and other
safety initiatives.

“The review of this accident was more difficult and prolonged because it
was a private test. Although we are confident we’ve pieced together what
happened during the accident, it appears we will not know why the crash
started. That is the frustrating part of this effort.”

The accident review revealed that Renna’s car entered Turn 3 at 227 mph. At
a point just past the apex of the turn, the car did a 90-degree spin to the
left into the infield grass. The car began to skip through the grass as it
traveled sideways, allowing air underneath the car and causing it to lift
into the air. While in the air the car spun approximately another 30
degrees to the left. 

The car traveled across the track through the air and made contact with the
debris fence on the outside retaining wall in Turn 3. IRL officials said it
appears that the most significant damage and resulting fatal injuries were
caused when the bottom of the car made direct contact with one of the
debris fence support posts, which is part of the Speedway’s fence system.

The spectator debris fences at the Speedway worked as designed, and because
Renna’s car struck the fence and not the wall, it did not impact the
Speedway’s SAFER Barrier, Barnhart said.

Officials said the car’s speed was in the normal range of other accidents
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the last few years. 

“The IRL continues to review all race incidents during the year to evaluate
safety, but each individual accident usually has a unique set of
variables,” Barnhart said. 

IRL officials were able to download all the data from the ADR2 (accident
data recorder), which is in every IRL car. The ADR2 can record vehicle
parameters at 1,000 samples per second just prior to, during and after an
accident-triggering event. The system records data from both of the
vehicle’s internal sensors, as well as information from the car’s on-board
data acquisition system.

As the car entered Turn 3, all the data indicated there were no mechanical
failures on any of the car’s equipment that are monitored by sensors.
However, while the data acquisition systems are comprehensive, there are
elements of the car that are unable to be tracked by the systems. Because
of this, it is impossible to completely rule out mechanical failure as a
cause of the accident. 

“The list of items on a car that can fail, and that aren’t monitored by
sensors, is significant,” Barnhart said. “Several of those failures could
cause a crash. In addition, unforeseen factors can also come into play and
contribute to the cause of the accident.” 

The ADR2 system also allows officials to retrieve data from an earpiece
sensor system that measures dynamic forces to a driver’s head during an
accident. It uses small sensors integrated into the left and right radio
earpieces worn by IRL drivers.

The Target Chip Ganassi team’s research data device, which was damaged in
the incident, had to be sent to the manufacturer for data retrieval, and
that information was returned to the IRL to be analyzed. The device
contains all suspension-related information.

“Tony Renna was an experienced and talented race driver, doing his job and
trying to achieve maximum speed from his car,” Barnhart said. “He was
highly respected by his peers and was a young, rising star in the Indy
Racing League. He will be missed.”



--- Internet Rex 2.29