7) INDYCAR's detailed crash analysis is rather revealing. There are many pieces of information that stand out, including one that helps to dispel the belief that slowing Indy cars on big ovals will prevent similar accidents in the future: Wheldon was launched into the air at 165 mph, nearly identical to the cornering speeds at the flat one-mile Milwaukee oval.

The one piece of information missing from the data below is a comparative timeline. Of the many opinions on what caused so many cars to become involved in the crash, one has been that some drivers failed to act/react in a timely manner to what took place in front of them--especially the last few cars involved.

Starting from the moment the crash started, understanding exactly when each driver reacted on a second-by-second basis would help to illustrate the reaction times of those involved with the accident, but it's unlikely that the series would risk alienating its drivers by making said information public.

Race Start

The race began at its scheduled time and proceeded as anticipated through the first 10 laps. As discussed in more detail below, the first 10 laps were characterized by pack racing. At the conclusion of the 10th lap, all 34 race cars remained on the lead lap and the physical distance between the leader and the 34th place race car covered approximately 1/5 of the track and was an interval of 4.2 seconds.

Impact Between #06 (Hinchcliffe) and #17 (Cunningham)

A multi-car accident involving 15 identifiable race cars occurred in turns 1 and 2 of Las Vegas Motor Speedway on lap 11 of the scheduled 200 lap event. The accident began as the result of contact between the #06 (James Hinchcliffe) and the #17 (Wade Cunningham) as they entered the first turn. The #17 spun toward the infield while running in 12th position. This initial contact was an occurrence common to racing as was each subsequent contact.

Impact Among #14 (Meira), #59 (Viso), #83 (Kimball) and #77 (Wheldon)

The #77 (Dan Wheldon) had achieved a maximum speed of 224 mph on the front straightaway and had achieved the 24th position in the race. As the chain reaction of the crash increased, and more race cars became involved, the #77 stayed low on the race track consistent with an attempt to avoid the race cars crashing up against the outside retaining wall. Several race cars were in a cluster directly in front of the #77, including the #9 (Scott Dixon), the #10 (Dario Franchitti), the #14 (Vitor Meira), the #59 (E J Viso) and the #83 (Charlie Kimball). As the #14 began to spin toward the infield, the #14 made contact with the #59 and the #83. This gathering of race cars is directly in front of the #77 and effectively blocked the path of the #77, which was about 2 race car lengths behind. Approximately 3.8 seconds before impact, the driver of the #77 reduced throttle to about 55%.

Approximately one second later, the throttle was reduced even further, down to less than 10% and the throttle remained in this position until contact. The driver of the #77 applied the brakes for approximately 2.4 seconds prior to contact, and had decelerated to a speed of 165 mph as the right front of the #77 made contact with the left rear of the #83. The impact with the #77 and the #83 registered 24G longitudinal and - 23G vertical on the accident data recorder of the #77. The #77 became airborne with a nose upward vertical orientation, and began to roll to the right. The right rear of the #77 made contact with the racing surface and the chassis then traveled rearward first, in an upright position toward the SAFER Barrier in turn 2. The #77 traveled in a nose up, semi-airborne state for approximately 325 feet.

Impact Among #4 (Hildebrand), #17 (Cunningham) and #15 (Howard)

The right front of the #4 (J. R. Hildebrand) made contact with the left rear of the #17, triggering the multi race car crash. The #4 climbed the left rear of the #17 and became airborne for a brief period of time. The #15 (Jay Howard) made contact with the #17 and then the #15 slid up the track and hit the outside wall with the right side of his race car. The #17 made contact with the #22 (Townsend Bell). The #22 spun and hit the wall with his left side. The #4 came back down almost on top of the #17 and both of them hit the outside wall almost as one with their right sides. The #4 was traveling at 215 mph in the traffic prior to the accident.

Approximately 1.6 seconds before making contact with the #17, the #4 reduced throttle from 100% to 15%. The brakes were applied by the driver of #4 approximately 0.4 of a second before impact with the #17. The speed of the #4 was reduced from 215 mph to 201 mph at the time of the impact. The only available information is from the on-board data acquisition system for the #4 as the accident data recorder did not function properly during the accident due to damage sustained in the accident. The #4 was airborne for about 125 feet, with all 4 tires off the track. The attitude of the race car was level with the track, with the front slightly higher than the back end of the race car. The driver of race car #4 was transported to the hospital and kept overnight for observation while suffering from a bruised sternum. He was released the next day.

Impact Among #57 (Scheckter), #8 (Tracy), #30 (Mann), and #19 (Lloyd)

The #57 (Tomas Scheckter) was high on the track and started to come down to avoid the race cars in the wall. The #8 (Paul Tracy) made contact with his right front into the left rear of the #57 and caused the #57 to spin toward the infield. The #30 (Pippa Mann) was following the #19 (Alex Lloyd) and tried to avoid hitting the #19 from the rear by going to the high side. The left front wing of #30 made contact with the right rear of the #19 as #30 attempted to pass on the right. The right front of #30 then made contact with the left rear and left side of the #8 which caused the #30 to become airborne. As the #30 went airborne, it rotated and rolled to the left. After it traveled approximately 190 feet in the air, the race car was now upside down. The #30 traveled another 50 feet and began to go nose down and toward the outside wall, still upside down. The #30 landed back on the track still upside down and hit the outside wall with the left side of the race car, with the nose pointed in race direction.

The #30 remained upside down as it slides down the track and came to a rest on the backstretch. The #30 had achieved a speed of 224 mph on the front straight and reduced throttle from 100% to approximately 20% approximately 2 seconds before making contact with the #8. The brakes were applied approximately 0.8 of a second before impact and the speed was reduced from 224 mph to 196 mph at the point of impact. The driver of race car #30, Pippa Mann, was transported to the hospital and kept overnight. She suffered burns to the “pinky” finger on her right hand that has since required surgery. She was released the next day.

Impact Between #12 (Power) and #19 (Lloyd)

The #12 (Will Power) made contact with the nose of his race car into the left rear tire of the #19 (Alex Lloyd) which caused the #12 to become airborne. The #12 went vertical with a nose up attitude for a brief period of time before the race car became horizontal and parallel to the track surface. As the #12 was airborne, it began to turn nose toward the outside wall and began to roll with the right side going down first. The right rear tire/wheel touched the track first, approximately 315 feet after becoming airborne. The race car was on its right side, with the nose toward the outside wall at this point. The #12 continued to spin to the right, faced opposite of race direction. The #12 touched down briefly on the track for about 80 feet before it became slightly airborne again. It then made contact with the left side into the outside wall, and into the #4.

The #12 continued to slide down the track until it stopped down the backstretch. The #12 had achieved a speed of 224 mph on the front straight. Approximately 4.5 seconds before impact, the throttle was reduced from 100% to 5%. The throttle went back up briefly to about 55% for about one second before it was reduced to less than 10% again. The brakes were applied approximately 1.6 seconds before impact with the #19, and the speed was reduced from 224 mph to 162 mph at impact. During the accident, the #12 experienced forces of -112Gs vertical when the chassis landed back on the track surface. Based upon these numbers, this was most likely the point when Power suffered his injury. Power was found to have a compression fracture in his back. He was fitted with a brace and has since been cleared to resume driving.