You have GOT to be kidding me!!!

[martini99]

I have been a firefighter for 39 years and yes I have seen things go wrong-- but this was pathetic. During last Sundays race at Iowa the worst reporter on the IRL team Jack Arute did an "up close and personal" segment on the problems encountered by the safety team. He described how the hose that was Connected UNDER the front bumper ( wrong wrong location- just check any piece of fire apparatus and you will find the hose connection easily accessable somewhere above the bumper with a SWIVAL connection-- what if the hose blew ? are you going to crawl under the truck to replace it but maybe IRL dosent even carry a spare lenght of hose)This is known as a "JUMP" hose line (no jump here). So maybe the personal were not the blame but the equipment was. A life was at stake here and this was uncalled for. BRING BACK THE OLD TEAM LED BY BILLY KAMPHOUSEN NOW ! And lets have a drill to test their "IRL's" equipment

[Mark in Oshawa]

Lets just hope that the safety team has learned their lesson and should they need to put a fire out in Iowa, they respond in the way that they are trained to and not look like the Keystone Cops.

Also, it was interesting to note that the IndyCar statement explaining Simona's crash STILL offered no apology to either Simona herself or the HVM team. Yes, they acknowledged their errors, but surely a personal apology was needed to end this matter. I, for one, would have given IndyCar at least some credit for doing that. Surely, that was the LEAST they owed Simona and her team.

Apology? Brian Barnhart apologize? Bite your tongue sir.

They I am sure didn't feel like they handled it right. They are not that stupid, but admitting you did something wrong just is in the MO of corporate America for liability reasons, and I am sure Brian would make a great Fortune 500 CEO when it comes to saying something while saying nothing.

This incident just should prove to Randy Bernard to ask a lot more questions and make some serious changes. The point is being made over and over again, it was done better years ago by the CART boys....

[GRW1983]

Apology? Brian Barnhart apologize? Bite your tongue sir.

They I am sure didn't feel like they handled it right. They are not that stupid, but admitting you did something wrong just is in the MO of corporate America for liability reasons, and I am sure Brian would make a great Fortune 500 CEO when it comes to saying something while saying nothing.

This incident just should prove to Randy Bernard to ask a lot more questions and make some serious changes. The point is being made over and over again, it was done better years ago by the CART boys....

Actually, Barnhart DID apologise to Simona in the driver's briefing at Iowa. Oh well, better late than never!!!

[Mark in Oshawa]

Actually, Barnhart DID apologise to Simona in the driver's briefing at Iowa. Oh well, better late than never!!!

Well kudo's for him for that. A bit late, but he got to it. Personally, if I was Brian, she wouldn't have left the track at Texas without it...

[GRW1983]

Well kudo's for him for that. A bit late, but he got to it. Personally, if I was Brian, she wouldn't have left the track at Texas without it...

I couldn't agree more.

[Jag_Warrior]

Well kudo's for him for that. A bit late, but he got to it. Personally, if I was Brian, she wouldn't have left the track at Texas without it...

He probably waited til Iowa to see whether or not she was going to come back.

Sort of off-topic, but maybe not: why is Brian Barnhart still in racing? Why does the IRL or IMS (whoever signs this goof's check) keep him on the payroll? One has to wonder whether that massive FUBAR at Texas will influence drivers (their teams or sponsors) from other series (specifically NASCAR) to take a pass on doing Indy. If you were the CEO of Lowe's, would you want Jimmie Johnson racing in a series that lets its drivers get roasted while the band plays on?

IMHO, Step 1: fix the problem(s) and correct the safety procedures.
Step 2: fire Brian Barnhart.

[Mark in Oshawa]

A question many have asked.

I have to say, I am not 100% of the belief he always has screwed up everything in the IRL universe. One only has to go back to 1996 and 97 to see the screw ups that the USAC people brought to the table to understand Brian is a step up. It is also a thankless job IMO...but that said, Brian I think had have pictures of Tony in the back room with a goat or something...because I think the evidence is clear: He is not up to the job.....