If you recall prior to the Indy 500, during qualifications, Ho-Pin Tung was disallowed to race after a concussion during an accident. Also during that qualification, the new “darling” of IndyCar Simona de Silvestro, had an accident but reports only had (only in air quotes) 2nd and 3rd degree burns to contend with. However if you look at the two crashes you will notice that both were of considerable force, and some have even commented that the de Silvestro crash was seemingly worse. (These are people affectionately know as “gear heads” who follow the sport much closer than I).
Thanks do @djcraske and his very intimate following of INDYCAR he had these observations;
Now, that accident was nothing of her doing whatsoever. Something obviously broke in the left rear, and she was a passenger. 99.9999% of the world’s population would’ve left skidmarks in their drawers after something like that. She suffered 2nd/3rd degree burns on her hands, and must wear gloves for one year. To her credit, she qualified for the 500.
During the 500, she whitewalled Turn 1 on Lap 3 or so, and struggled with the car. She was in/out of the pits often, and finally retired after 44 laps, finishing 31st.
During the Texas Twin 275′s, she didn’t have much of a car there, finishing back in 27th 28th place. Still, some said she was still a little spooked after the Indy accident.
Fast forward to last weekend’s race at Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Mile is one of the trickest ovals in INDYCAR, because it really does drive like a road course. During practice, this happens:
Synopsis: She was taken to Milwaukee hospital at Saturday 5pm, released at 10:30pm, and was cleared to drive for Sunday’s race.
Initial Diagnosis: a cut on her left knee (from when it bounced up and popped the steering wheel off), a significant bruise on her right knee, a bruised back, and a dislocated rib.
Simona did start the race in last place after the team put the car back together. However, the car was retired after 11 laps due to “handling” issues. Yes, the car had been thrashed on to get going again after a nasty hit, but people were also pointing fingers at Simona being really spooked and she stepped out of the car because of such. From OilPressure.com Blog: Her comments afterwards were a little telling, as well. She thought she felt fine on Sunday until it was time to race. Later she explained: “Throughout the day, I thought I was ready to get out there, but it only took a lap or two to realize that I wasn’t.”
However after the incident in Milwaukee the sponsors/ownership group of de Silvestro’s car announced via Twitter that she in fact had a concussion, that was sustained in the above wreck. The issue is as @djcraske later pointed out, how was Tung not allowed to race for 7 days due to a concussion, yet de Silvestro allowed to race 24 hours later?
Seems to be a case of “keeping your stars on the track”; Tung a no-name while de Silvestro has surpassed Danica Patrick as the lady of racing, especially in open wheel. Regardless of the so-called “reasoning” behind this decision INDYCAR looks terrible in this situation. Not only for the double standard, but for putting a driver in a dangerous situation, forget just her how about all the other drivers on the track.
Even though this situation occurred in a sport that is less followed by the masses, it sets up a situation that all professional and amateur leagues are dealing with; when to sit “a star”. The answer is simple, if they have a concussion they sit until they are healed up, period!
Article source: http://theconcussionblog.com/2011/06/23/indycar-concussion-question/
IndyCar’s Team Penske driver Will Power crashed at Iowa on Saturday June 25th, suffering what IndyCar medical staff called ‘a minor concussion’. However, like Simona a week earlier, he was quickly cleared to drive. In fact, he took part in a scheduled private test session on Wednesday, less than 4 days after the concussion.
Says the IndyStar about the Iowa crash and Wednesday test session:
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“Power’s car hit nearly rear-first, the angle that causes the most injuries. Power was diagnosed with what IndyCar’s medical staff called a minor concussion. He was cleared to drive and joined teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe for testing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. “It’s good to be back out there,” Power said. “It was a hard hit at Iowa, but I didn’t actually get knocked out or anything. I just had a headache for the first night and some neck soreness.”
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So, its appears either the “7-day concussion policy” is a myth, or your assessment of “star driver? yes/no? cleared/not cleared” might have some weight to it.
There’s more. From the same IndyStar article:
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“To return to action, Power had to pass the ImPACT test that measures cognitive functions such as attention span, memory and reaction time. The results are measured against a baseline test drivers took before the season.”
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2 problems with this:
1) Simona proved that the ImPACT test can produce a ‘pass’ result even when the driver is still ‘injured’. Proof: What she said in an article published on SPEEDTV.com this week:
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“On Wednesday after the Milwaukee race, I met with the medical staff again to do an ImPACT (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) test. That afternoon, we received the results saying I had passed the test, so we got ready to head to Iowa. I still had to meet with the medical staff one more time on Friday, but I was pretty confident that everything would be okay.
Unfortunately, I was wrong. Only a half-hour before the first practice in Iowa on Friday, I met with the medical staff again. I had to be honest and tell them that I was still experiencing some dizziness, but with that honesty came the news that I wasn’t cleared to drive that weekend at Iowa Speedway.”
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2) The ImPACT baselines are NOT reliable.
From the same IndyStar article as before:
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“The test is not always a true measure of their recovery, however. Simona De Silvestro actually fared better than her baseline on the test taken after her crash at Milwaukee. She was held out of the Iowa race after admitting to dizziness and fatigue, signs of post-concussion syndrome.”
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Better than baseline?? How can that be? Part-time IndyCar driver Paul Tracy, posting as ‘paultracy3′ on TrackForum messageboard explains:
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“they use the computor impact test . Thats the only test that i have ever done . Its done once a year as part of your preseason physical . I have heard drivers say they try and do the test as bad as possible so that you can pass it if you are abit goofy”
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Furthermore, from earlier in Simona’s SPEEDTV.com article, about her Milwaukee ‘race’:
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“As the race began, I started to get really dizzy and my vision wasn’t perfect. I decided to park the car at that point, which I believe was a good choice. The IndyCar medical staff explained to me later that the effects of my concussion (from Saturday) didn’t become apparent until my body experienced the physical and mental stress of being in the race.”
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If it’s a known fact that concussion symptoms sometimes aren’t apparent until physical and mental stresses are present, shouldn’t a requirement of ‘clearing’ a driver be to put them under physical and mental stress before/during testing?!!
Simona explainsin the same article:
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“On Sunday morning[at Milwaukee], I felt fine. The doctors asked lots of questions about soreness, stiffness and what I remembered from the day before. They even made me do some push-ups right there on the floor! I told them I felt okay and I really did feel that way all morning.
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I was reading a ‘concussion policy’ found online at NCAA.org – specifically one written for UNC. They have a ’5-Step Exertional Return to Play Protocol’ in place for their athletes, and during and after each step, the player is monitored. The first step is a 20-min stationary bike ride, the second step an interval bike ride sprint + ‘bodyweight circuit’ of pushups, pullups and squats, the 3rd step shuttle runs, medicine ball work, jumps, etc. Step 4, done on a separate day, is a limited return to practice, and Step 5 is full return.
As a race car driver racing on track at high speed in close proximity to other drivers is arguably a greater danger to others than a field-sports athlete would be, it seems crazy that IndyCar is not also doing graduated exertional tests on drivers *suspected* of possibly having suffered a concussion.
But this is the Indy Racing League we’re talking about. Mickey-mouse since Day#1 (literally.. their first event was held in the parking lot of Disney World).