If you saw the horrible crash while watching the Rolex 24 at Daytona, you probably thought that Memo Gidley (and perhaps Matteo Malucelli in the Ferrari) were goners. And I can't blame you. But Robin Warner saw the crash and breathed a sigh of relief. Here's why: physics. You'll never look at a crash the same way again.
Of course Robin was concerned for the drivers, because bad luck can be a factor in any crash. There was no guaranteeing that they'd walk away from it. But there were factors in this accident that helped keep the drivers alive, and in this piece Robin breaks down the physics from an engineer's perspective.
Why didn't this 100 mph crash at Daytona kill Memo Gidley?