The planned April 29, 2001 CART race at Texas Motor Speedway became one of the most frightening near-disasters in modern open-wheel racing. The 1.482-mile oval featured 24-degree banking, and CART’s turbocharged cars were substantially faster and less aerodynamically stable than the slower, higher-downforce IRL machines that normally raced there. During qualifying, Kenny Bräck took pole at 233.447 mph, while 24 of the 25 cars exceeded 226 mph. Drivers reported sustaining roughly five lateral Gs for much of each 23-second lap—loads approaching or exceeding what aviation-medicine experts considered tolerable for that duration.
The danger became unmistakable during practice. Maurício Gugelmin crashed in Turn 3 after his car became loose exiting Turn 2; his foot was trapped between the pedals, causing the car to accelerate before it struck the outside wall at a reported 113.1 G. Gugelmin later said he blacked out, though he escaped serious injury and withdrew with bruised shoulders and ribs. Cristiano da Matta also crashed, while several drivers began reporting dizziness, blurred or restricted vision, loss of equilibrium, and disorientation. Tony Kanaan and Alex Zanardi acknowledged experiencing symptoms, Max Papis reportedly could not distinguish the frontstretch from the backstretch when instructed to pit, and Adrian Fernandez also described dizziness. In a private drivers’ meeting, 21 of the 25 starters said they had experienced vertigo-like problems after running more than a handful of laps; Patrick Carpentier said he could not walk in a straight line for several minutes after exiting his car. CART medical director Steve Olvey consulted Richard Jennings, a former NASA flight director and aviation-medicine specialist, who warned that sustained loads above roughly 4 to 4.5 G could produce g-force-induced loss of consciousness. Officials considered desperate speed-control ideas, including reducing horsepower, removing downforce, installing a temporary chicane made from cones, and even displaying yellow flags at regular intervals. None could reliably make the race safe. Two hours before the scheduled start, CART postponed the event and ultimately canceled it, sending more than 60,000 spectators home. Kenny Bräck retained the pole and received one championship point. The Firehawk 600 remains the only CART race canceled outright for safety reasons, remembered not for a winner but for the moment officials recognized that the cars were becoming too fast for the drivers’ bodies to remain conscious and oriented.
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