For the estimated 52,000 fans who watched the Penske parade at the Edmonton Rexall Indy yesterday it was like nothing happened here this year except the pit fire. Edmonton Sun
Dario Franchitti had tears in his eyes when he saw his friend and racing rival Tony Kanaan, his hands heavily bandaged and a burn on his chin—the grim reminders of a horrifying fire on pit lane during Sunday’s Rexall Edmonton Indy.
Franchitti had just finished fifth in a race won by Will Power of Australia and was talking to a reporter when he saw Kanaan in a golf-kart.
Franchitti stopped the interview and gave Kanaan a hug, whispering in his ear that “it’s over,” referring to a streak of bad luck that has plagued Kanaan in the IndyCar Series this season. “It comes in threes,” Franchitti said, referring to the bad luck. “I’m just so happy to see you. But you can’t lift a finger with those hands.”
Franchitti, his eyes moist with emotion, blew kisses at Kanaan, showing how strong the friendship is between the Scotsman and the Brazilian.
On Sunday, during a pit stop on lap 34, Kanaan felt his driver’s suit get soaked with the cold liquid known as ethanol—a sugar-based fuel made in Brazil. The IndyCar Series uses 100 percent fuel grade ethanol, which actually contains 2 percent gasoline to make it legal by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Without the gasoline added to the ethanol, it could be consumed as high-octane liquor. (Remember those “Hairy Buffalo” parties in college? The high-grade alcohol was actually ethanol.)
But there is another benefit to the gasoline additive—in the case of a pit fire; one can actually see orange flames. In the days when IndyCars ran methanol, the flames were practically invisible.
Once Kanaan felt the fuel soak his uniform, he knew he was about to ignite, so he pulled away from his pit crew to keep them out of harm’s way. True to his instincts, the fuel erupted and Kanaan was engulfed in flames.
His Andretti Green pit crew jumped into action, dousing buckets of water on the driver to put out the flames. Crew members from other teams, including Team Penske and Panther Racing, also came to Kanaan’s aide, dumping more water on the flames and helping to pull him out of the cockpit.
IndyCar drivers are among the bravest of all professional athletes. They strap themselves into open-wheel, open-cockpit race cars that go far faster than a NASCAR stock car. The fuel tank is located behind the driver’s seat and in front of the engine, which is in the rear of the race car. SI.com
“I have to thank all the guys who helped me out of the car because it could have been a lot worse,’’ said Kanaan, who also sustained burns to his face, none of which were visible.
“It’s never happened to me before - it wasn’t a pretty sight. I was stuck inside the car with a tank of fuel, but I didn’t want to make it worse so I pulled out a little further. I knew I was going to get help.’‘
“I could be uglier than I am now,’’ said the racer, who had lost more ground in the standings but obviously not his sense of humour. He also figures he’ll be back in the car next week when the series moves to Kentucky.”
“I’ve raced with broken ribs, broken arms . . . we’ll see. I’ve never had a burn before so I don’t know how it will turn out in a couple of days, but as of right now, yes. I’m not planning on stepping out of the car.
“It was a tough day for us, (but) it is what it is.’’ Canada.com
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