Maybe I am missing something, but didn’t the car crash and then cross the line even damaged, due to its momentum? Because if so then surely it would have coasted across the line on four wheels whether it had any fuel left or not?
Yes, it did, but he had no way of knowing that at the time - and we’ll never know what would have happened had he slowed down and run out of fuel; it’s very possible that he would have been passed just before reaching the finish line.
Remember what happened in the last IndyCar race of 2007 - Scott Dixon ran out of fuel about 1/2 lap from the finish line, allowing Dario Franchitti to pass him for not only the race win, but the season title.
Perhaps he ran out of gas prior to going into the turn?
Watching the video, it sure doesn’t look like it. The speed on those cars drops off pretty fast once the engine quits. The downforce on the car exceeds the car’s weight and (especially in a turn) scrubs off speed quickly.
A few years ago, Rob Neyer published his Big Book of Baseball Blunders. He was quick to defend some things considered blunders but were not, but some of the ones he made clear were mistakes include:
[ul][li] Third Game of the 1935 World Series: Manager Charlie Grimm lets pitcher Larry French bat for himself in the ninth inning with the game tied, Stan Hack on third, and one out. French was pitching poorly, and was a terrible hitter. French grounded out; the next batter flied out, and the Cubs lost in the bottom of the inning.[/li][li]Mickey Owen dropping the third strike was not a Blunder, but the fact that Owen, nor manager Leo Durocher, went to the mound to calm down pitcher High Casey – known to get wild when he got mad. Durocher years later said he should have done so, or brought in another pitcher.[/li][li]In 1951 the Giants and Dodgers tied and were planning a three-game playoff. There was a coin flip to determine who would play where: the first game would be at one stadium and the next two would be at another. The Dodgers won the coin flip and chose to play the first game at home, giving up the home field advantage, a big factor since the Giants did poorly in Ebbets Field.[/li][li]Neyer spends a lot detail on how Walter Alston made one bad choice after another in the Dodgers final 1962 playoff game with the Giants, including keeping his pitcher in when he was obviously gassed and shifting his second baseman so he couldn’t complete an inning-ending double play.[/li][li]Gene Mauch’s mishandling of his pitching staff in the final games of 1964, so his Phillies collapsed.[/li][li]Grady Little sticking with a tired Pedro Martinez when he had been specifically told by the GM that Martinez needed to be replaced when he hit 100 pitches in the 2003 playoffs.[/li][/ul]
One classic case is Babe Ruth being caught stealing second base to make the third out and give the Cardinals a 3-2 win and a championship in the seventh game of the 1926 World Series. While it’s debatable how bone-headed this was, and the Yankees might not have scored anyway, it did cost the Yankees their last chance at winning.
Game 1, 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, Pacers vs. Heat.
Pacers are up 1, Miami to inbound with 2.7 seconds left in overtime. Pacers center Roy Hibbert has been an absolute defensive BEAST in the playoffs, but is inexplicably left on the bench by coach Frank Vogel.
There’s not enough time to get called for a three-second violation. If I’m coaching, I tell Roy Hibbert to stand right in the middle of the lane with both arms in the air, and DO NOT MOVE.
Instead he watches from the bench as LeBron James drives into the key for an uncontested game-winning layup, probably the easiest game-winner he’s ever gotten in his career.
And we lost in seven games. ARRRRGGGGH.
I was going to say the exact same thing, except:
Game 6, NBA Finals, Spurs up 5 with 28.whatever seconds left - in NBA history, teams in this position (up 5 with 28 seconds left) won 98.6% of their games.
Duncan was on the bench when Ray Allen made what some call “the greatest shot in NBA history*”. Heat go on to win the game, and the Spurs lose in 7.
*I disagree. I think MJ’s shot in '98 against Byron Russell of the Jazz was a “greater shot.”
Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals in 1987: Pistons inbounding up by 1 with 5 seconds to go. Larry Bird suckers Isiah Thomas into throwing an easily-intercepted pass , picks it off and gets it to a teammate for the game-winning basket.
Great play by Bird, but took a fairly big brainfart by Thomas to make it possible.