Imagine you’re behind the wheel of an IndyCar, flying along at race pace at Barber Motorsports Park. As you come towards the bridge, you see a human form hanging from the bridge, and it drops towards the track. Scary stuff, right? And yet that’s exactly what happened on Sunday!
The NTT IndyCar Series was racing at Barber this past weekend, with the track’s unique eccentricities putting a weird twist on proceedings. The mannequin, known as Georgina, hangs from a pedestrian bridge near Turn 8.
Georgina fell to the circuit on lap 52 of 90. The report came in quickly, with A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci quickly jumping on the radio in response—”That lady hanging from the bridge fell!”
Georgina dropped straight to the ground, losing her bottoms in the process. If her compromised modesty wasn’t bad enough, her hand was crushed shortly after by Luca Ghiotto in the Dale Coyne Racing entry.
Georgina is one of the many artistic touches on the Barber Motorsports Park circuit and was put there by owner George Barber. Other art pieces at the track include a giant spider and large metal daisies, and a Sisyphean-like sculpture of a man pushing a boulder. A 2016 interview with AL.com touched on Barber’s eccentric sense of humor.
“Put her right over the middle of the track,” Barber instructed the track workers. “I want the drivers to be able to see her. They’ll come around that turn and think there’s somebody hanging off the bridge.”
Barber is the greatest track in the world but it wasn't enough and they decided the track also needed to have random stuff trackside like the lady hanging from the bridge that fell off or this giant spider outside a corner, giant ants killing a dude on a bike and more pic.twitter.com/kUEbwjBIx0
— Joseki (@JosekiLaziale) April 28, 2024
It’s a good laugh to some, but not everybody was completely on board with the idea. Driver Scott McLaughlin had assumed the mannequin’s fall had prompted a yellow flag which disrupted proceedings. “I was a little mad,” said McLaughlin. “Then I realized that someone else had hit the fence… that wasn’t what the yellow was for.” He also raised some valid safety issues. “I love the artistic stuff, but it probably doesn’t need to be above the track to cause a yellow like that,” he said.
Georgina was eventually recovered when a yellow was thrown for Sting Ray Robb’s crash at Turn 1. McLaughlin had a chuckle about it afterward, too. He even took a photo with Georgina to celebrate his win—after she’d left the track and put her clothes back on.
Georgina update: she wanted to apologize & congratulate our Champion @smclaughlin93 ????????
Now off to medical! #AliveandUNwell #INDYBHM @IndyCar @IndyCaronNBC pic.twitter.com/Ls0BCUFDpx
— Barber Motorsports (@BarberMotorPark) April 28, 2024
As a Penske driver, McClaughlin was probably happy to, uh, have something else to talk about.
It’s true that the mannequin could have caused a much larger problem had it fallen across the track or into the path of an oncoming car. It’s one thing to decorate a circuit with art pieces, oddball or otherwise, but they shouldn’t present a safety risk for competitors.
It’s also worth noting that the commentators on NBC were quick to highlight that Georgina wasn’t a real person. There was a real possibility of some very shocking images hitting the broadcast for people who didn’t realize it wasn’t a human falling from the bridge.
It’s not the first time the Alabama track has made headlines for oddball reasons, either. Back in 2019, a track sweeper took a tumble after attempting some aggressive cornering in between sessions.
Ultimately, the lesson is this. If you’re going to hoist a mannequin above your very own race circuit, make sure it’s held fast. Barber Motorsports Park got lucky this time, but IndyCar wouldn’t look kindly on this happening again.
Image credits: NBC via YouTube screenshot
We had an adult soapbox derby event in town for a few years. One could enter a vehicle for either speed or art. We (The Curious Forge makerspace) entered an art vehicle I built and the artists turned it into a steampunk machine. We changed or added stuff each year. One year we added Lola to the top of the already tall vehicle dressed up in the finery befitting a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade with feathers, boa, black lace tights, and so on. Lola was sitting on the front of the top with legs dangling in front of my face. Yeah, we got some scares from the audience as we came down the hill at around 25 MPH with “someone” sitting on top. I built the structure so I could be safe driving. Hit 35 MPH one time. I never crashed it nor did any structural welds break. Fun times!
In Georgina’s defense, she thought the rules had changed and she could drop whenever she wanted to. The race announcers made it clear that she’s a victim of circumstance who should be applauded for breaking the rules.
This track sounds crazy.
Do the drivers also have to drive through a tunnel under a spinning windmill?
This will probably go down as the race of the year; yeah it’s early but you would think they put a bunch of pay drivers out there for all the incidents they had.
It was a far better Barber IndyCar race than average. Barber is a beautiful facility, and it was built for racing bikes, but it’s a terrible car racing track. It’s so hard to pass that typically IndyCar races there are a bore. It got a little argy-bargy as they say but race control let ’em race and the show was better for it.
I might attempt to kill myself too if I was forced to watch Indy car racing all day. Kidding, maybe.
Georgina? I wonder if she’s related to Elaine’s mannequin TR-6?
Also, I wonder if she’s single and what her phone # is! I’d go to the track w/ her since she seems to like hanging around there…and jumping around and getting down…seems like she likes long walks on the beach, I mean track…she might get tired after a while though…although she probably has a good track record
When I first saw video of the incident, I assumed hooligans had tossed her over the edge. I’m extra disappointed to learn that drivers were put in danger by an art installation.
That was an awesome race, and not just because of Georgina! I really need to visit Barber, it looks so beautiful and weird and it always makes for a great Indy race.
Only in Alabama.
Them’s fightin words boy.
Florida is much more fucked up than we’ll ever be…
Two birds of the same feather.
I’ve always wondered, when the stars fell on Alabama, how much damage did they do? ‘Cuz there’s a lot.
If it was an F1 race it would have been a clueless R&B singer, as they are always hanging around the track.
I think it’s time for Georgina to retire. That shit is creepy AF.
I raced at Barber a couple of months ago. I had not been there since Georgina took up residence and I was surprised the first time I saw her. I love the Barber quirkiness but yes, please make sure they stay put. I mean that spider is kinda scary.
I’m sort of surprised anyone allowed a suspended decoration that close to the track to start with. Glad no one got hurt, but this could have ended a lot differently.
Me too. Racetracks are usually insanely strict about this kinda stuff, given the potential liabilities. Or at the very least, as Tossabl points out, why isn’t she safety-wired in?
Good race overall though.
Yeah, this seems a step too far, really surprised it was there in the first place
Georgina’s into Autoerotica, apparently!
At the speeds those guys were going, it would be terrifying to see a human figure drop to the track. Perhaps the track should safety-wire her in place.
Group B drivers be like “LOL wimps.”
Well, someone did top the apocryphal finger-in-mirror: they got her whole hand!