heard from the AZ directer that the guy injured this weekend at a nasa event died today. does anyone have any insight to this????

 

He was actually pronouced dead that day. Its on the NASA homepage:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/

 

I'm not familiar with the "Buttonhook" corner...

 

Basal skull fracture. Yet more motivation to invest in HANS and a big lateral head support mounted to the seat.

 

Any questions why I decided it was worth the $$ to buy the Recaro with the head supports? It's sad when this happens but tragic when we don't learn from history.

K

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Outrun &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not familiar with the "Buttonhook" corner...</TD></TR></TABLE>

nor i, but if i had to guess, running CW, turn #2?

http://www.buttonwillowraceway.com/trackmaps.htm

i spun there, but kept it on, on my first lap the last time i was there - going off there would indeed be scary.

i watched a guy total his 2000+ m3 coming out of the esses last year, also CW. went off right, shot back left and nailed the retaining wall.

this thread spawned regarding the crash also - didn't know it until i actually read it:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=653180

 

Does anyone know if one can be genetically predisposed to an injury like this. Perhaps weaker in this part of the body than other individuals?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rickpeak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anyone know if one can be genetically predisposed to an injury like this. Perhaps weaker in this part of the body than other individuals? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Potentially, but more than likely the factors of the crash have much more of a role in whether you suffer a life threatening injury. 10-20% more G's on impact can easily be the difference between a really sore neck and something as tragic as this.

 

The death was the fuel that sparked Steve91's interest in head restraint devices...
and mine

 

disclaimer: this is what i heard about the situation from a friend who attended that day, also may be a little graphic.

Apparently, the driver flew in from New Jersey (?) and rented the an ASC car for the race. I think they ran buttonwillow counter clockwise, which makes turn 2 (the buttonhook) a ~40-45mph 2nd gear left turn, he went off into an embankment, all safety crew was rushed to the scene, the director also rushed to the scene in a BMW. Supposedly was bleeding out of his mouth from the injury, paddock radio called to clear the skidpad, helicopter arrived for an airlift, and he passed on the way to the hospital.

again, I was not there, so this story may not be 100% accurate

very very sad news..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlicedBread &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">disclaimer: this is what i heard about the situation from a friend who attended that day, also may be a little graphic.

Apparently, the driver flew in from New Jersey (?) and rented the an ASC car for the race. I think they ran buttonwillow counter clockwise, which makes turn 2 (the buttonhook) a ~40-45mph 2nd gear left turn, he went off into an embankment, all safety crew was rushed to the scene, the director also rushed to the scene in a BMW. Supposedly was bleeding out of his mouth from the injury, paddock radio called to clear the skidpad, helicopter arrived for an airlift, and he passed on the way to the hospital.

again, I was not there, so this story may not be 100% accurate

very very sad news..</TD></TR></TABLE>
I was there, on the kart track at the time. So I was about 50 ft. from the crash. Didn't see it, just saw a huge dirt cloud get kicked onto the kart track when the car hit the dirt berm. I couldn't tell if the car rolled or not. Rescue crew was fast. Chopper came in and landed right next to the car in the dirt run-off area. I heard he was pronounced at the hospital but I don't really know any of those details. Real sad.

Anyway, CCW through the buttonhook. They had recently repaved it so it was still real slick.

 

It saddens and frightens me to hear such news. It's this reason, and though I don't drive 10/10th, that scares me about taking my non-caged street car on a road course.

Seems the SCCA and NASA have had some hurdles this year.

 

There has been a lot of talk on the NASA Pro Racing list, explaining that the dirt berms are actually more dangerous than concrete, since you don't bounce off of them. The really scary thing about the situation is that this was just a regular "off". It wasn't spectacular, it wasn't at a high rate of speed, it was just an off. We see them in every single race, and there are VERY few of us who race who haven't done the same thing. These things just aren't supposed to happen. I don't think any of us fool ourselves into thinking what we do is "safe", but this is truly a reminder of how dangerous it can be. Hopefully this will spark a lot of drivers to think more about head restraint. My feeling right now is that next weekend's race at Summit will be my last without some sort of head restraint system.

Matt

 

We talk a lot about being able to write the car off, but this raises the issue, can we accept the danger of writing ourselves off?

Evan
- who just started a long-term disability policy

 

I've been to Buttonwillow 4 times while actually tracking my car twice on on it. I've only driven in the clockwise direction so it's still hard for me to imagine where that berm is! For all intents and purposes BW is one of the safer tracks in CA as opposed to Willow Springs where the speeds are higher and many people have lost their lives there.

Just goes to show that anything can happen and how dangerous high performance driving can be!

 

would not wearing a helmet might have prevented his death? it seems too me that a helmet would add extra force to his neck.

if wearing a helmet is much safer for street cars, then why aren't we allowed to wear them on the road?

questions i have wondered about but never thought to ask until now.

 

not wearing a helmet would have killed him when his head hit the cage during the off. About 50% of wrecks on the track would be fatal without helmets. The one I was in 3 years ago is a prime example, considering you can see the mark on the helmet where it hit the cage.

The helmet limits your peripheral vision, which is probably why they are illegal on the street. Since street cars don't have cages, the issue of hitting your head on it doesn't come up.


Matt

 

i meant street cars without cages. i didn't know that this car had a cage.

terrible thing .

 

I would like to dispel the idea that this was a "regular" off.I was there sitting on the benches by that turn when it happened, about 100 ft away and perfect veiw of the whole scene.

The car was third in a line of ASC approaching that turn. To those who know it, it is a decreasing radius turn and the stock cars had two braking zones down from the "I5" straight. In the first zone the first two cars tapped the brakes, While the car in question did not brake and went by them on the outside. It appeared to negotiate the first part of the turn, but when it reached the second braking zone, it was clear the it was not slowing down. In fact the wheels were not even locked, the chassis was not rocked forward as if braking, and you could hear the engine was pinned. It seemed that there was no emergency action being taken by the driver. It left the racing surface before the turn in point of the final radius, slowly rotated about 70 degrees to the left as went through the dirt. I estimate it impacted the embankment at about 90mph and right on it passenger side. it didn't roll or flip. just stoped as it embedded itself into the dirt. Tremendous G's were apparant
In my opinion, it was a mechanical failure(brakes?) or a medical condition. No experienced driver would ever do what that car did. From the moment it began, the whole situation just looked wrong.

Not to say we should not all wear collars and have head restraints(I ordered mine the next day), just that this was an enomous impact that would have been life threatening in any case. But still I learned a lesson this weekend, and it was to double check my car EVERY time I go out, and to get the best saftey gear and use it regularly. Please everyone do this, I don't want to have to see another situation like that one.

 

Perhaps a stuck throttle?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Perhaps a stuck throttle?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Brakes will always be more powerful than the throttle. 2 failures at the same time? Does anyone know the age of the driver?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gotocrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would like to dispel the idea that this was a "regular" off.I was there sitting on the benches by that turn when it happened, about 100 ft away and perfect veiw of the whole scene.

The car was third in a line of ASC approaching that turn. To those who know it, it is a decreasing radius turn and the stock cars had two braking zones down from the "I5" straight. In the first zone the first two cars tapped the brakes, While the car in question did not brake and went by them on the outside. It appeared to negotiate the first part of the turn, but when it reached the second braking zone, it was clear the it was not slowing down. In fact the wheels were not even locked, the chassis was not rocked forward as if braking, and you could hear the engine was pinned. It seemed that there was no emergency action being taken by the driver. It left the racing surface before the turn in point of the final radius, slowly rotated about 70 degrees to the left as went through the dirt. I estimate it impacted the embankment at about 90mph and right on it passenger side. it didn't roll or flip. just stoped as it embedded itself into the dirt. Tremendous G's were apparant
In my opinion, it was a mechanical failure(brakes?) or a medical condition. No experienced driver would ever do what that car did. From the moment it began, the whole situation just looked wrong.

Not to say we should not all wear collars and have head restraints(I ordered mine the next day), just that this was an enomous impact that would have been life threatening in any case. But still I learned a lesson this weekend, and it was to double check my car EVERY time I go out, and to get the best saftey gear and use it regularly. Please everyone do this, I don't want to have to see another situation like that one.



</TD></TR></TABLE>


once again....this brings light to notion that we are NOT indistructable...anything can and will happen....

thoughts go out to his family and friends....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SMSP &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anyone know the age of the driver?</TD></TR></TABLE>

38 y.o. according to the NASA site.

 

sad. R.I.P.