Racing accidents

Recently I had an opportunity to read a NTSB report on aircraft crashes. They apparently publish these and they are available to anyone. The purpose is not to feed the ghouls but to inform the rest of the flying public so they can all learn from the mishaps of others. With all the TAFC fires lately and the terrible crashes it would be nice to know why- if for no other reason then help me to not repeat them for myself. I think some info so we can all learn from these tragedies would be a great idea.

 

The NTSB spends million$ reconstructing the events. Racing will never see this kind of effort, and published reports blaming someone or something could get friends, families and the lawyers all excited.

This is a sport of extremes and stuff happens. Keep an eye on your equipment and rehearse what you would do in a situation (frequently) especially if you have a funny car.

 

Well said Randy. Racing in any form is dangerous. Each person involved must prepare themselves for the "worst case scenario". When individuals start to blame each other for what happens on the track, IMHO only the lawyers win. Sadly, just yesterday in Oklahoma City at the inaugural Bricktown Nationals Boat race, one driver lost his life in an accident. We must ALL be vigilent and prepared, mentally, physically, and especially spiritually, for accidents. Accidents will happen. Funny cars are very difficult to handle any way and things happen when pushing man and machine to the limit.

 

Very good question Dave but it will never happen.
There is however some good guidelines to follow and they are called safety rules. Even when followed they do not grarantee you will not have problems. I have seen racers in the heat of competetion do some pretty stupid things and take risks with unsafe racecars and drive them beond their capabilities. At this level thank goodness most cars are as safe as you can make them and prepared at a very high level. Unfortunatly something as small as missing the tuneup can have major consiquences. It would be interesting if there was investigations of all the serious accidents reported for the rest of the racers to learn from but don't look for it to happen.

 

OKC-Oilie

Sadly, just yesterday in Oklahoma City at the inaugural Bricktown Nationals Boat race, one driver lost his life in an accident.

His name was David "Mr. Dixie" Skalicky. RIP

 

It wasn't a true crash, but was one of those "freak" things---the boat didn't take a "set", chined, and threw him out---this took place on the launch and speed was not a factor---forward motion speed was probably 50 mph or less---his body position when entering the water was not the optimum and resulted in a fracture of the neck---getting throwed from a flatbottom boat on launch is not a common occourence, but does happen from time to time---this was one of those times when the worst thing could happen did---he was a fine young man whom I will always call friend and a great competitor---he will always be missed---rw

 

"only the lawyers win."-----how very true---it's a damn shame that information can't get passed on to people who could benefit from it most as quickly as possible---not only in racing but in any forms---anytime there is an improvement on anything the shyster lawyers use it against someone no matter how good it was or how much it helped---usually it's years later after all ligitation has been processed or finalized before John Q Public finds out what happend and tries to insure it won't take place again!!!

 

It looks like this wasn't such a great weekend for a few of us. I too had the misfortune of taking an unscheduled run at the cement guardwall.The car's beat up pretty good, but the driver's o.k., just a bit stiff. I'm sure glad that we have stringent safety rules and the Simpsons and Diests, etc. of the world are there for us. It's amazing what happens when you throw some rods out at about the 100 foot mark and get in your own oil.

 

It would be great to have such a forum devoted just to safety and have no legal backlash from the information shared. I will share some things in a general way anyhow. I know of a TAFC fire that resulted in no injuries, but a major loss of equipment. As with most incidents, it was a multitude of things that happened in a certain sequence to set things in motion. Number 1 cylinder was dead at the start, later discovered damaged spark plug. #1 rod windowed the block. Blower lifted and burst panels worked as designed. At the time, a 1/2 short deck and low profile FC manifold were being used. Problem was the blower restraint straps were designed for std. deck and manifold, therefore too long for this combo. When the blower lifted, the fuel line was pulled out of the pump, and fuel was directed upward, into the path of the now bursted(?) panels and found a source of ignition. In the years previous while rattling the tires many times, it seems just about everything fell off at least once. One of the many things that had come loose was the handle for the fire bottles. It was found immediately and fastened securely. It was not realized at the time that the handle adjustment had backed off a thread or two. During the fire no matter how hard and how many times the handle was pulled, the bottles didn't activate. A few days later when the burnt hulk was pulled out of the trailer for salvage, and the linkage at the bottle wiggled ever so slightly, did the bottles discharge. During the rebuild, the focus was placed more on driver safety than speed or e.t.. Extra bars were added above the top frame rail from the clutch can to the roll bar hoop to protect the drivers lower legs if contact with the wall should occur. Fuel and oil lines were positioned with engine failure,etc, in mind. For years a metal pan(a cookie sheet) was attached beneath the engine, not for oil retention,which it does, but to keep the diaper from getting ripped up on low spots or when the car bounces when the chutes are pulled. The safety rules in place are good, don't think you can't exceed them for personal safety. If you see something questionable on someones car, point it out to them, were all in this together. I've been a firefighter for many years and seen a lot, and as in this example it's the little things that get us. Take care, BR

 

Adding extra bars is a great idea for additional safety, we have them and they don't slow us down, but will protect the knees much better. We also have side tin and belly pans to keep fire away from the driver

 

You guys will let anyone sit in your car, won't you?

 

That's funny