4 Dead in California Racing

[Tank]

It has been a very tragic couple of weeks for California race tracks. 2 men died last week at Buttonwillow during - of all things - a parade lap. The driver was showing off to a passanger by lagging behind the group then 'hotfooting' it. The convertable sports car without a roll bar overturned killing both men.

And then on Oct 1 a practice session at Thunderhill turned deadly as well. See this thread for details of that crash. http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19264

2 more drivers died in that collision.

I don't think it can be said often enough: BEING ON A RACE TRACK IS DANGEROUS! As fun and exciting as it is, you cannot ever think this is a sport without a very dark side. We all know that. But we need to keep saying it for those few that might not have it burned into their heads.

May peace be with them and their families.

t

 

[4AU4LIFE]

That is very sad.

 

[Patdeisa]

I heard about the one at Thill on Saturday. Very sad. From the story I heard, the RX-7 driver couldn't even see the other car coming and crashed at 80+mph, sending the engine straight back into the passenger compartment.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

HANS aside.. whenever I read about fatalities on track, that hairy feeling just coming from my lower back to my top of the head... especially my stock nsx would allow me passing a corner at 140+mph... I felt confident on track and I only have a motorcycle helmet and racing gloves to actually protect me.

If I was reading the posts right, seems like both are veteran racers driving prep'ed race cars with Roll cage.. and other regulated safety equipments. Should we take one of the attitude that The next moment for anyone could occur anytime, anywhere, for any reason. ??

 

[Meeyatch1]

It is never fun to hear of something like that happening....I wish the families well.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

Deaths are rare in club racing, HPDE's, and touring events. Nonetheless, things can happen. Just last weekend, we had the first club injury in a LONG time @ Road america. See story and pics of the car in this thread. http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41966


I heard that the driver suffered a broken arm, broken ribs, and a punctured lung.

 

[Soichiro]

>>I felt confident on track and I only have a motorcycle helmet and racing gloves to actually protect me.

Then you are a fool. Answer this question, posed by a leading crew chief:
"If on your next run I could guarantee you will crash into the guardrail at top speed then go cartwheeling down the track, how much safety gear would you like to be wearing?"

 

[willabeest]

i raced bikes for years. 99% of the deaths were racers driving to and from the races on public roads. IMHO you are safer on a racetrack than on most roads in California. which is not to say perfectly safe - just safer. 50,000 people a year die on public roads. that is the same number as died in our entire Vietnam conflict. at least on the track everyone is sober and going the same direction with an ambulance nearby.

 

[NSXLuvr]

Umm, I think you forgot you Valium this morning.

Do you see the " " after his comment. What he is saying is that it is foolish to feel secure in a car like the NSX when all you have on is a helmet and gloves.

back to the conversation at hand.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

thanks for watching my back, NSXLuvr... yeah, you understand me correctly it's not the first time I got bit by Soichiro, without seeing him in person, I just pictured him as a grumpy old man

I wasn't going to race, and I don't recall the majority who attended HPDE and club lapping days have full fire prove suit, HANS and state of the art helmet...

Oh BTW, Soichiro, wonder who crew leader you were refering to, in Racing world where everyone's pushing beyond limit, yes, I totally agreed.

 

[Yellow Rose]

Tag Team

Ladies and gentleman......in this corner we have Saint and Soichiro, properly characterized as two grumpy old men going after the same fine chick. **

In the opposing corner we have two youngsters, NSXLuvr and NSXDreamer2.

At the sound of the bell, come out duking, but be careful......Las Vegas had the old men as three-to-one favorites against the youngsters.

** The fine chick the old fart are chasing is the one sitting on the back of the NSX in willabeest's avatar. Hmmm, what's that? Don't move girl, it looks like a bulb is burned out in the spoiler brake light. Stay put as I take a closer look. Don't be afraid of the tongue that pops out of that green emoticon.