My two cents as a bit of a discussion and suggestion...every time you get in a race car and tighten the harness straps you should have the best safety gear imaginable.

i see videso fo guys out there with TShirts in DE days. iwas at lime rock today and so many of the SCCA guys had cotton tshirts under their fire suits,few had balaclavas. often, thats the case no matter what group you run with, no matter the track or car.

this is high risk stuff we're doing out there, and you should expect the unexpected and the inability to control the consequences.

i had the pleasure of renting a miata today at the SCCA event at lime rock. the pleasure stopped after the 2nd session, as a driver in a formula v or some open cockpit, open wheel car, FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD: lost his brakes and went nose first straight into the guardrail/tires 30 degrees to the entrance of turn 1. missed the escape chute there to the left and about 40 feet to the right. they closed the track, they got him out of there. his car was pinnned under the guardrail, it wasnt pretty. the car pushed aside the tires and it seemed to go under or thru the guardrail.
a few cop cars, etc. very sad.

i had heard some stuff about his condition, none of which was good, and i dont want to say anything definatlively up here. but our hopes and prayers are with the drvier who was doing nothing more than we've all done so many times when his brakes apparently failed...

all i can say is....we all love this sport. and more importantly, we love even more our kids, our wives, our significant others, our parents, our co-employees... we dont want to live with burned skin or mangled body parts, we dont wan tto be burdon on anyone to take care of us.

so please, every time we go out there, dress ready for bear. load full. the whole nine yards. trust me, you aint cool joe because you wore a lightweight cotton T under your firesuit and left your HANS at home.

anyway, i hope the best for the driver today and his family.

 

Oh my, that sounds really bad Steve.

I feel the same way about safety gear. I must say that I occasionally get teased about safety gearing up when I'm at DE type events. I tell them that I've had a fire and a crash and anything less is not worth the risk. Besides, how am I going to do this when I'm in my 80s one day if I don't take care of myself now?

 

Agree completely Steve...
Thoughts and prayers for our fellow driver.

 

got an email this morning. i believe he didnt survive. someone thought he had a heart attack either before or after impact, just horrible any way you slice it.
i'l leave it at that forensically, as i really know very little.

be safe out there guys.

 

So sad - RIP and condolences to his family:


From Greg Rickes (LRP Track Announcer) newsletter:

"Saturday at Lime Rock began with spirits lifted by sunny skies, but the day ended on a much darker, somber, note. Troy's George Smith was involved in a serious accident, which he did not survive.

Any occurrence of this sort hits hard, but this one was even more poignant because it involved a member of the close-knit Mohawk-Hudson Region SCCA, and many folks who I'm close to were left with the difficult tasks of the aftermath. It's a usual occurrence that George's son Jason competes in many of the same races as his father, but on this occasion neither Jason, nor George's wife Karen, were at the track.

The accident occurred on the back part of the circuit. Reports were that George's GT1-class Camaro, the only car involved, had a hard impact with the guardrail at the base of the Uphill corner. Though there was no official announcement at the time, dire circumstances were evident to all present when it was
announced that the remainder of the racing program would be cancelled.

Newspaper reports this morning indicate that the Connecticut State Police investigation has ruled out " mechanical problems, driver error, unsfae
passing, and contact with another car". That would seem to reinforce speculation that something may have happenned to George, precipitating the accident.

George Smith was one of Mo-Hud's most seasoned racers,with a career dating back to the early 1970s, and the days of his Red Dog Racing
partnership with Pete Callaghan in a pair of Porsche 914s, though I guess I had not put that in the context that George was also now in his late 60s.

There was a brief announcement in this morning's Times-Union outlining the details for calling hours and the funeral ceremony with a notation that more extensive obituary will appear in tommorrow's addition, which is accessible on-line."

 

Hmmm, this is a bit confusing, compared to the preceding post:
http://www.courant.com/community/sal...,7428502.story

This story relates to an FV driver, reported elsewhere as Jeff Bower of Chester NY:
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/l...212579461.html

Either way, very sad, prayers for the familes...

 

To Jeff...those he loved ,those who loved him...

May the Lord Bless You and keep You, may His face shine upon You and give you peace...

 

Hear, hear!

 

Very sad indeed.

I agree with Steve 100%. We need to protect ourselves as much as possible.

Condolences to all affected.

 

+1. I always found it strange at some of the DE's I've done in the past. Long sleeves in the am, but in the afternoon when it's hot, everyone was allowed to wear short sleeves. I never understood that.

 

Found the discrepancy ... The accident involving the driver smith was June 20o3 not 2013.
Real sad day for motorsports on the local and international level

 

Back to the thought of "dress for bear" - after I finally got a full-rig integrated chest/back protector and shoulderpads to complete my hockey gear (for the beer league), I did once or twice feel a touch silly wearing it for practice...

Then I remind me of all those guys who've taken a puck to the chest and had it stop their heart... and I look at how scrawny my chest is (hint - you can usually SEE my heart beating!) and I realize the only stupid thing would be lying dead on the ice while that chest protector is lying in my bag nice and clean in the locker room...

 

I do hesitate driving with my suit during DE events because I don't want to make the impression that I am one of those "Flat Out" guys. This thread however puts things back in perspective.

Sorry about posting the wrong link above.

 

THREE deaths at three iconic race tracks over 24hrs?! WTF?

Alan Simonsen @ LeMans + Wolf Silvester @ Nurburgring

 

Wouldn't you feel kind of stupid if your car caught fire and your driving suit was sitting at home collecting dust?