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Old 05-02-2005
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sydude sydude is offline
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Re: A few Thoughts on Safety

Tim Hoagland asked me to post this on his behalf:


Hi Sy,
 
You asked me to write about my experience wearing a Hans device last year at the Glen. Sorry it took so long, but I've been reading the discussions on Team Juicy's site about Track Safety and the Skippy cars as of late and wanted to cover all 3 topics at once.
 
You personally convinced me to buy a Hans Device August of 04'. I wore it for the first time Sept. of 04' at the Glen. I had two big accidents within 24 hours. Both at turn 10. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Turn 10 is a high speed left-hander with a high curb on the exit. The first accident I got up on the exit curb but didn't panic. I kept my foot in it to try to "drive thru it" as we've all come to learn. The car got high sided like a top as it's a very tall curb. The left rear caught the curb and pitched me immediately to the right. There is a large gravel trap on the other side of the curb bordered by approx. 15' of grass & ending with a styrofoam wall. When a moment like this arrives, time always seems to slow down and you see milliseconds play out like a feature length movie. Not this time. It happened so fast, I never even got to the brake. The car skipped twice over the gravel trap like a stone across water, through the grass and ended head on in the styrofoam wall. Phil Lombardi was working the corner and estimated my speed at impact at 100 mph.  I learned afterwards that Phil was immediately on the radio telling them to "roll medical" and that the impact was so hard that it was heard by many others half way round the track. The impact threw the car about 15' back towards the track and I was left pointing 180 degrees from the wall that I had just visited. I walked away. The next day, I had a similar moment when I got back up on the same curb. ( hey, give me credit okay? at least I wasn't going to let the first one slow me down right? ) I got OFF the gas this time & went across the track into THAT styrofoam wall....at big speed. The driver behind me described the subsequent styrofoam "shower" as something truly awe-inspiring.  I walked away. Again. Both times without even a sore back or other pains, not even a headache.....a few bruises was all. Lucky? I think it was more than that.
 
Now, compare this to my accident at LRP May of 03' in the downhill. No Hans this time. I missed the apex and went wide. Hey, it happens. Kept my foot in it and completely stradled the curb. No big deal right? Except just like the Glen, the left rear tire caught the edge of the curb and it pitched the car across track towards the wall. I was immediately at full lock up. London has never seen such haze. But it's a short trip across track ( my speed when I got to the brakes was somewhere between 90 and 100 ) and I figure I scrubbed maybe 15 to 20 mph off before getting on the grass. The grass speeds you up however and I'm sure I found a few additional mph before impact. I hit almost head-on. It was my worst accident in more than 5 years of being involved in the sport. Including the "twins" at the Glen.  I couldn't get out of the car it rang my bell so bad. The shock and energy from hitting the tire wall went from my toes to my head. It hurt. I had pelvic &  hip problems for several months afterwards that precluded me from racing till October. My belts were very tight and I didn't submarine at all.  I know that is why my pelvis hurt so badly. The car was a mess to say the least. But I'll sum up both accidents from my vantage ( note I didn't say "advantage") with the following.
 
The Hans device might have saved my life at the Glen. Not to be dramatic about it, but I'll never know for sure as I'm not dead.  Remember, not even so much as a headache after going unabated, straight into a wall at 100 mph.  If ever there was an accident that the device was designed to protect against, this was the one. Anyone not wearing a Hans when racing is just plain stupid or cheap. You can't teach stupid. If cheap, it's a shame they don't value their life more than the price of a Hans. I'm a convert obviously. Let me take a moment to thank you personally Sy for convincing me in the first place to get one. I hope someone will read this and do the same.

Now some thoughts on track safety.  There is one device that works above all others and that is styrofoam. The car damage ( $ ) was more than TWICE the amount at LRP as it was at the Glen. At LRP the car & myself were "framed".  Not so at the Glen. At LRP this particular corner could be made infinitely safer by two things.....1. Get rid of the grass on the inside of the turn. How stupid is it to have a material that is going to accelerate a car prior to impact? Enough said. And don't put in a gravel trap there. I agree with the observations of others who condemn them. At least at this particular turn ( I believe the material & design will vary by track and corner ) it should be asphalt so you can continue to scrub speed before impact. Divy at the end of the 2003 season said they were looking to make the change, but it never materialized unfortunately. 2. At the very least, at any high speed corner, styrofoam should be incorporated wherever feasible as it works much better than a traditional tire wall based upon my unfortunate experiences.

Lastly, Skippy car "integrity". For what these cars are made of and their design, I believe it speaks VERY well to their stoutness. Witness my descriptions of the accidents above. They have protected me in various accidents over the years without so much as a broken bone. Jon had a bad experience at Daytona for sure and was not as fortunate. He had several different circumstances conspire against him to produce the very unfortunate result based upon what I read. Some of which could have been mitigated, witness the rut he describes. Many factors come into play in an accident. We can't control all of them of course. But as drivers we can do our part to try to minimize the risk. That means wearing the proper equipment & being vocal about track safety with proper feedback. I will defend the Skippy car safety quotient regardless of what others might say. Remember the old adage that speed costs money and so does safety. The cars could be made safer but at what price? A totally new car? Something to ponder. Skip Barber is very receptive to driver/customer concerns or complaints and strives to put on a good show. The best RESULTS in driver safety will come from improvements made to racing venues themselves in my opinion. You cannot eliminate all of the risk, it's racing for cryin' out loud. But it can be minimized. I don't want to see the great tracks emasculated. LRP is a great track and I consider it a favorite along with the Glen. But like the owners of the Glen have proven, there ARE reasonable ( $ ) changes  & updates that track owners can make WITHOUT removing the fun factor.
 
Everyone is a fan of the sport at Team Juicy. Smart, insightful and above all else, enthusiastic. Skip Barber listens when you speak. It would be beneficial if you formed a  "safety" committee perhaps, designated a spokesperson and worked WITH the company to get your voice heard. You might want to engage the guys in the Skippy Master's Nationals too. Older drivers, with more experience that want to contribute to the sport would be helpful. Dick Lippert is very enthusiastic and I nominate him to be the spokesperson of their group to work with a Team Juicy Spokesperson to get your voices heard. It's not enough to complain is it?Better to try to have a solution and make a difference. Your opinions would be taken seriously by Skip Barber and hopefully by the track owners themselves. Just a thought.
 
My best regards to everyone that is part of the Skippy racing world, be it employee or customer. See you at the track in the near future.
 
Tim Hoagland 
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