[dalyduo]

The downhill turn at Lime Rock Park, when taken at the limit, is the fastest, scariest and potentially most dangerous turn on the course. The runoff area at track-out is very brief and ends in a flexible tire wall designed to save your life, but not your car. It is not a corner you want to overshoot. It is also the key corner to building a fast lap around LRP because it leads onto the longest straight on the course.

During the first practice session for my second race series weekend, I’d been carrying more speed through the downhill and was adjusting my turn-in point when, on lap 20, I turned in too early and both left side wheels slid completely off the track-out rumble strip onto dirt and grass.

I had successfully recovered from wheels-off events at slower corners before but never at the speed or risk of the downhill. As much as I thought I could handle the situation, when the wheels slipped off the rumble strip, I panicked and over-steered to the right, swinging the rear of the car out to the left. That overcorrection could still have been saved if I’d kept my foot in the throttle and steered back to the left, but fear of the looming tire wall panicked me further. I lifted out of the throttle, which instantly rotated the back of the car into an unrecoverable spin. I locked up the brakes, but with three wheels already off the pavement, there wasn’t much traction or reduction in speed. The car completely reversed direction on the grass and the next second lasted an eternity as I recreated the journey of every downhill tire wall crash I’d ever seen, this from the first time perspective of inside the cockpit going backward and sideways at 90 mph.

Because there was nothing more I could do, and couldn’t see what I was about to hit, the panic shifted to disappointed curiosity at what the “Big Hit” would be like. That final second lasted so long that I actually started to wonder if I might somehow miss the tire wall.

Eternity ended dramatically in the next millisecond when the right side of the car pancaked - Ka-Pow! Into the tire wall like a Roger Clemens fastball hitting a catchers mitt. (Perhaps hard-slider is a more appropriate analogy) I was stunned by the impact but didn’t lose consciousness. There was a considerable dust cloud, a couple of racecars went by and safety workers arrived very soon after that. (They were concerned enough by the speed of the impact to stop track traffic and bring the emergency vehicle the wrong way up the front straight to save time.) I wiggled my body parts to make sure everything still worked, told the safety workers I seemed to be ok, unhooked the belts, stood up, took off my helmet & HANS device and stepped out of the car. The right front suspension and wheel were gone and nowhere in site. The right rear suspension was completely collapsed and mangled. The exhaust manifold was crushed and pointing upward like one of Dizzy Gillespie's signature trumpet bells, the right side radiator was crushed in and much of the right side-pod’s fiberglass bodywork had splintered into pieces. The rear wing was crumpled and skewed to the left. The entire right side of the car was a write off. The tire wall shifted back a few feet as it was designed to upon impact. The car had given up its suspension parts while the frame and drivers cage protected me perfectly.

Though stunned, the only physical discomfort I experienced was a mild headache that lasted for about an hour, and some knee and calf soreness that increased with time. I rode back to the medical shack with the EMS attendant who asked cognitive questions like name, address and phone number etc. before taking my blood pressure and declaring, “Your pressure is better than mine… Guess your OK!” He didn’t seem concerned and I felt fine about signing a waiver declining a precautionary trip to the hospital. (He did say to come back if I felt any further repercussions from the hit and I did later go back to thank him for his swift attention and to also thank Jocko Jacopino for the great job he does maintaining the tire wall that worked so well.)

I was wearing an Arai Helmet and a HANS device. I know the HANS device is primarily designed to prevent basil neck injuries from a forward impact but I have to say that the HANS also appeared to stabilize my helmet during the side impact just described. I experienced absolutely no head or neck pain from this rather impressive hit. As mentioned, I did have a mild short-lived headache from the sudden deceleration and that was it. I was asked if I had any chest or rib discomfort from the HANS device digging into me. I experienced absolutely no discomfort from the HANS device.

My knees and legs were another story. Both were heavily bruised while bouncing off the steering column and various frame members in the cockpit. As the day progressed the left knee and calf became increasingly swollen and sore. This was later diagnosed as a tweaked tendon that ran from my foot to the back of my knee. My clutch foot had been fully extended when I hit and the tendon was shocked and strained by the impact.
My leg soreness was minor at first and increased gradually throughout the day. Between dinner and bedtime my legs stiffened up so much that I could barely walk. Advil, and several applications of ice did improve mobility dramatically. The next morning I was able to walk and drive successfully again. (With just the hint of a of sympathy limp :-)

Given the impressive hit, extensive damage to the car. (Almost $15,000) and the fact that I survived well enough to climb into another car 3 hours after the crash and lower my best lap time by another 3 tenths of a second, I owe a debt of gratitude to the outstanding safety design of the Arai helmet, HANS device, Dodge RT 2000 racecar and LRP tire wall.

When I purchased the Helmet and HANS device, I did it for peace of mind for myself and my family, having no idea I’d be testing them so relatively soon. The Mastercard “Priceless” moment was being able to call my wife and report how well the safety equipment had worked and then go back out and continue uninterrupted progress in my racing day.

I would rather not imagine how the day might have been different had I not been wearing the HANS device. We’ll never know exactly how much of a role it played but I’m certain it only made things better.

Having had this experience, I’ll never set foot in another racecar without wearing a HANS device.

And the next time I get into an RT2000, I’m also going to be wearing kneepads!