Look Ma, no wheel!

[Dom Bastien]

From national race #1 at Barber Motorsports last week-end.

Video starts at turn 7. Event at turn-in of turn 13, a 4th gear right hander taken flat.

Emotion #1: I am going to die
Emotion #2: Unprintable

Thank you Barber Motorsports, that grass is real sticky.

[dalyduo]

Jeez Dom... They did a great job with your heart surgery because if that had happened to me... They'd have had to hit me with high voltage paddles to get my ticker started again.

Glad it's nothing more than an "oh SH-- moment... Sticky grass indeed... Whew...

What happened to the metal clip with the piece of safety wire that's supposed to prevent that sort of thing from happening? Bet I know the first thing you're going to be checking from now on each time you step into an RT.

Hope you had some spare Nomex to change into.

Did they retrieve the wheel so you could finish the race?

We miss you at the regional events.

Pat

[Dom Bastien]

Pat:
Who retrieved the wheel? Excellent question! See the video.

My Nomex was quite dry, but I must tell you Nick Harvey [who was at the corner] and quite a few spectators wet their pants, they were laughing so hard.

[dalyduo]

Yep... 'Scuse me.... have to go change...

That's too good Dom... Thanks for sharing it. You're the best.

[ML Peter Ludwig]

That happened to me at VIR earlier this year!!! After turn 5 under the overpass..... The dumbscheisse who drove the car before me that day knew he mucked up, he was kind enough to leave the steering wheel completely off for the second practice session that day...


What happened to the "Standard Operating Procedure" of mechanics checking the clips from that point on before each session??????????????

That lasted about 2 weekends...

Sorry Dom. I know there are at least two guys that check the clip themselves now.....

It was good to see you in Bama BTW.

[PT Cruiser]

What Dom is too modest to say is that thanks to this little motivational incident on Saturday, he came back for Sunday's race at Barber Park rather, shall we say, determined to do a better job, and drove a truly gutsy and outstanding race. My jaw is still hanging down from his last lap defense in turn 5. After mustering the only run I was able to get on him for the whole dang race, I managed to capture the inside line and pull even with him in the brake zone for turn 5 after lifting off insanely late. Yet somehow, he was still able to outbrake me, turn across my bow, shake off the wheel to wheel contact that inevitably followed, and make it out of the turn with his lead intact. Amazing stuff.

In short, it was the closest, hardest battle I've ever had with anyone on a race track.

[dalyduo]

Hhmmm... So PT would seem to be suggesting that Dom drives better with a steering wheel.

[chsutherland]

Happened to me at Road America, I noticed before the wheel came off. I check mine every time now. However we should be checking it ourselves anyway. From that point on, I give every car I am in a look-see. Not a bad practice. Pilots do it.
cs

[dalyduo]

Yes... A preflight checklist is something we all should do but tend to forget when the 5 minute warning is called. Tires, suspension, steering wheel and gauges... Make sure everything is in its proper place and the catch can isn't full.

Slightly off point here but in a parallel universe... At my second race weekend JP gave me a piece of advice I've never forgotten. He suggested always giving the brakes a couple of hard stabs at pit-out (after checking mirrors to make sure no one is close behind) to put a little heat into the brakes and confirm they're working properly. From personal experience he felt if you raced long enough, at some point, you'd wind up in a car with compromised brakes and better to find that out at pit-out than going into your first high speed threshold brake corner. Hard to argue with that.

Getting back on point... With the steering wheel I always check the safety wire on the clip to make sure it's laying down flat and won't distract or poke me. Checking the wire forces me to observe the clip and more than once I've found it either not installed or not on all the way.

If you're a serial steering wheel remover I suppose the idea is that you're leaving the wheel unfastened as a courtesy so the next guy doesn't have to work as hard to remove the wheel to get in. But if you're not a wheel remover and the wheel is left sitting on the hub not locked down and clipped... The potential for a Bastien/Ludwig like experience increases exponentially.

It seems the safe default position for a steering wheel should always be fully locked and clipped, even if it means a bit more time and effort for those who chose to remove it when they exit the car.

[Dom Bastien]

Peter [Ludwig]. Good to see you and your big smile! I have never checked a steering wheel yet. No need to do so, especially not in a National where it's your car for the whole week-end. The slogan is arrive and drive, not arrive, check and drive. That same week-end, the car had vapor lock the moment you stopped. Randy says: check your water gauge! I say, what water gauge? I look around and find a dial on the left side behind the steering wheel. That's nice. But you really can't read it unless you remove the steering wheel. Again, same week-end, the front hood comes off in turn 1, another fourth gear corner, as you know. Right in my face. Sheisse, as you would say, I can read the damn dial if the steering wheel is off but not if the hood is right in my face.

[Dom Bastien]

Peter [Tucker]. That certainly was an intense and fun race, which you made memorable in many ways, not the least with your gesture at the end.

Here's what Rick Rosso said in the race recap. I could hardly improve on his words.

"There was also a bit of remarkable sportsmanship seen on that last lap. In the torrid battle between Dom Bastien and Peter Tucker for Masters Division honors, Tucker tried a move two corners from the checker to try to get around Bastien. The attempt resulted in Bastien being shoved off the road. Tucker knew he was in the wrong; indeed, he would be penalized by the officials for violating the avoidable-contact rule. But Tucker fixed the problem the right way, right away -- he virtually stopped his car before start-finish in order to let Bastien by for the win... "

[tom goodhart]

Hey Dom,
Looks like if it was gonna happen, it happened somewhere where you were able to manage it without getting hurt.

I've made a habit of tugging on the wheel once I'm in the car every time I climb in. Its surprising/scary how many times the pin is loose or pulled out.

Tom

[OLDMAN]

Dom:
See what happens when you contribute only a zillion dollars to the Mechanics' Fund.

OLDMAN

[LimeRockRacer]

Originally Posted by Dom Bastien

Pat:
Who retrieved the wheel? Excellent question! See the video.

My Nomex was quite dry, but I must tell you Nick Harvey [who was at the corner] and quite a few spectators wet their pants, they were laughing so hard.

Dom:

This is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. Knowing you and watching this makes for a great laugh! Retrieving the wheel segment was priceless.

Thank you for sharing your pain!

[OLDMAN]

I hope you guys are happy! Bob is upstairs trying not to laugh as he is recovering from hernia surgery...he's afraid he's ripped his stitches after watching the videos! If I were clever, I'd do a take on the Mastercard ads that end with a line like, "Retrieving the wheel - priceless!" And I might add that Bob is losing the battle....I can hear him laughing hysterically! BTW, glad you made out OK, Dom!
Oldlady

[Dom Bastien]

Doug is getting the tape for the year-end video. With his trademark special effects and bings, boings, and oops, it should be good slapstick comedy.

[rgreist]

Glad no one was hurt.

I adhere to the following axiom: "You're the captain of the ship." In other words, I always check.

[cdh]

Originally Posted by Dom Bastien

Doug is getting the tape for the year-end video. With his trademark special effects and bings, boings, and oops, it should be good slapstick comedy.

thanks Dom - heehee

Originally Posted by rgreist

I adhere to the following axiom: "You're the captain of the ship." In other words, I always check.

We all have our in the car pre-drive rituals (at least I do), one of which is messing with the safety wire that holds the clip. Kinda insures I see the clip is in place and snug. I always check that the gas cap is screwed on tight as well - ya never know when you might find yourself inverted.

Yes, glad we can laugh about this one, there are so many tracks/corners where this would not have been amusing at all

PS - I have never found a gas cap loose or a wheel pin out of place....

[rslonaker]

Revere has it right. Just playing the odds with so many cars to look after on a weekend, humans will be humans. Every driver should make it a part of their routine to check the basics before the car starts. Brake pedal is hard, steering wheel is on and clipped, mirrors, belts, etc. Fortunately this is a valuable lesson we can all have a chuckle about and thanks to Dom's good natured sense of humor, we can all learn from it. Don't forget to check your helmet strap too.

[dlippert]

Maybe what comes of this is SBRS giving a lesson in a proper car walk-around. Just like an airplane pre-flight inspection, what should a driver check at all four corners and the cockpit before starting the motor and then while exiting the pits? I suppose it speaks to well-deserved confidence in the crew that so many just walk up to the car and jump in, but given the complexities of fleet management on a race weekend, perhaps this is a bit of over-confidence. When one stops and thinks about it, these cars are being driven by people of differing skill levels and often times on parts of the racetrack that are not paved. Many of us have had parts break and I guress the question is, how many would have been caught and prevented had we done a proper "pre-flight?"

[cdh]

Another good habit to get into (took me forever) is to check oil pressure and coolant temp gauges each lap. I have never seen either gauge out of the normal range but it does happen and can lead to an engine failure. You can be held liable for the cost of the damage if SB deems it should have been caught by you before the engine cooked. Happened last year at WGI to one unlucky driver (but I believe SB ate the cost that time after much haranguing).
Also good habit to watch oil pressure come up right after starting the engine...

[Mopar92]

Dom, I am very glad you did not get hurt, same for Peter. I can't believe this is happening..... I have never in my 11 years at SBR ever heard or seen a steering wheel coming off .....ever. Then, it happens to a pro driver who drives a car which the steering wheel most likely comes off of during driver changes.... sorry Peter, I disagree with you on this one. Second, then it happens to Dom. I am flattened down to think you have been driving cars all along and never checking the pin or wheel. I am very glad you were not hurt. The way I look at it, is that it is the drivers fault 100% and I will explain to you why I think that way... I think that anything that is removable by a driver SHOULD be checked before flight! Seat notches for the seat position, belts, hans, chin straps, gloves, suit zipped up, wearing underwear, pin in steering wheel, etc. Please don't be offended by my comments. I do know we are checking the wheels now to the best of our ability and as a Pit Lane Coordinator, I am doing what I can to make sure this never happens again....

[Dom Bastien]

Keith:
I was being facetious. You can't take literally most of what I say on TJR. If in a regional week-end Big Al gets out of the car I am supposed to get in, I guarantee you I check the steering wheel. If it's 100 degrees outside, I check the dials. So, on balance, I check when I feel there is a need to.

At a national week-end, where it's your car all week-end, I don't check anything because I expect everything to be installed properly. My mistake.

[Mopar92]

Copy!

[AlDelattre]

Originally Posted by Dom Bastien

Keith:
I was being facetious. You can't take literally most of what I say on TJR. If in a regional week-end Big Al gets out of the car I am supposed to get in, I guarantee you I check the steering wheel.

Hmm....not sure HOW to interpret THAT....

For the record, I am an ULTIMATE steering wheel remover....(makes me feel more F1-ish....). However, I think EVERY time I get in the car, one of the mechanics comes by and checks it. (and I am in for a zillion, not counting the money I've fleeced from many of you for MechFund)

More importantly, since I've been using my custom no-ass seat, when I share a car, the mechs have to un-do the belt anchors, swap seats, and re-install the belts. At Laguna one time, I got in, strapped in, pulled tight.....and the belts flopped up and out of the car. Luckily, I think friction would have kept me in even in a roll-over.

Dom, you had a ride there - laughing aside, I can critique the Skippy crew for some things - cheap parts, DOP engines, heck....but for one of the crew to miss that, it's gotta be an EXCEPTION....

However, next time I see you, I'll make sure I check your wheel....

[Dom Bastien]

Al, when you get out of the car, I check everything, including the roof.

[AlDelattre]

Geesh! I crush ONE rental car roof, and all of the sudden....

At least it was for a good cause....certainly got the MechsFund donations flowing...that was a $6K weekend.

[Mopar92]

Originally Posted by Dom Bastien

Al, when you get out of the car, I check everything, including the roof.

Excellent shot Dom... superb.

[AlDelattre]

Note to Self:

Find out which rent-a-wreck Keith has the next time I see him at a race weekend...

I am SURE the benevolent Skip Barber management-types will cut him the same slack we get with those slightly-twisted front wings....