Falcon

Sadly, I heard there was a death during the LeMons race at CMP today.

Hat_Trick_Hokie

Sadly that is true, I am here for the race this weekend. Very unfortunate incident.

Short-Throw

Hate hearing sad news like this.

Anything that can be shared to improve safety or was this just a 'freak' accident?

Hat_Trick_Hokie

During the drivers meeting this morning, they told us the coriner's initial determination was:
- The car did not brake or turn going into T14
- Safety gear did not fail
- The driver most likely had a medical emergency, which caused the wreck

sperkins

Short-Throw

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/dri...ace-1365704544



Driver Dies at Carolina Motorsports Park LeMons Race


http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.asp...

Sad new that a driver died in the LeMons race at CMP yesterday. Early indications are that they suffered a health related issue, possible heart attack, prior to the crash and that the car did what it was supposed to do. Sympathies go out to the friends, teammates and family of driver and all the folks at CMP.

LeMons and ChumpCar are a lot of fun and a good laugh, but when you strap yourself into the car it is as real as it gets. There is heat, stress, risk of impact, fire and everything else you would see in any other form of racing.

J.R.

Short-Throw posted
LeMons and ChumpCar are a lot of fun and a good laugh, but when you strap yourself into the car it is as real as it gets. There is heat, stress, risk of impact, fire and everything else you would see in any other form of racing.

Just to give you an idea of the stresses that being in a race car puts on your body:
I just downloaded data from a race car driver I work with who participated in a WEC race in Hungary. He spent 31 minutes of a one hour stint with his Heart Rate at 91% of Max Heart Rate or higher. That is from a person who is in very good physical condition.

Maintaining your body is just as important as maintaing your car and safety equipment.

J.R.

jaa1992

Not braking or turning into 14 is a very good indication that it had to be a medical issue.

Prayers to the family

Falcon

I wear a heart rate monitor sometimes during a race. I see 130's to 140's pretty often, particularly at the start. That can get dangerous if it stays elevated for long.

What perplexes me is that physicals aren't required to race in the LeMons races. That would would worry me as a fellow participant. As J. R. says the drivers is as important as the car and safety equipment. I would think they'd change that in light of the recent event.

Falcon

4 or 5 years ago at a NASA event, a time trialer went straight at 14 with no brakes and no turn and hit that same wall. The car flipped upon contact with the wall. The driver had fractured vertebra and had to be helicoptered out.

Z06Tracker

I just received an email from Lemons and stated the driver had a heart attack.

drivinhard

nonsense, you just need to pay the $50 license fee to them and then you magically have all the medical and past racing qualifications required to race at their events.

Greywolfe

That is terrible news.

I heard a similar story from a fellow NCCC driver. The incident happened several years ago at RRR. Apparently the driver passed out on the front straight and drove straight off turn one, jumped the dirt berm and went through a bunch of trees. I believe he was ok but the car was totaled.

More incentive for me to lose weight and get in shape...

BrianCunningham

jaa1992

I was there when it happened
He had a medical emergency halfway down the straight
After a trip and a stay in the hospital he was OK

rfn026

Sanctioning groups can't require physicals for track days at this point. I suspect this applies to some race groups as well. It's all about the HIPAA laws. Or, medical privacy if you will.

Richard Newton

Olitho

They can certainly require the medical. The driver will need to sign a release on the information.

autoxer6

I dont think may people consider running crapcan as high stress. My dad doesn't, and he races chumpcar with me. It is pretty brutal. I'll be using this unfortunate event as another reason for him to get on a cardio program. I'm in my early 30's and know that I need to keep in shape before the next race in 4 weeks. I'm scheduled for 6 hours driving that weekend!

rfn026

I ran Chumps for 3 years. The whole team was over 65. It wasn't the driving that got to us. It was having to replace things like alternators, fuel pumps and starters in the hot sun. It was a lot more fun (and relaxing) to drive than it was to fix the car.

The most fun I've ever had in racing was to start at Sebring with a pack of 128 cars. You simply cannot imagine what that's like.

Richard Newton

Painrace

Sad! Prayers for the family! BUT, lets keep racing!

Jim