Went to the track today to try and improve my ET and saw something happen that reinforced how dangerous tracking a car can be. When we arrived early at the track, I noticed that the normal routine of equipment prepping the track was not going on and just thought well maybe they did it early. Once I staged and started to run the car just spun all over the place even through second gear. I hot lapped the car and tried again with the same results so I parked. Went to watch some others run to see how they were hooking up and saw multiple cars having the same trouble as well. It appeared no track prep had been done at all. One of the cars that I was interested in watching was a C5 vert that I had seen run at the track before. I was interested to see if he could hook because he was running GY runflats also. The guy staged and launched with the same results, he was spinning all over. About half way through the 1/8th he started fishtailing bad but the guy just stayed in it and didn't lift. The cars rear end swung out to the right, hooked, and slammed him into the retaining wall almost head on. The guy bounced off the wall going back to the right and crossed into the other lane. Thankfully he was able to walked away, but the car was pretty much trashed. The whole front end was pushed back about 6 inches. This whole incident only took about 4 seconds from start to finish and a beautiful car was destroyed. When you see something like that happen it makes you think about your own driving skills, ask yourself if your sure you are willing to take the risk and foot the bill if the same thing happened to you, and that this sport should not be taken lightly because it can be very dangerous. To be honest, I did not really think about all of those things until today. This was some hard core awareness training that really hit home. Be safe out there everyone.

 

OUCH........ good advise!

 

Something to ponder.........

 

Unfortunately, a cold track + warm run flats = lousy traction. We all love the colder air but we forget the down side ....... a cold track.

 

eeewwwwwww...........

I hope I never see something like that. At least he's okay.

 

I don't know all the details, but can only question what had to have happened for him to loose it at half track. Unless it is highly modded, it would be very hard to break loose the back end that badly, unless the track is wet - in which case he should have backed off.

One thing that happens that some people don't even realize is that they shift from second to first instead of to third. That will end up in a wall almost all the time.

The most important thing is to learn the track and back off if something starts to go wrong. (and backing off means knowing how to back off - gradually).

I realize that in racing there are always dangers, and eveyone is capable of making mistakes. So, you are correct in your statment that it is something that everyone should be prepared for if you go racing.

 

I've been going to 1/4 tracks since I was 16 (that's 37 years!). I had never seen a street car crash until the last 2 years. About 2 years ago I was at Speedworld and I saw a beautiful C5 do a 270 and back it into the wall. Then about a month ago at Firebird I saw a 05 GTO hit the wall about 100 yards down the track. Both times the people would not lift.

Seems simple, but sometimes it's very tough to make yourself lift your right foot off the gas pedal. Something inside you says that you can save this, no matter how bad.

I like Solo 2 because you can make mistakes, spin your car, and not hit anything. I've even ended up in the weeds at the Uhaul test track, but I still didn't hurt anything. It's fun finding out where the your and your car's limits are.

But in the end, at the drag strip, it's always better to lift as soon as you get a little sideways. My nightmare is that some fast car will get loose and come across into my lane and hit my car. That would really be a bad deal since your insurance would not cover this. Lately I've been running against CBFR because I trust him.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...3&postcount=10

It sure can happen.

 

If you're spinning/fishtailing that badly at the very start of the run then the pass is ruined anyway, just lift slowly, bail out and try again.

 

thank you for your trust, i trust you too, i have no shame in lifting. when the run is that bad, what is there to prove? be safe / race smart everyone

 

This weekend at E-town a much faster car got loose and came across the track in to the slower cars lane, both Vettes.

Thankfully the slower car saw this happening and criss-crossed in to the other lane avoiding disaster.

Unfortunately the faster car hit the wall, but the driver was OK.

I did not see it happening as I was in the pits in my car, but everybody was telling me what had happended.

BE SAFE OUT THERE.

THIS IS A FUN, but DANGEROUS ACTIVITY.

Lift if you must, there will always be another pass.

That is why I like running Time Trials, is everything is not very good or perfect most will just abort the run as the timeslip will suck anyway.

Howard

 

I'd change the title to - Poor driver skills = major damage.

Blaming the track is like blaming Dick Cheney's shotgun for face blasting his hunting buddy. Mishaps are caused by the nut behind the trigger.

It could be snowing, and if someone piles their car into the drag strip's guard rail - 100% driver's fault. One of the basic concepts of drag racing is zero tire slip. Those that blaze the tires and try to pedal it like John Force are accidents waiting to happen.

 

While I understand where you are coming from, I don't agree that the track condition had nothing to do with it. Using your senario, imagine a shotgun with a trigger that had a fairly consistant feel pull after pull and then one day something changed, the feel you were expecting was not there and the gun went off before you realized what happened. There were some hard core drag racers there that day that were also having major trouble and also commented on the track conditions. The difference is the experience they have gained through trial and error over the years. You only gain experience through practice and unfortunately sometimes error. The guy that wrecked his car according to others at the track had been running his C5 for a while.

 

sometimes our ego doesn't let us lift....

 

A drag strip accident can happen to even the best driver.

 

Very hard to lose it in a stock C5 at the 1/8 mile portion of the track. Something else must have gone wrong than just no track prep spray. Either high HP mods or driver error.

 

But ............. stuff happens, cars break, oil and other stuff gets on the track. It is very hard to do anything but lift when you encounter.... sand, oil or water on the top end. Hit the brakes too hard and you lose it, turn too quickly and you lose it, so you hold on and try to keep it straight. You have to be careful but stuff happens ....... and yes even to the most experienced of us................and yes the nut behind the wheel can be the problem but sometimes it has outside help

 

It's a sad story and something I think about every trip to the track. It gets even worse when one racer hits anothers car. There are a lot of guys who can't afford to replace their own car, let alone someone elses.

 

this is a just a comment, and might not have any relevance to this particular incident, but people that can't lift are usually overly concerned with the car in the other lane, and the inherent feeling of having to win or at least not get embarassed.

most every track I've ever been to, if you prefer to run solo, the track officials should most certainly honor your request. 99% of us are really only chasing our own personal best, so the other car in the other lane is truly irrelevant towards that goal. Just request a solo run, concentrate on your own driving and shift points, and never fear a cross over car. Doesn't hurt that you can easily hear your own motor as well without issue (how many times have you regretted getting lined up against an open header vehicle?).

just a thought

 

I was at Gainesville last year in my 05 GTO. At about the 1000' mark I was making the 3-4 shift. As soon as I hit 4th the rearend snapped to the right. I don't remeber all the moves I did, but they must have been the right ones. The end results was I scared the heck out of the car beside me and myself, but managed not to hit anything.

We were running in the dark. The car ahead of me threw a rod down through the pan at about the 1000' mark and had pulled off the track. No one had heard or noticed it, and since he was off the track they let the next pair, me and a Mustang Cobra, run. I'm a decent driver, but more lucky than skilled. Anything can happen at anytime.

A week and a half ago, a friend of mine put his Camaro into the wall at Gainesville. He hit the wall around the 330. He spun real bad on the launch and just as the car hooked he banged 2nd. It started fishtailing and he hit the wall. The airbag hurt him, but he is mostly ok. Just his car is totaled and his pride is really hurt. Definately a situation where he should have scrapped the run and eased out of it. The problem is as drivers we all think we are better than we really are. As Clint Eastwood said, a man has to know his limitations.