Crash at Homestead involving the Phoenix team

[Ludachris]

No details to report just yet but wanted everyone to keep the team in their thoughts and prayers. The information I got was that it was a fairly significant incident. More info to come as soon as we know more... if anyone else gets the info first, please post it here.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Hope all is well with them,. Sending positive thoughts

 

[TMSBOSS]

 

[blacksheep-1]

Aj or Joe need to comment on this, since they are the team principals.
I'll just reiterate how much I hate this track.

 

[EF1]

I hope that no one was hurt.

 

[TMSBOSS]

 

[caracal25]

**admin edit**
The Phoenix and Porsche came together.
**/admin edit**

The driver seemed pretty shaken up and was taken to the care center. about 30 minutes later he was air lifted out. I had an incident today and while I was being brought back in I asked the EMS staff how he was doing, they said he was still in the ICU.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Prayers for the drivers involved.

 

[trackdao]

Looks serious enough, my prayers also! Are both drivers still in the hospital?

 

[caracal25]

Looks serious enough, my prayers also! Are both drivers still in the hospital?

The driver of the Porsche walked away and continued the weekend in another car/class.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Time to recheck all the safety gear. Hope that the drivers are fine.. for a sec I thought that was the S197 33 car! glad to see it was just a camaro.

 

[blacksheep-1]

At the risk of getting yelled at, some more info...
I'm not even gonna mention driver injuries, but they are what you would expect from a significant impact like this, fully expected to recover.
The Porsche had some sort of issue and was either trying to get out of the way, or get on pit road.. whatever, the initial contact with the Porsche was the right rear of the Camaro, sending it almost head first into the wall at an estimated 100 mph. (think Dale Earnhardt here) The car then hit with the back end as well. All the safety stuff worked, the SAFER barrier, the cage, the crumple zones both front and rear. They all worked so well along with the cage system that the front and back windshields are in the car which is really remarkable.
At these speeds on an oval you don't get to make abrupt moves, so the original contact was unavoidable.
The impact was so loud that it sounded like a shotgun went off and got everyone's attention.
Seeing someone injured in a car that you work on is very sobering, especially since I didn't see the original impact with the Porsche and thought it was a right front tire failure.
That's the nuts and bolt of it and anything else you can contact AJ or Joe, I just wanted to clarify a few things mentioned, it was not a car to car contact, only.

So the take aways are these.
1. If you are having some type of failure, in the car, everyone tries to get off the track, sometimes it might be better just to ride it out to the end of the straight and park near a corner station.
2. Ovals are not forgiving. you can't make abrupt moves to avoid contact,
3. There were lots of right front tire issues, another Mustang also scraped the wall this weekend, from a tire issue.
4. If something doesn't sound of feel right, bring the car in, another competitor that hit the wall earlier said the lap before it felt "funny". that's the time to address it.
5. Wear all of your safety gear, and wear it appropriately, this car had everything in driver protection, but a lot of track cars do not. I would say that if you don't have a stock airbag/inertia reel system, you need a Hans device for sure, anytime you use a harness.

 

[bob]

So the take aways are these.
1. If you are having some type of failure, in the car, everyone tries to get off the track, sometimes it might be better just to ride it out to the end of the straight and park near a corner station.

3. There were lots of right front tire issues, another Mustang also scraped the wall this weekend, from a tire issue.

#1 is very true. Driver's also have to realize they often can't instantly diagnose the failure. I have seen guys unknowingly, oil 1/2 of the track trying to get to the pits.

#3 Rob, do you think the RF tire problems in general are due to running under inflated? So many of us run the A tire less then Hoosier wants because that's what laptime says. For rovals Hoosier wants even more pressure than on roadcourses. That has to suck time from the in field sections where that might be the only place to make up time especially in power limited cars basically floored from start of straight through the roval to the in field.

 

[Ludachris]

Hoping to hear some positive news from AJ here at some point. I know filling in a forum on this situation isn't a top priority for him, but we definitely would like to hear how things are going for that driver.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I will echo BS1s comment, I hate rovals for sports car races! It seems like most of my fast friends have all wrecked at some time playing oval to infield racing, so my tactic is............I don't do rovals!

 

[blacksheep-1]

#1 is very true. Driver's also have to realize they often can't instantly diagnose the failure. I have seen guys unknowingly, oil 1/2 of the track trying to get to the pits.

#3 Rob, do you think the RF tire problems in general are due to running under inflated? So many of us run the A tire less then Hoosier wants because that's what laptime says. For rovals Hoosier wants even more pressure than on roadcourses. That has to suck time from the in field sections where that might be the only place to make up time especially in power limited cars basically floored from start of straight through the roval to the in field.

I think the bigger problem is that the little guys don't really have the resources to address the tires, they are winging it. This is why I try to keep an eye out for them on these tracks, some take the hints, some don't.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Hoping to hear some positive news from AJ here at some point. I know filling in a forum on this situation isn't a top priority for him, but we definitely would like to hear how things are going for that driver.

I'm probably going to get in trouble for even posting here, but I wanted the info available to be correct. I'm not getting into personal info.
I'm trying to give the most accurate synopsis possible.

 

[bob]

I think the bigger problem is that the little guys don't really have the resources to address the tires, they are winging it. This is why I try to keep an eye out for them on these tracks, some take the hints, some don't.

Little guy! I was at Runoffs once and in impound the techguy asked me to take off my wheel so he could measure my brake rotors. I keep a 10mm to in the car with me to pull my restrictor and give a fuel sample. I told the guy I had to go back to the paddock to get tools and jack and the guy asks, "where is my crew?" I tell him you are looking at him and he gives me an incredulous blank stare.

 

[ajaquilante]

A couple things to clear up because caracal25's post is has a bunch of wrong info.

The Porsche lost a RF Tire. The porsche went up the hill, bled off enough speed and then ripped it to the bottom without considering other cars that had closed on him. The contact was on the rightside/rightrear of the camaro which pitched the camaro sideways and up into the wall. That was the porsches fault.

Facebook and the internet suck for these types of things. Usually the wrong info gets spread way too quickly and speculation reigns supreme. While 99% of the time peoples intentions are good, and there is genuine concern, it isn't easy share the proper info. Especially with a non-public/widespread audience event.

I also think taking/sharing pictures of crashed cars is poor form, but sadly human nature loves carnage.

The biggest take away from this: In the past couple years I have seen a growing amount of "fluke"/large/massive and dumb crashes in racing and in HPDE. Some are mechanical, some driver, some are out of your control and they are lucky to have escaped without more serious injuries to themselves or others. Safety gear has made racing incredibly safer, but it is no excuse to be more bold/cavalier in taking riskier moves or being harder on a car or lacking situational awareness as it relates to your car or surroundings or other competitors.

Bob, you were in the wrong at tech. You deserved that look. You are expected to have a crew person at the Runoffs capable of handling the car.

 

[bob]

Bob, you were in the wrong at tech. You deserved that look. You are expected to have a crew person at the Runoffs capable of handling the car.

Last I looked SCCA is amateur racing. In every way I meet that definition never driving in a single pro race nor having the luxury of new sticker tires for every qualifying and the race like some truely committed clubracers. I am the person very capable of handling tech issues with my car and taking off my wheel. I could not find a crew requirement at impound. This is what the GCR says:

5.9.3. Impound A. Post Race Impound 1. Post-race impound is mandatory at all U.S. Majors Tour races as defined in the event-specific supplemental regulations and at the Runoffs; it is recommended at all other events. 2. During impound activities, cars are not allowed to be worked on or touched by anyone unless directed by a tech official. B. Impound Safety There should be at least 1 nominal 10 pound dry chemical agent capacity, minimum UL 60 BC or ABC rated, CO2 or equivalent Halon fire extinguisher present in the impound area. C. Minimum Impound Inspection Unless otherwise specified in the Supplemental Regulations, the first 3 finishers in each class shall be immediately impounded for a minimum of 30 minutes after their race is completed. The Race Director or the Chief Steward may direct that additional finishers in any class may likewise be impounded. It is the driver’s responsibility to know his finishing position and present his car to impound immediately, without going to the paddock. Failure to do so promptly will be reported to the Race Director or Chief Steward, and may result in penalty. For each impounded car, the weight and other items appropriate for the class may be inspected, as agreed upon by the Race Director or Chief Steward and the Series Chief Tech inspector or Chief Technical Inspector. The Race Director or Chief Steward may also order that a wheel or intake choke(s) or restrictors be removed during impound for inspection. These inspections are not subject to the fees outlined in 5.12.3.C.5. Additional inspections may be conducted through the protest procedures outlined in 8.3.3.