Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

It is time for sanctioning bodies, tracks, team owners and drivers to take safety development seriously. Injury and death have become too common in our sport. We have not taken advantage of the weight rule to add new safety equipment. There are plenty of talented and creative people in the sport to make big strides quickly.

Perhaps a welded aluminum tub enclosing the drive-line and fuel pumps would be a good idea. This could help protect from fire (think Wolfgang fire) and drive-line explosions (one might follow the other). Filling top wings with foam might help absorb impacts. Beefing up wing mounts so they stay on could be beneficial. Foam around the rear and sides of the driver might make sense. I see what looks like a large number of left rear tire failures. I would guess this is more of a compound(left to right) than structural issue. But I am not an engineer. "Rules" meeting should include the 360 sanctioning bodies. It is divisive to the sport to exclude them.

I suggest people discuss this with others in the sport to build momentum. You should post your own ideas. Not attacking others ideas might be a good idea. We should all assume other posters have the best interest of the sport in mind as well. Partisanship will muddy our vision and this is too important for cheap shots.

It is sickening to me to hear "at least they were injured/killed doing what they loved". This minimizes the tremendous loss. Steve King and Ronald Laney could have raced and owned sprint cars for 50 more years and now they will not be here to do it. This is not acceptable.

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

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Duane Davis

Laser Engraving 
641-751-7777
101 N Center
Marshalltown, Iowa 

The cars have near pods for seats in the cockpit now, maybe we need to take the human beans out and replace them with remote control servers. The owners could then be the drivers and the drivers could sell t-shirts, give autographs and drink beer. The downside is that helmet driers would be obsolete. And thanks Humbug, that's some good shit!

Injury and/or death is a part of the sport. Every single driver knows and accepts these risks every time he or she climbs into the car.

I agree that there are some steps that can be taken to enhance driver safety, but if we're going to start putting foam in the wings, etc, we may as well consider putting each driver in the cockpit with packing peanuts and bubble wrap, and have them parade around the track single file, spaced precisely 2 feet apart at 10 mph to calliope music. Until we take these necessary steps, racing will continue to be a hazardous sport.

Aren't there more injuries and deaths in all of the other types of racing ?

Dude I dont even know where to begin on your post here. Im going to start with the Wolfgang fire. I thought the problem there was that Doug ran a plastic pull pin in the steering wheel and that melted not allowing him to get the wheel off. According to you, you want them in a plastic bubble. This is not what sprint car racing is about. Back in the day, they didnt even have roll cages. The part that is so exciting is that danger lurks its head around each corner.

My problem is when you say "It sickening to me to hear at least they were injured/killed doing what they loved." This is true. If you dont get it, you should get off here. The man who is pictured to the left of my name, driving the 3c car,( Dave Bradway JR) died doing what he loved. And I know this cause I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to meet him. He drove for my cousin before getting behind the wheel of the 3c car. For some of us, driving a 410 sprint car is a dream. For those who are fortunate enough to do this,they are living their dreams. Maybe, just maybe, you are not a true sprint car fan.

Sorry to be so controversial by wanting people to survive crashes. All of my suggestions would be invisible to those of you in the stands. Bradway would probably rather still be driving. I considered sprint car racing more art than blood sport.

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

For complete line of Sponsor Awards check out 
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Duane Davis

Laser Engraving 
641-751-7777
101 N Center
Marshalltown, Iowa 

Sumthing4rockets.....

Walk around the infeild and tell some of the competitors your ideas of how to make them safe. You might want to run after doing so. Major steps have been taken since the early 80's. Back then it was not uncommen for drivers to be loosing their lives while driving a sprint car. So to say that sprint car racing will be so safe as to no driver ever getting hurt or loosing their lives, will never happen. You ever hear of folks talking about how good a driver might be. And in that same conversation a person might say, " Well has he been hurt yet?" And how a person comes back after being hurt in the world of racing is everything. Would Dave still like to be driving, your lucky I dont know you! Cause I would come after you for saying something like that.

And thanks nodust, I like that photo of Dave Bradway Jr.

monkey bars at recess, and the winner gets to sit next to Darla at lunch........

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi

sidewayz,

no offense, but EVERYONE was running that plastic pull pin at the time, please don't use revisionist history.

Now, as far as the topic goes...

Can racing be safer, obviously it can. Having said that, HUGE strides have been made in just the last 2-3 years (seats come to mind immediately). As far as the chance of fire goes, it's always going to be there (unless they figure out how to run on water or something non-combustible).

Would Foam and all the stuff suggested make it safer? Who knows, but I'm sure it would make it more expensive (meaning we wouldn't have anyone to watch).

All forms of motorsport could be safer, but to implement everything suggested is laughable. A hobby stock is just as dangerous (maybe more so) than a Sprint Car is. There is NO WAY anyone running that class would spend the $20,000 or so required to add all the safety equipment suggested or even the $1500 for a ButlerBuilt or comparable seat because they don't have that much wrapped up in their entire operation.

If you want to impact driver safety, start with the tracks themselves. NO CEMENT walls at ANY racetrack. Say what you want about guardrail (like WG & Kville have), but I have seen Knoxville's fences move at least a foot when a car hits it (which means the wall is absorbing the impact instead of the driver). Concrete does not move.

Track conditions: No track should be rutty or have big holes (I realize it's dirt racing, but you can't expect to have a good track when it's a one night stand at some hole that the promoter rented and preps the track for the afternoon prior to the races).

Safety Teams at the track: Very few dirt tracks or even short track pavement tracks have properly trained Fire/Safety teams. Some injuries and possibly deaths could be averted if the guys and gals trying to help the driver knew something about the cars, medical history of the drivers, etc.. I remember a couple years ago when Craig Dollansky got hurt @ Eldora (broken leg as I recall), race was televised and the rescue guys "lifted" Craig up off the track by the legs and armpits so the wrecker could tow his car, instead of taking the time to immobilize his leg (have you noticed he walks with a slight limp now, he may not if they were more careful).

Fire Crews: How many have the proper equipment to deal with a Methanol Fire? I'm afraid to find out.

I say let's work on those items first, and then worry about adding more expense to the teams themselves. I see no reason why those profiting off the racers shouldn't have to deal with some of the safety expense.

Some of you are knocking Rocket's ideas, but I race sprint cars and I think he has some valid points.

I posted on here about the middle of summer my concerns about safety but it didn't get much attention. Oh well, it's just a human life, right?

While rocket is focused on some smaller items (whick probably do need addressed) the cage should be the first thing looked at. You look at all the improvements in sprint car racing in the last 15 years there have been plenty. Chassis technology however, hasn't changed much. We're still using the same diameter and tubing thickness that we did 15 years ago. Does that make sense? Even with spec tires the cars are going faster than they ever have, yet it's the same ole rollcage.

Here's some photos of damaged cages from this year. Luckily Jesus was a sprint car fan on these nights.

www.Numbersusa.com  

Maybe WRG/DIRT can hire John Force as a safety consultant!

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi

Now gdude. It takes a MAN to climb back into that thing. Thats SPRINT CAR RACING!

Posted By: sidewayz on October 10 2007 at 03:58:24 PM
Topic Name: Sprint Car Safety Needs To Be Addressed

Maybe, just maybe, you are not a true sprint car fan.

Let me get this straight........ He's not a "true sprint car fan", because he would rather see the drivers live to race again?????????

i agree that there needs to be more safety at ALL tracks. there are many new updates out there. Take Butler for instance. They have a new seat, have worked with lots of sprint car drivers to develope "king pins" these are supposed to prevent another death like steve kings. Local tracks should do what some other tracks do. Some tracks (kville) has a 50/50 every week. At the end of the season, the Knoxville Raceway Chairty Organization buys each driver (that qualifies for points) a safety item. In the past they have bought new suits, helmets, underwear, safety belts, gloves and shoes, new butler seats and so on,

Wow...I cant believe some of the statements on here. How many of you posters besides G Dude actually race sprint cars??

I don't think you can say that stuff about safety till it's your butt in the seat??

Do yourself a favor and re-read his orginal post. Please explain why he's lucky he doesn't know you. Because he's giving his opinion on sprint car safety. Your way over the top there stud.

any post is a good post when it is dealing with safety of someones life. these guys risk there lives for our amusement..But does anybody ever notice how rare it is to see drivers wearing fireproof underwear under their suits? it is pretty rare when i see drivers in the infield at knoxville

-Austin Rankin

What's happens to the foam in the wing if there's a fire? Will the driver and safety crews have to worry about inhaling toxic fumes? Is it going to melt and cause more damage than it's there to prevent?