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

I  read how Van May described how his Honorary Starter job went. He said something in the order of he didn't realize how important the 3rd turn officials alerting the flag stand of problems in turn 3 because of limited to no view because of the trailers in the pit area. Now lets move forward to the feature & after watching  the in car Speedlab video you can clearly see Brian Brown sitting there facing on coming traffic while cars are taking evasive action in front of Pittman & clearly the GREEN light was still on.  Luckily Brown was not hurt, but the #39 was junk after the hit from behind by Lil Freddie. Just another reason to get those trailers out of the infield. JMO

be careful.  you're only supposed to look out for yourself.  there's no reason to try and suggest ways to make a track safer.

i feel like this goes back to the take it or leave it, "it's always been this way" attitude that comes out of the grove.  racing has been better this year i feel like...but even taking the safety aspect out of it...you can only see maybe half the track from the infield.  even the grandstand view isn't great.  part of why we picked psu over the national open saturday night was i knew we'd only see half the race.  

i don't think moving everyone out of the infield is asking for much...and would make the place so much better.  even if it's bad racing...at least i can see it.

Unfortunately that's not the way things work.   They will only change things after  it kills someone.   

So you guys think it's the flagman controlling the race ?  Since everybody out there today has a headset on the flagman drops the correct colored flag when he is told too. A official stands in corner 4 and one in the box upstairs telling that flagman if it's being called back. You ever watch the ambulance after a flip or pile up ? How does that driver of that ambulance no, do I turn left and go down around the track or do I turn right because the flip was in turn 4 ? Radio's.  As long as the grove keeps packing them in like sardines, those trailers will be blocking your view.  They have people all around the track with headsets on. I'm sure at times if someone is talking you will see a case such as with brain brown sitting there with the green light brightly displayed.   Let's all hope no one hits a guy sitting there.

I sit two rows from the top on the back stretch. All I can e see on the front stretch are wings going down the straightaway. Get the haulers out of the infield. opens more space for fans in the infield. most everyone in the place could see the whole track. as mentioned above safety is first and foremost. They need to learn from the other local tracks that have cleaned out the infields such as Port, Selinsgrove, Baps. It's just a good deal all around for racers, fans..

I agree, get the trailers out of the infield so fans can see, said it for years. I sit at the top row of the back stretch and all you can see are wings on the front stretch unless its a normal night with a 22 car field. I feel bad for paying customers who sit lower and only get to see maybe half of the track. But that is the way the grove is and will probably always be until its sold. I think the Leiby's at Lincoln were one of the first local tracks to move pits outside of the arena. Good promoters appreciate their fan base.

They have a bridge in the middle of the backstretch for crying out loud. The 3rd turn visibility is not the worst safety concern at the Grove. 

They are going to cover the bridge with foam and bubble wrap next year.

This looks like as good a thread as any to ask a few questions about safety at Williams Grove.

The TV view of the track shows a couple openings in the back stretch guard rail, I presume for getting from the outside to the inside of the track. Is it an optical illusion from the TV viewpoint, or are those openings something a sprint car could hit straight-on at high speed?

How high off the ground is the bridge? How much would it need to be raised to get above the altitude record there for a flipping sprint car?

Yep, there is an outer pit entrance coming off of turn 2 (I remember when Schatz stopped there instead of pulling in one time bring out the yellow when fast freddie was leading the open). There is also an outer pit exit onto the track before the evil blue bridge, there is also an opening on the inside of the track before that nasty ole bridge that allows safety vehicles on the track after an on track issue. I've seen some rough crashes on the back stretch, but just as many on the front too. Its a fast joint and crashes are harder when you go fast kiddies. Maybe unhook the cars and slow them down, hell you might even see some racing but then the cars would be close together and that would be a safety issue to some of you.

I'm not entirely sure if you're giving me a sarcastic answer or not.

I had time to look at a Google Maps satellite photo. It looks like the 1 (one) opening by the bridge has the one side of the guardrail tapered back a bit. A sprinter hitting that at speed would probably careen down the track. The one off the #2 corner looks treacherous. It looks like a car could go from 100 mph to zero if it hit that one straight-on.

The other thing that catches my eye on TV broadcasts is that the front stretch fence doesn't run all the way to the exit of the #1 corner. From the satellite view, it looks like spectators are sitting about 100 feet from where the fence ends. Have they ever had wheels end up in the stands?

Yes, you may have detected some sarcasm but more just plain truth than anything. The only time I remember car parts getting near the fans was when Maynard Yingst and Randy Wolfe crashed going into 3, I don't think anyone was injured but it was gnarly. That was like in 86 or 87 or so. Why don't you brainiacs look up participant and spectator injuries before going all Karen and busting on a track. Do you actually think 5 or more professional racing series would renew every year if they thought the track was unsafe, most series call out that stuff before they sanction a race. Get a grip people.

Dude, everyone knows racing is dangerous.  But that attitude is the type of thinking that could get someone hurt or killed unnecessarily.  Just because something hasn't happened YET doesn't mean it won't or can't.  It's not a bad thing to question safety with ANYTHING.  But thanks for your version of the truth (who else does that sound like?).

I don't think it's a crime to ask. And I don't think it's a crime to hope that tracks and sanctioning bodies will continue to work to improve safety going forward. 

In 1987 I saw Bill Rook flip a 360 limited sprint car over the pit gate at Husets Speedway into an imovable concrete wall. The crash killed him and a track worker. I don't want to see anything like that again. 

Beerz is right,  central pa has been like this for a long long time.  On starts and restarts at each of the big 3 you can go back and find that there has been some terrible crashes. Lance's crash on the back stretch almost made him quit racing and it was a miracle it wasn't worse. No openings caused any of them.  Every guy that straps in knows how dangerous driving a sprint car can be.

Port Royals concrete always scared me. 

It'as coming down ayt the end of the year. Was supposed to be gone this year. Insurance from touring series mandating the change. The only thing left to answer is where they will move it to

Will they keep it on the property? Maybe ship it to EMMR or Latimore Valley fair? Maybe chop it up and sell pieces, everyone would want a chuck of it? I guess I was wrong about the foam and bubble wrap.

Turn it parallel to the track behind the backstretch opening. If your rig fits under , you can park inside. If not , stay in the back pit area. It can then be used for a veiwing area for the crews during the race.

You mentioned something about this a couple of months ago. Seems like a good way to keep the blue meanie in a safe and productive way as well as reducing the two story trailers in the front pits. I'm all for it. Now how do we get cars back there for weekly shows?

There are many problems that exist at the Grove. So you never saw the video of an entire front axle laying about 5 rows up in the front stretch stands? If ya call that BUSTIN on Kathy, Not Karen. Facts are facts, but most people do realize that a tragic deal or 2 will help to contribute to a small housing developement!