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

I haven't really seen this brought up but will the WoO & HL work together on safety & rules? . It seemed the WoO were the defacto leaders in safety and what was required, from extra cockpit bracing to fire suppression systems.Then it would be adopted by other santioning bodies & tracks around the country. If one group adopts a rule will the other group follow suit in the interest of safety & common rules? Has there been any communication between the  WoO & HL in this regard? Maybe teams who race in both series will just need to prepare accordingly.

I feel like there was a sprint car leadership group at one point that looked at these things but I'm not sure it still exists. 

I don't about all the safety rules, but I do know thw HL series is going to have contracted a certified safety crew to be at all of their races. They are not just going to depend on the local safety personnel. 

Who is a certified Safety Team? I've been involved in racing for many years and there is no certification courses that I am aware of.

I believe they're referring to the MedStar Safety Team that does Husets and other events. They've built up a nice name for themselves in the industry, travel to shows, have all the right equipment for sprint cars and then also will host seminars for other track safety personnel. 

Med Star is a good team, Jay has put together a good team. They have the equipment needed but short on staff. I know they have gone to shows and ask local track safety personnel to help them and not pay them. I am curious as to what certifications they would have. There are a lot of great safety teams out there that are under recognized such as Knoxville, 34 Speedway, Eldora, etc. If there is a certification course does any one know?

Yes Med-Star out of Brandon, SD is a top-notch team to have at your facility.

med-starambulance.com

Jay Secour is a wonderful guy as are his entire crew. Thank them for being there when you see them at your track.

SFI offers an Incident Response Training Program for bringing safety awareness to race track personnel.

SFI Foundation

World Racing Group,  RaceSaver Sprint Series, and Arenacross are coalition members just to name a few.

I believe a "Certified Safety Team" would mean EMS certification for all personnel. 

If anyone knows more, this is a good topic.

JP

Is High Limit requiring fire extinguishers in 2024? How many times last year was a fire bottle actually activated?

Thank you for the information about the SFI Foundation, I was not aware of that. I know that a lot of tracks in the Midwest, thier saftey teams have been doing additional training before and during the race season. While yet there are many that don't do anything. EMS certification is good but in most cases you can only practice in the state you are licensed. You can be a National Registered EMT or National Registered Paramedic, but it limits it to what skills you can perform based on medical direction allowing you to perform them skills in that state. Being certified is great and a huge bonus, but still limited on skills all to do. In doing additional research, there is no "Certification for Fire Race Track Safety". 

Thanks for the information, it is a good topic.

I've said for years that WRG needed to have a traveling safety team in place. 1 EMS certified individual is all that's needed. Emergency  response at many facilities is marginal at best. The biggest problem exists with the drivers. A red comes out you need to stop, right now. Rarely do you see that because they want to be close to team members in the event it becomes an open red. 

That leads to safety workers delaying there response which is understandable. The senario around the country are minimal, but all it takes is one and legal teams will be suing everyone.

That is probably one of my biggest pet peeves, running on red to get through the mess to get to sight of the crew.  It is garbage and someone will get hurt.  Yes, red means STOP, not accelerate through.  I hate when I see that and it is every race on a red.  Sad

Drivers driving through red flags is always an issue. This is where the compition director needs to be more strict. You drive through a red flag or can't stop, your disqualified from that race. You will always hear the excuse, my racecevier wasn't working or I didn't hear you. The race directors need to enforce the rules, plain and simple. 

Again, the question still remains, is there any certification courses out there. There is a national standard that is recommended and that is NFPA 610 Guide for Emrgency and Safety Operations at Motorsports Venues. This standard is a recommendation. There is no way any local dirt track that could financially follow this standard but it does have some good information that tracks and safety teams can use. It's all fine and dandy that promoters bring in these teams to provide a better service to that series, but again, where are they getting the staff to do it? Asking the local track staff to help them and when they do come in, do they know the local area, what level of service is available, where can I get a medical helicopter, what happens in the event of a god forbid tragic accident, how do you contact additional resoures if needed. So many factors invol in safety of not only the drivers, but the crews, the workers and the crowd. 

Not here disrespecting anyone, just trying to learn more and increase the safety of all those involved