Forum: SCRAFAN.COM Forum (go)
Moderators: ljennings

I was at the PAS for the Glenn Howard Memorial Race and little while before qualifying, Scott announced that Doug Wolfgang was in the house and would be autographing copies of his and Argabright's book, Lone Wolf. A buddy and I went down to buy one and no one except Doug and his wife Jeri were there when we arrived, so we got to talk to him for a few moments.

Just for fun, I asked him if any of the guys were running Nitrous Oxide back in the day. His face lit up like a Christmas tree and with a shit eating grin he said "I did". He said it worked great on a sprint car and you didn't really have to use it that much. "Just set a guy up for a pass, usually coming off the corners, push the button, BAM, your gone" He said after they made it illegal "I would fasten a bottle to my leg under my drivers suit and when I got in the car attach the hidden lines" Then while cracking up with laughter, "Probably wasn't the brightest thing in the world to do" I ask him if it would be safe to use in a sprint car today and he said "Yeah, wouldn't be a problem."

I brought up the subject of running an unlimited engine-fuel rule for non-wing sprint cars. "Hell yes" and "I think it would be great with the wing cars too." Some other fans by this time were in line for a book, so that's all the time I had to talk to him.

Don

Joe did you read the book it might change your mind,it did mine

ROB

thats cool Joe your entitled to your opinion,but it think you should read Wolfgangs side.Have a merry Christmas and we'll see ya soon

.

ROB

It is ludicrous to put all of the responsibility on the racer. The racer takes on the risk of injury when ever he climbs in or on the race vehicle. The promoter or track owner has to take on the responsibility of making sure the safety equipment and the personnel operating it are up to the challenge. When you go into the emergency room do you go through all of the good Dr,'s credentials to make sure he is what he appears to be? Hell no! By that time it is to late and you are dying on the bed. If he isn't what he says he is then there are laws there to protect you. Those laws came into effect by those like Doug Wolfgang. They took it upon themselves to bear the pain to make sure no one else has to. The worst pain of all that he bears is the pain of being out casted by those he loved and once trusted. I for one applaud Doug for what he did. Doug Wolfgang made the racing world wake up and take on the responsibility of insuring when disaster does strike they are fully prepared to to accept the challenge of keeping our beloved competitors safe in a very unsafe environment. Joe I also applaud you for doing what you did. But what about all of the others that came after you? Did you shut the rodeo or the race track down until they fixed the problem for all of the competitors, or did you just voice your disgust and leave? Doug didn't leave! He stuck around and fought for you and for me, so what happened to him wouldn't happen to us. Doug Wolfgang is a PATRIOT!!!

Brian

Brian,

I understand your point of view but the bottom line in my world is you have to accept responsibility for your own actions. If I get injured at the track that is just the way it goes. I know a car can come off the track and kill and/or maim me. If that happens is it the tracks fault? It sure isnt! If a rock comes off of the track and hits me on top of the head and knocks me out or kills me is it the tracks fault? Nope, its on me because I knew going in that it can and does happen. My point is that in all of the years that Doug raced I am sure that he has seen people killed and/or severely injured. What did he do before his injury to prevent incidents like those he witnessed from happening again? I am sure that he is like most, "It wont happen to me!" and just moved on. In my opinion, he knew what could happen and didnt much care until it happened to him!

I just dont have any respect for that at all! I almost got killed at work due to the severe negligence of a fellow mechanic. Just about everyone at work wanted me to sue the guy and go after my company. The injury has had a pretty severe impact on my life but I knew the guy didnt do it on purpose and it was just something that happened. I had to get a lawyer to deal with some (move juristriction) of it but the first thing I told the lawyer is I am not sueing anyone so lets get that straight right away! It was an accident and not intentional so let it be!

This is my perspective on the matter. I really cant fault anyone with a different perspective but in this modern world everyone seems to want to blame everyone else for what happens to them!

Hi Joe,

I respect your point of view and wouldn't try to sway you in any other way, just a friendly debate on the issue at hand. But if you were in the stands and the track didn't have adaquet protection (fenceing) for flying debris like large rocks or even car parts from flying in the stands, would it not be right to make those responsible to make it safe for all. I understand we are dealing with a very unsafe sport at best but when those responsible do not take care of the minimal responsibilities, they have to be held accountable. If not then what we love would be outlawed. Do you know our sport of football was almost banned when Theodore Roosevelt had thoughts of banning the game of football due to the number of deaths that occurred due to the violent nature of the game in the early 1900s. That is when a SAFETY board stepped in and took the proper steps to improve the safety for the competitors involved.
I understand what you are saying with the sue happy society we live in. But in my humble opinion some things need to be done (as in Doug Wolfgangs case) or it would have continued to go on and more competitors would have been injured or killed. Some people (as in the above case) need extra motivation to do the right thing. This is very unfortunate because then someone has to be the bearer of the cross so to speak, for everyone else. Although many thought and still think Doug did it for self indulgence, He did not. He sued for the betterment of the sport. You have to read the book to get to the root of what he did, and why he did it. He was the Plaintiff in this case so he had to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt to the "entire" jury that the defendents were guilty of gross, wanton negligence. Doug doesn't blame anyone for what happened to him. What he blames those folks for is what THEY DID NOT DO to prepare themselves for the inevitable. There were three people hired as firemen on hand. Only one of them had any training of any type for firefighting, the other two had none. Therefore when the fire got going they didn't want anything to do with what they saw happening. It was way too catastrophic for them to deal with. Plus the big water truck the track had on hand had no water in the tank, it was "EMPTY"! Hell it wasn't the safety personnel that got Doug out of the car it was fellow racers. It took 8 and 1/2 minutes from the time of impact for the first EMT to touch Doug. That's not Dougs fault.

Brian

No track to this day has adequete fencing to prevent all flying debris! That would have to be a solid tunnel over the track. That is why I sit in the TOP ROW! My point is that people that attend these events, compete in these events and are associated in any matter of form have to know that you can get killed or injured by even attending them as a spectator! I burn myself every time I work on the cars at the races. Should I sue the header companies because they dont have autocooling feature on the headers? Hell no, I just know going in that I am sure to burn the crap out of my forearms cleaning the mud up so the fans can have a nice looking car to watch instead of a swamp buggy! Crap in life just happens. Just like when I got thrown out of a 30mph golf cart at work. I asked the guy that was driving to stop so we could pick someone up and instead he flipped a u-turn at full speed and I went flying down the taxiway doing flips and cartwheels about 6 feet in the air. I ruptured one disk in my neck and got two pretty good bulges in others. Crap just happens!

I honestly dont care what Dougs intentions were and/or are! Just because he sued one track and set of personnel and pocketed whatever he got it does absolutely nothing for the sport! Just because track A got sued do you think it is going to make a Track B any safer if they chose to be lacksidasical with their safety?

TO ME, its up to the drivers to make sure they have safe cars to drive, a safe facility to be racing at from (track conditions, safety personnel and proximaty to emergency medical facilities)! That is just how I am. I race Motocross when I can and dont ride in the desert much just because of the latter! If I crash at Glen Helen I know there will be someone around to call for an ambulance and get me to a hospital ASAP. Out in the desert, its helicopter time for sure IF you can get a signal on the cell phone!

From my perspective again. If I raced sprint cars I would have no problem running at a place like Perris! There is NO WAY in hell you would have caught me racing at Manzanita! I never liked the place from a safety point of view and it scared the hell out of me just sitting in the stands on the top row as a fan!

Thanks for the offer of the book but I will not read it.

Joe

Wow...thats the most closed minded post I've read in quite awhile, especially the last line.

Take it to the Top & let it Rock

The victim was Roger Williamson and the driver that stopped to help was David Purley. No punches were thrown, but someone should have strung up whoever was in charge of safety!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e10ylnr8Vgk

Take it to the Top & let it Rock

I dont find it Funny, Someone Comes in My Backyard and Cheats. against Our Teams,Now Ocean But in The Day San Jose, Baylands, NARC busted The Ass to Play on a Level Field.. Fuel didnt help Him anyway, Kinser still kicked His Ass.He May have Won in the 4x, on the San Jose Half, Beard, Rose with The Checkerboard Hood, Sargent Kaeding Pulled most The WOO on the Straits, knew Our Boys were good..Maybe this is why Gordon Martin of The San Franscisco Chronicle stated He quit covering The WOO and Called it a Travelling Exibition. Is it Funny to come and Cheat at Perris?

Bruce Velo

Jay,

I agree with you on a lot of your post. We live in a society where common sense is no longer a common virtue. There are standards put in place that have to be upheld in the safety aspect. If they are not then those responsible should be held accountable. Common sense tells you that your Dad had no fault in the accident what so ever. There is an easy way to eliminate your Dad from even becoming a part of the court battle but the so called smart people have yet to figure it out. If an accuser acusses, and the accused is found innocent, then the accuser should be held accountable for all losses and damages to the accused. Maybe then we could get rid of some of these lame law suits by someone wanting a free hand out with absolutely no recoarse when found to be lame. It is ludicrous to put the responsibility on the drivers to insure that the safety personnel are properly trained in the position they are holding. The track owner/operator or promoter has to be responsible for this and it can be done in a simple interviewing process. Once the proper people are placed into their proper duties and those properly trained safety personnel then grossly neglect their duties, they should be held accountable for their inactions. When we do not hold people accountable for there actions as in this case, we reward the coward. That to me is unacceptable.

That is what Doug Wolfgang had to do because the cowards were saying the same thing, it was Doug's fault when he climbed in the car that the people hired to do a job stood around and did nothing but watch him nearly burn to death. Doug never blamed them for the accident, or for him getting burned, he blamed them for not having the properly trained people in the proper place with equipment ready (water truck with tank filled with water not EMPTY as it was) for the inevitible.

Brian

Brian,

At the same time if you see a guy wearing jeans and a t-shirt holding a fire extinguisher you have to be smart enough to realize that he is not a fireman. My point in all of this is everyone is responsible to make sure they are in a safe enviornment! I would not risk my life without thinking of all of the potential pitfalls to the situation. YOU CANNOT ASSUME that everything will be taken care of, ITS YOUR LIFE! You are responsible for making sure you are safe as you can be.

How many drivers only use a 2 layer suit when 3- and 4- layer are available? How many guys for years refused to wear helmet socks? How many guys strap on a flame accellerant to their leg to cheat the rules? I am just saying that if they are willing to do that they have to be willing to accept the consequences!

It sure sucks that Doug got burned and I truly feel bad that it happened to him. I am not that callous! I truly wished it hadnt! He may or may not be a great guy. I am not judging him on that at all!

I just dont agree with the lawsuits in such cases! I am very hard line on that as I have seen many great places shut down because of such lawsuits and it sickens me to no end! Saddleback Park was closed because of 4 stupid lawsuits by losers and/or their families in one year!

Joe