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

Since Dale Earnhardts fatal accident at least 194 drivers have been killed worldwide.  Since april there have been at least 20 deaths world wide.  Last year in  United States there were 4 drivers killed on short oval tracks and 2 at drag races.  This year in U.S. 5 drivers have been killed on short oval tracks.  A study has shown that a sudden stop at just 42 mph can cause fatal head and neck injury.  You think of cars like legend cars with motorcycle engines as being safer but last year 2 drivers were killed in the same last lap crash both of head and neck injury.  Facts came from newest Circle Track magazine.

The proper function of man is to live,not to exist.i shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time. Jack london.   living is not always safe.

Ok ... who left the door open and let the literature snobs in ?

thought it made my point. Shuolda said y'all could get kilt ifn you leave da house, my bad

in the usa 5 children a day die from abuse or neglet, almost 700 a year die from bicycle related accidents,

yes your fact is sad, but there are many worse facts

Around 12 athletes in high school and college die playing football every year, so what's your point?

heh

wow....  It was a worthwhile quote, and Jack London probably lived a bit more than you.  Anyway, getting back to the topic, yes, it's a dangerous sport.  It's much safer than it once was though, and the focus should be on making the current circumstances safer, not dumbing down the sport like knee jerk reactions typically aim at.  I'm not sure what the point of the original poster was?

Yeah yeah yeah, your point is made and useles without looking at the entire picture of, cause of deaths across a wider spectrum. Lets look it this way, how many lives were saved with the increased safety equipment and overall awareness the last several years. Plenty I'll bet!  here's a bulletin for all involved, AUTO RACING IS DANGEROUS! Be smart and use the best safety equipment available, OR DON'T RACE! 

http://blog.parathyroid.com/race-car-deaths-medical-causes-racing-deaths/

Dr. James Norman wrote an article on all this stuff, worth the time to read!

Do you want them to quit racing.

Its reactions like this that will be the ultimate end to sprint car racing. Look at any Late 80s Cup car. Dirt Latemodel, Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car, Prostock dragster, Promod, Indy car, F1 they have all increased tubing and over all tub of the car to help the driver in the event of a crash. Seats are getting bigger, Parts for the most part arent being hogged out to light weight standards. NOW take a look at the modern sprint car. Wings are paper thing and poor design just to mass produce. Chassis have as little tubing in em as possible. Guys are hacking off seat supports in an effort to cut weight. Bolts are drilled. Wing trees are made as light as possible. Hell any safter feature is meet with flack cause it will have a half or a gram of weight on the car and we cant have that ( How bout scrap all the mud off from wheel pack is my reply) XXX has there new read end device. Well that is great. So was the torque tube strap that has been out for 10 years that wasnt on either WJ or stewarts car when the crashed why.......Got me. Why wasnt a simple torsion bar catch on Lefflers car....... Why wanst he in a full contained seat......... Why wasnt Josh Burton wearing a Hans. Simple Sprint car racing has wised up enough to go thru the sport with a fine tooth comb. It was starting to in late 90s when Knoxville made chassis a certain wall thickness to keep the light weight chassis from killing a driver but the movement to make the sport safer went that far. Instead of busting a guys balls over his thoughts on making the sport safer how bout instead you open your eyes and simplely say he is right. 

I don't aim to please.
I aim to hit the target.

Some of you do not get the point.  I have owned a race car every year since 1972 except for 1.  We have to keep looking for anything that will make racing safer.  Some drivers and teams will not use things to make racing safer unless they are required to.  When seat belts became required some drivers un buckled them after races started.  Just wanted to give you the facts and I am sure Circle Track does not want every one to quit racing because of facts.

One point is that it is safe to say that there are a shitload (scientific term) more high school and college kids playing football than there are short track racers...

Member of this message board since 1997

Lighten up buddy. .. it was a joke.  And ur wrong "jack"  as he is called didn't live a bit more than me. He lived A LOT more than I did!  God bless any man or woman who straps into a race car. 

Maybe not.    Linbob's original post made a reference to fatalities on a "worldwide" basis.    American football is only popular in America.    Motorsports are popular in many other countries and not just this one.     In the end it really doesn't matter though.   My point is that even kids playing sports out in a field carries a certain amount of risk, just like racing does.   No matter what you do or what kind of changes are made, neither will ever be safe.  

Two kids died playing high school football just recently, ESPN did a story on this type of tragedy.  I argue often (surprise, surprise) with people when they try and tell me hockey is violent because there is the odd bloody nose in a fight.  Football deaths are in the double digit range virtually every year and have been for decades.  We have had one hockey player die when his helmet fell off in a fight and he hit his head when he fell and as a result they have madated all sorts of rules with helmets and fighting at every level of the sport now, overkill as per usual....

For most of us short track racing is a hobby.  How many people get injured of worse while enjoying their hobby?  Take a look at deer hunting, ice fishing, downhill skiing, snowmobiling heck there are a few people each year that get struck by lightning while playing golf.  Death on earth is 100% guaranteed, when or where is not our choice. 

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.