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

I am wondering.  Do the Outlaws still race at the Grove next weekend if the bridge is still across the backstretch?  Or do the drivers, owners, crew chiefs and officials finally take a stand and say enough is enough?  The last 2 fatalities have been because of the track, not the cars or the lack of safety equipment.  I am not trying to bag on the Grove, but am using them for the obvious reason of the bridge.  Just wondering how we get all of the tracks in the countries attention?

I would personally support them if they did so. As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind at all if we just called it a season in PA to give all the tracks a little extra time while the weather is decent to address these issues. Williams Grove spends enough money on fireworks over the course of the season to probably pay for most if not all of the changes they need to make. I'm all for it. To answer your question, I'd bet everything I own that if the World of Outlaws refused to race at the tracks around here due to safery concerns, those issues would be addressed immediately with the utmost urgency. We always follow whatever the WoO do concerning rule changes and anything else because WoO shows are a big money maker for these tracks. No way in hell they'd refuse to comply. 

Wasnt it reported the steering broke which caused his car to veer into the wall?  Wouldnt that be considered the car or a piece of the car?  If the part doesnt fail we are not talking about this. 

    In essence I suppose that is correct. You could also say that if the steering had broke and the car hit a less dangerous spot in the wall, we wouldn't be talking about it either.

     

If parts never fail, tires never blow and drivers never make a mistake we would never have any crashes. But all those things happen. That's why a responsible track owner tries to make his track safe for if/when those things happen. 

It's stupid to say "that wall is unsafe but it will only be dangerous if something on a racecar breaks" so you don't fix it!

This.

As an old engineer once said to me...parts are going to fail. What you do is control for the things you can control. Track issues...walls, bridges, etc are things that can be controlled for.

I would be all FOR the Outlaws refusing to race.  Something has to be done and now!  Also agree that all PA tracks suspend racing until next year to address their safety issues, as the weather will allow it.

In PA we are racers! We have been through this before, racing will resume . Why should all PA tracks suspend racing until next year? Me thinks there are to many posters on here that have never owned or driven a racecar and has willingly raced at tracks that had possible safety issues. Racers want to race.

And who are you trying to protect in the first place.  Yourself from additional grief or the driver that knows the risks but continues to strap in regardless of what you think.

I may sound uninformed but why would the bridge be a safety issue at Williams Grove?

A terrible tragedy indeed.But yes, the races will resume and should resume next week. Life goes on whether you want to or not. Like Beezr said, racers will find the next race to race at. There was a tragedy in June and there was a WoO sprint car race the following Friday at Knoxville, just as scheduled.

I believe Donny Schatz was quoted something about the week following JJ's fatality about the mourning, thoughts and prayers and his family. But it all went away as soon as he fired up his car at the next WoO race at Knoxville because it was back to work...

The bridge goes over the track on the backstretch. Cars race under it and many cars have hit it during a crash. Under the right circumstances, a sprint car could flip and hit it, going from 120 mph to 0 mph instantly.

It is made of steel and it goes right over the middle of the backstretch where the cars are carrying a lot of speed and it doesn't sit nearly high enough above the racing surface. The height of it is well within the range of a flipping sprint car's capabilities and has been struck on 2 occaisons that I can remember. Hodnett hit it in 2001 and Doug Esh hit it in 2011. You can do a google search and find photos of Doug's car after the crash. I was there that night and he hit it hard. Thankfully he walked away. I don't want to think about what can happen if a flipping car were to hit it cage first. The thing needs to go before something bad happens. At very least perhaps they could even put some old tires or some softer material on it so that if someone does hit it, they aren't hitting solid steel but even then it presents an unnecessary hazard. The way it sits right now, it is just another tragedy waiting to happen.

Sorry, didn't see your response until I posted mine. Wasn't trying to 1 up you or anything.

You're right. I have never owned or driven a sprint car. I'm the stereotypical keyboard commando, know nothing fan but what I do know is, I'm tired of seeing my heroes die. I go to the races for enjoyment and even though the risk is ever present no matter what, anything we can do to make it safer such as addressing the various issues discussed in this thread, is worth whatever it takes if it saves even one life in the future. If that means going to a few less races, I'm ok with it. If it means no more races this year, so be it. As it is now, I could really give a shit less if I ever attend another sprint car race. At the moment at least, despite all of my fond memories and memorable experiences, the fun is gone for me. Maybe that will change in time. It likely will by next weekend but eventually, if these things keep happening and I continue to see these tracks refuse to address obvious and blatant hazards, I'll just quit going and I'm sure I'm not alone. Now that Greg is gone, I'm sure that will remove quite a few asses from the seats. I know a few people who will definitely not be attending as many races because they were huge Hodnett fans. Bravado is great in movies but here in the real world, it just leads to complacency which will inevitably lead to the next tragedy. Beaver Dam cancelled races to fix the issues that took Jason Johnson way too soon so why can't we? 

What happened at Baps was horrible for sure. Pretty much anyone's worst nightmare.  Having said all that you can't stop doing the things you love because of fear. If you do you will probably never accomplish anything worth while.  Yes, this is a very dangerous sport with 900 horses under the hood.  Let the healing begin with the outlaws racing at the Grove next week. Greg will be missed by all the fans.

 We need to continue to make our tracks and cars more safe for the drivers that entertain us each and every time they race.

Let's go Sprint Car Racing!

Knoxville - Best Track In the USA!
Eldora - 2nd Best Track in the USA!

     Certainly no need to apologize. I've never been there. I live out on the upper plains. My response was based on things I have read in Open Wheel Magazine and seen on You Tube. The bridge looks like a nightmare waiting to happen.

     In my 45 years of going to the races,  I've been at one race where a fatal accident happened. I never want to do that again. There's a lot of talk right now  about safety, big tracks, high speeds, etc. The truth is, sprint cars are just plain dangerous.

       In 1987 Bill Rook was killed in a limited 360 race at Husets Speedway (Brandon SD), a track that measures quite a bit under 3/8 mile. Bill Rook had the potential to be a champion in the big leagues of sprint cars, but it didn't happen. His life was cut short. It's rough, but these things happen.

     When I was in high school in the late 70's, Darl Ellis, a 19 year old sprint car racer was killed in an accident at my local track, Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota. Some years after that one of my favorite drivers, Darrel Dawley was killed at Knoxville, along with Roger Larson. The racing world reacted by putting wings on sprint cars- for safety. Maybe wings cut down on the injuries (and deaths) of out heros, but it didn't eliminate them.

    We owe it to ourselves to push for making tracks, cars. and the sport in general, safer for the racers risking their live s to entertain us.

     

I know I will be crucified for this but I'm going to say it anyway.  To think that all of PA should stop racing is ridiculous.  Please don't take what I'm saying wrong.  I am not saying the deaths of JJ and Greg Hodnet are no big deal.  I'm also not saying that everyone shouldn't make the biggest efforts to continue to make racecars safer.  50-60 years ago deaths in auto racing were much more common.  Safety has come a long ways in the last 60 years.  This year there has been two devastating deaths in sprint cars.  How many people have died in cars on the highway this year?  Does anyone think we should stop driving vehicles on public roads because of this?  How many people die because of skydiving accidents, playing sports, swimming, bicycle riding, walking, working?  I'm sure anyone of those is many more than two this year.  Are some of you suggesting we stop doing those activities too?  I'm not suggesting that EVERY track in the country or even the world shouldn't look at ways to make the racing safer.  But to just say "We're going to ban racing because of a tragic accident" is ridiculous.  Racing in general is dangerous, living life in general is dangerous.  If you no longer want to follow sprint car racing because of these accidents, that is your choice and completely understandable.  But don't force others to stop doing what they love.

Nah Murphy. When a car flips in the air it is not still going 120mph when it comes in contact with the bridge. Yes it's still dangerous. And I'm talking about the top/walking section of the bridge. Now the upright supports where the stairs are...that is the problem.  Along with the opening in the backstretch. They need to essentially make the bridge longer and get those supports away from the guardrail. As far as the opening goes.....go look at Eldoras gate they have on the back stretch. That's exactly what needs to happen at WG and Susky.  It's cheap and effective. Part failure or not, if there is a gate in that gap Susky,  #27 is still with us.