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

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/11/fast-furious-unregulated-greg-hodnetts-death-casts-light-on-perils-of-short-track-racing.html

Worth the read. I'd say it's a very fair critique of safety in our sport with quotes from people involved in sprint car racing and other motorsports.

Ask Frank

Just curious about something and wondered if anyone knew. This article came out online 11/28 and I read it upon seeing the link posted here. The Harrisburg Patriot doesn't print everyday but I assumed that since the article came out online, it would have been in the printed paper sometime within a day or two of the article appearing online. I only see the printed Patroit on Sundays and yesterday I picked up the Patriot and this article is front page news.  What gives?   Did it take them that long for the story to appear in print or did they run it previously and for some reason run it again?  

Those of us who live in the area believe the people who like to close down tracks because of dust, noise, nuisance traffic are using this artciel as another feather in their cap to bring the hammer of govt down on the racing scene under the guise of safety... Much like the way the govt protected native Americans from oppression.

We will be watching the reps in Harrisburg closely...if they want to impose themselves in the issue, costs will go up for the average fan and tracks will be under the watchful eye of people who have and do tax and regulate entities right out of business.

II can easily regulate how much exposure to danger I experience in my life by NOT attending local racing...but when it is gone, it will no longer by my house to support it no matter how many safeguards are imposed on the activity.

In this printed horseshit...has anyone suggested the 27 car was not up to safety standards? Should the left side of the cage be closed like the right so a driver must climb thru the top of a cage? If so...do fires get outlawed next because we all know exiting the car quickly is a must since there is no full fire engine / water truck crew at 4 points around the track in the event of the worst. 

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I thought the best quote in the entire article was:

“It’s like playing Russian roulette,” he said. “But with every safety measure, you’re taking bullets out of the chamber.”

That pretty much sums it up.  Everyone who thinks this sport can be completely safe, week in and week out, is being unrealistic.  Anyone who thinks we should sit back and do nothing is an idiot. 

Hopefully the newly formed sprint car council will address the immediate needs, prioritize some of the "need to be assessed" issues, and so on.  No one needs regulations and legislation for these issues.  Sanctioning bodies need to stop showing up at tracks that do not address their safety concerns. 

Personally I'm not aware of any Central PA track that is facing real difficulties from lawmakers at either the local or state level. If I'm wrong on that point, someone can fill me in. Maybe it's just my interpretation but when I read the article, it certainly came off as being negative. I would have been curious to see more actual facts in this article. They named five drivers who were fatally injured in the past five years in the area but these fatalites were across all divisions. For example, Fred made the point of how many short track races are run over the course of a year versus how many fatalities occur. I would have like to see the writer expand on that and provide the reader with more info in that regard. Can anyone provide an estimate how many races we're talking about in that five year span? What about prior to the last five years? Nationally?  I guess my bottom line is if the paper is going to have a negative slant on the sport I love, I will have a negative slant the next time I look to purchase a paper.