PAPosse Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Greg Hodnett died in a sprint car crash in PA tonight. Great racer and family. RIP Its been a tough few months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 He won the first World of Outlaws race I ever saw and I've been a long distance fan ever since. Yes, between him and Jason Johnson, who was my one other real favorite, it's been tough. Nice guys, both, which makes it harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Racing is a dangerous sport, just like any other sport that challenges a person's limits in extreme conditions. That is it's allure for those who choose to expose themselves to the challenge. Greg accepted the challenge and loved racing. Rest in Peace, sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted September 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Nice Greg Hodnett Tribute video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arob Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 Just watched the video of the crash. Looks like something needs to be done to top of roll cage. I don't know what since they get out of the car that way. I found a youtube video where there were testing what happens when a sprint car hits a wall with top of the car. It was tragic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arob Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 If this is too graphic I'll take down or moderater take down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted September 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 1 hour ago, arob said: If this is too graphic I'll take down or moderater take down. Apparently the link was removed from your post, but if the video was of the two cars tangling on the frontstretch and hitting the inside wall, like a youtube video poster claims, that is NOT the crash. In fact, the video is Williams Grove, not BAPS (aka Susqehanna). To my knowledge there hasn’t been any video of the fatal accident leaked - and I feel that’s the way it should be. Something in the front suspension broke and he ended up hitting the butt end of a fence at an opening to the pits. He died instantly - blunt force trauma according to the autopsy, and he had all the latest safety gear. This is probably more a case of track safety vs car safety. Its easy to look back and say “why wasn’t that fixed?”, much like we do now when we see a NASCAR crash where the car hits an area without a SAFER barrier. Speeds are so high, and we’ve seen so much, that it should be a standard design, if there has to be a fence opening, that the butt end of the fence is not exposed to the racing surface. But, to your point, there are changes coming to cage design in 2019: http://www.woosprint.com/news/latest-news/5197-sprint-car-industry-announces-rule-changes-for-2019-season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted September 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 A good listen: https://www.mrn.com/show/winged-nation/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 Just an FYI the newly formed sprint car council recently came out with new rules that cover the cage tops and side bars that will be mandatory on all cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arob Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 Thank you for the correction and additional info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top_shelf_12 Posted September 26, 2018 Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 Think there is a new rule they're calling a J Bar. Looks like a curved bar at the top of the halo to help give it some support and still aid in driver exit although it will be cumbersome. Even saw a link on Facebook of a guy somewhere willing to weld one on any sprint car for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top_shelf_12 Posted September 26, 2018 Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 Oh $#!1 that second test is scary to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted September 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 Illustrations for the 2019 cars here; http://www.woosprint.com/news/latest-news/5197-sprint-car-industry-announces-rule-changes-for-2019-season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted September 26, 2018 Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 arob, paposse is correct here's a couple pictures of the track opening....Sadly many of the local tracks nationwide have a similar type entry/exit point....Some have walls, some don't....TMS Dirt Track has a tunnel for exit and a few tracks use the entry as an exit after u-turning cars in the infield.....The one thing all the safety in the world can't stop, is parts failure, especially at those speeds....Then there's the constant search for newer/lighter cars which also can compromise safety....Last but not least is driver error as in Jason Johnsons case....He got forced high, with contact that sent him into a wall/billboard and landed cage first, upside down on the concrete wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted September 26, 2018 Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 If you notice on our Triple X that we just sold we always went with the wedge chassis and had Triple X install the halo on top and the bars on the driver side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted September 26, 2018 Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 Here is a picture that has been floating around the last week or so. This is a foam block the car is on top of NOT a concrete wall. But it does show you the danger. One reason we always went with a wedge chassis with the halo is it gives you that extra height where the driver is for that just in case moment. What amazes me is there is teams in ASCS and WoO who will order cars without the extra piping because of weight. Remember the wedge chassis, halo, and side bars are all currently add-ons. There is other things the big boys do safety wise that just dumbfound me. We are required to run a rock screen and with them it is recommended and there is drivers out there that wont run one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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