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Extra Equipment


Mac

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I just wanted to find everyone's opinions of some of the etra racing equipment out there, aside from the obvious suit, helmet, gloves, shoes, and colar. Do you really need racing underwear, or is that just a waist of money? And what are the feelings on the HANS, I know its recomended, but would it really be worth the money in the lower classes like Grand Stock? For that matter, is there any other gear that might be recomended by the more seasoned racers?

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Buy all the safety equipment you can afford. As for neck protection I have allways use a collar but a Hans or Hutchens is better. Nobody is going to laugh at you for having more safety equipment than you need. Now if you wear a cool suit for a 20 lap race you might get laughed at.

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If you can't afford all the latest, very best safety equipment, the best advice anyone can give is this: Don't Race!

 

It doesn't matter whether you're in a Grand Stock or a Super Late Model, the wall is just as hard for all classes. And burning fuel will fry you to a crisp whether it's from a Grand Stock gas tank or a Nextel Cup fuel cell.

 

Is it hot and uncomfortable in South Texas in July and August in nomex underwear? Yes, it is. But it's a whole lot hotter sitting in a burning race car trying to figure out how to undo the window net - or worse yet, sitting unconsious as the fire crew tries to surpress the flames enough to extract you from the car.

 

I know I'm being a bit dramatic, but I have personally witnessed the above situations and know people who have been badly burned or seriously injured in racing incidents. Ask any of them if they would have invested in the very best safety equiment if they had it to do all over again.

 

Does anyone besides me recall the huge fire on the front straight at SAS that involved four or five Super Late Models? Those guys were all friends of mine. You can't image the horror of standing there next to the pit wall while they struggled to get out of their cars.

 

Don't even think about trying to save a few dollars on personal safety equipment.

 

End of sermon.

 

Nick Holt

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Maybe someone can post the names and phone numbers of some of the places locally that Safety Equipment can be bought. And also ....How often does one have to replace various items of Safety Equipment. Maybe even hear the Pros and Cons. And what about Safety Equipment for the Crews? A lot of people (myself included) dont know much if anything about this subject.

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Maybe someone can help me out here. I have visited the town of Gruene, just outside of New Braunfels a couple of times lately. On the way, between I-35 and Gruene, off to the right of the road is a SIMPSON facility. I don't know if its a manufacturing or distribution facility. Doesn't look like a retail place, but I could be wrong. Anybody know anything about the place?

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Okay, that certainly makes it clear. But to make sure, you don't need a collar if you have a hutchins or hans, right? Oh, and by the way, if any of you are internet shoppers, there's www.saferacer.com that I've used for fireproof equipment for other reasons, there's pretty much everything on there.

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OReillys sucks. Get a Day catalog. Spend money on your safety equipment. I spent a little extra and got a nice Impact helmet and its well worth it. The neck brace is also a good idea. I've got a crappy single layer RJS suit. Prob going to buy a new double layer here pretty quick. I get my boot heat shield today from slow UPS. :) :)

 

Oh yeah if your runnin at SAS i'd definately get a hutchins. When you hit those walls you hit them hard.

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What are the pro's and con's of Hutchens vers Hans? Is one more comfortable than the other? Is one safer than the other? These are for local racing bases not nextel bases.... I just want to make a more educated purchase when I get ready to get my safety equipment...

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Do you need fireproof underwear? With either a three-layer suit or a suit with fireproof underwear, as I recall you are fairly well protected for 25 to 27 seconds. By that time, you'd better be out of the car or the fire crew had better be hosing you down.

Get laughed at? One of the SCCA guys ran at San Antonio back in the '70s or so and wore his full Nomex at a time when the short track racers usually didn't use any fire suit. They laughed at him until his car hit the wall and torched big time. By the next season there were short track guys in fire suits as well.

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Maybe someone can help me out here. I have visited the town of Gruene, just outside of New Braunfels a couple of times lately. On the way, between I-35 and Gruene, off to the right of the road is a SIMPSON facility. I don't know if its a manufacturing or distribution facility. Doesn't look like a retail place, but I could be wrong. Anybody know anything about the place?

Budman,

 

Yes, Yes and Yes... They do some manufacturing there, they do distribution there as well. And you can walk in and buy stuff. The price is catalog pricing, unless your a dealer...

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