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Safety first, please


debwill

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I'm going to heave my 2 cents in. Saturday night's issue was not with driver error, drivers stupidity or anything else. It had everything to do with the failure of a man made part that was beyond anyone's control. As for the rest of the debate....In EVERY driver's meeting I have attended at THR, it has been made crystal clear that no one is to stand next to that fence. YET, people are STILL standing there. Thank the Good Lord that the lady was not hurt worse. Would a higher fence protect people from themselves? Maybe. What's being lost in this is that people have a responsibility to follow the track rules and if they violate them then there may be consequences. One of the features of THR that I have heard drivers and fans alike have expressed their approval of is the fact that you CAN have an "AW CRAP" moment at THR and not turn your race car into an accordion on the walls. In my opinion, this was an unfortunate accident exacerbated by people ignoring rules set forth by the THR Staff. We are all victims of the "It Can't Happen To Me Syndrome".... until it does. Walls will not stop a bouncing tire and axle. Would a taller fence? Possibly. Would not having people standing at the fence negate most of that danger? Most certainly.

 

Just my opinion.

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Just to make sure my earlier post was not taken wrong,... in no way am I saying that this past satudays incident was a case of driver error. That was bad luck. Just a part failure. I just wanted to add my 3 cents on the issue of walls being a good thing or bad. I did miss a earlier post that I want to bring back up. If this would of happened out of turn 4 and the tire got hit by another car and flew into the stands...I know its bad but its only hypothetical... what would be the differance? Its impossible to protect everyone all the time. Ive seen people airlifted out of Longhorn speedway before and we still managed to get to come back again. To my knowledge that hasnt happened at THR(but I havent been there every year). THR has a pretty good safety record and I hope it keeps up and wish a speedy recovery to the person who got injured.

 

Cory

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being probably the biggest stock-car fan alive, i have been to countless tracks all over the country...and, i've been hit with everything from bits of rubber & dirt clods to a wheel that flew over a fence and broke my foot. that latter was my own fault...in the wrong place and too close to the fence. unfortunately, it took being hit by that wheel to make me learn to stay away from the fence areas. i am lucky it didn't hit me in the head! :lol: the point is: i never thought anything would hit me 'til it did...and, unfortunately, many people think the same thing. thr could raise the fence on that side, but it just takes staying away from the fences to stay safer. fans and crews, alike, need to take the initiative to take care of themselves. the tracks can't do everything. and, someone said something about "nascar type fences"...those don't always work, either...look at carl edwards deal earlier this year. it's still going to happen from time to time. it's all part of the sport.

i'm very glad to hear that the lady from saturday night is going to be ok...i spent 12 weeks thinking about what i could have done to prevent my broken foot, and it boiled down to one thing: i shouldn't have been near the fence. it was that simple. (and, no, this didn't happen at any tracks around here.)

this is just my lil bit of input :)

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I have have now read all these posts concerning double 00 beau's wife, who also happens to be my daughter. I was at the track friday night for the benefit bbq. I stood in the exact spot where the mishap happened, the fence at this location is less then 6 feet high and consist of a couple of cables and hog wire fence. this spot I agreee should be off limits to spectators but the fact remains it is not. This fence should be taken down and replaced with a fence at least 10' high and a catch at the top like other facilities have. Walls at this track would certainly help control speed and stupidity of drivers so they would not bonzie turn one. The fact is my daughter is still alive and I am very thankfull for that, but please anything that can be done to stop this from happening again would certainly be the right thing to do. I am in the construction business and a racer myself and visited the track shortly after it was first paved and could not understand why any one would want to race at a track where you could end up in the turn 4 wall which is the begining of the grand stands. The area going into the HOT pits during a race is very dangerous as well. Why don't they consider putting walls in this area so you would have a Hot pit area to service race cars instead of them entering the pits at speed during the race. I am sure this would be a much safer alternative to the cars having to go into the pits where someone could be run over by a car out of control with possible brake or throttle problems. Purchasing jersey barrier is very inexpensive alternative to someone losing their life. Most racers understand that walls control speed and the fact is a hans device on a driver for safety is a lot better than a spectator having to deal with race debris or race cars entering a spectator area.In the construction industry "SAFETY FIRST" is a motto we live by everyday I hope that this incident will be a wake up call for Thunder Hill to reconsider the safety measures at this facility. Thank you for allowing me to state my opinion on this matter. I pray that this incident will not happen in the future or to others as it has to my family. Race fans deserve that the track facility address any safety issue with diligence and a common sense solution to this hazard.

John Hughes Jr

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I am so glad the she is alright and alive. ...But.... THR (and other tracks) is a place where BIG heavy things go real fast and sometimes these BIG fast things break and something bad happens. ANY place at a race track is dangerous. There is always room for safety improvements but there will always be somewhere on or around the track where someone could get hurt. You can build a 30 foot wall around the track with a moat and people will still get hurt for unknown reasons. Im just saying that STUFF happens. We all need to be alert and careful when we are at a race. jmo. I mean no disrespect to anyone and their views on this matter.

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With all due respect, the fact is that the injured party - along with several others - were in an area that has been declared "off limits" to spectators at just about every drivers' meeting I have attended at THR. If people go into areas that have been declared "off limits," they are obviously accepting a known risk. In fact, everyone in that signs into the pits acknowledges that the pits are inherently dangerous and acknowledges - in writing - that they are aware of those risks and accept those risks.

 

Besides that, THR goes to great lengths to prepare for any injuries that might occur. I watched through binoculars as the safety crew responded to the incident. They were there in a matter of seconds. While I am certainly not a medic, from what I understand the first responders took all the right actions to minimize the injuries and stablize the injured party and promply made the proper arrangements to transition the patient's care to other medical providers.

 

Can race tracks and specifically THR be made safer? Sure. Just like my house, my car, my church, my school and just about anything else can be made safer. But THR has an excellent safety record and the track layout and design is actually well thought out and safer than most that I have been associated with over the years.

 

Nick

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I will qualify this by saying I was standing about 7’ from the ATV that was parked up against the fence. The injuries could have been much worse, and I am relieved to hear she was treated and released from the hospital.

 

I have been known to hang onto the fence myself. After Saturday night I will not be hanging out in the danger zone. I realize now it comes down to personal responsibility. It was my decision to stand in a hot zone, after Saturday night I have decided not to put myself in harms way.

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..... in a hot zone

 

In the relatively few times I have been at THR, the cars wrecking off 1 seem to end up in the same place.

The combination of the entry angle into 1 and the tangent the cars are on when they leave the track are "inline" with the pit stands.

Would the stands be better on the other side of the boxes?

 

Jay (not a race track designer)

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this is my first season to race at thunder hill and have enjoyed it very much mary ann and the other officials are great they do a wonderfull job. would it be possible to put a sand pit (like a road course) between the track and the fence in turns 1 & 2 to slow the cars down instead of them accelerating when they hit the grass, and also raise the fence this would be much more cost effective. we pit right behind the double fence in turn 1 and I have been told about the car that landed on the fence post right in front of where we park would a sand pit have slowed that car down enough to have kept it from ending up on the fence? i didnt see it so i don't know but just an opinion. keep up the great work mary ann and staff!!

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would it be possible to put a sand pit (like a road course) between the track and the fence in turns 1 & 2 to slow the cars down instead of them accelerating when they hit the grass

 

From past experience, a sand trap becomes a sorta catch-22.

 

While it is effective in the way you described, it becomes a problem when the cars bog down in the sand.

They have to be pulled out with a wrecker, and that then drops a pile of sand on the track.

You didn't mention what class you race, but virtually every car racing out there will pile up sand in the frame rails, and as they race, they will be throwing out sand around the track. And they will do that for several weeks, not just the night they go into the trap.

 

With the number of cars that get up to the grass through either bad driving or escaping a wreck, you'd have cautions all night to pull them out.

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I need to throw my 3 cents in the ring here. I am glad to know that the Beau's wife is alright, considering what might have happened. Personally I feel that it is every individuals responsibility to keep their wit's about them in the pits. Mary Ann and staff repeat the same warnings every drivers meeting. The kids driving ATV's speeding in the pits, overloading the golf carts with passengers, not paying attention to cars moving around in the pits. I had the unfortunate incident of losing a motor in practice, Joey Tschoerner helped me out by pushing me across the infield and up to the entrance to pit road (Thanx Again Joey) but as I came down pit road with my car, people were walking across the track exit gate and across the pit road between the SS Motorsports building and the tech garage and not paying attention to traffic of any kind. I had to stop my car to avoid hitting two adults and a golf cart. This was during broad daylight, at night it is more dangerous. As you know we do not have anyway of alerting people to watch out if you car is not running, we do not have horns or headlights to flash. The pits are a pretty much a controlled chaos type of scenario, every person needs to be aware of what is going on around you when you are walking thru the pits. Mary Ann, You tell us every meeting about safety, but we still have issues with the ATV's and the individuals driving them. If I go tell someone that their kid is driving like a jerk in the pits, I do not know what the parents response would be, but it would probably not be favorable. I am not picking on the kids, I have seen adults doing the same thing on these ATV's and the kids will follow by example. We are fortunate that we don't have more car\pedestrian incidents in the pits. I just want to reiterate, that if you pay to be in the pits with the cars, keep your eyes & ears open, because there is alot of activity going on at all times and I for one would not want to be responsible for running an individual over with my car.

Just my 3 cents. Lenny66 B)

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I am so glad the she is alright and alive. ...But.... THR (and other tracks) is a place where BIG heavy things go real fast and sometimes these BIG fast things break and something bad happens. ANY place at a race track is dangerous. There is always room for safety improvements but there will always be somewhere on or around the track where someone could get hurt. You can build a 30 foot wall around the track with a moat and people will still get hurt for unknown reasons. Im just saying that STUFF happens. We all need to be alert and careful when we are at a race. jmo. I mean no disrespect to anyone and their views on this matter.

 

Well said, Ive seen people stand in that spot and watch a car come all the way to that tire barrier/fence and never move. Personally at the first sign of a car coming that way Im heading the other way. Youve got to stay alert in that area if your going to sit there.

 

A wall is not the answer though... That will just make for more tore up racecars. I think this is the first spectator thats been hurt in a long while, like Mickey said thats a pretty godo track record. A taller fence would probably help but a wall is by no means the answer and a wall all the way around the track would be a "insane" idea.. Theres no need for it unless your trying to total out more cars than usual... Pretty sure thats what everyone is trying to keep from doing.

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Those of us have been around the race track long enough to know to watch out and be alert. It could of happened to anyone around that track. If you watch that video you see how only a few people jumped back. 1) People were watching the leaders and 2) It all happened so fast by the time people started to react it was too late for others. Without fans there, racing wouldn't be the sport it is today and in this case it was a part of a driver's family. I have seen my dad and friend's race cars catch on fire, roll over and fall apart in racing/wrecks. We get mad at other drivers and the fact that the cars are tore up but in the end are thankful that everyone is ok. Safety of the drivers, spectators and fans comes first...ALWAYS. THR is very good about this. This unfortunately is a part of racing and things happen. We all could do something to prevent certain things from happening, but we shall all consider this another learning experience in the path of life. So let's stop and just move on from this.

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wow that tire was moving could of been worst glad everyone turned out all right, im with Lenny66 on this that the pits can be just as dangerous, im not afraid to say it seen it bunch of times on adults and mostly kids messing around on skooters,golf carts,etc,,etc,, seen it on drag,dirt, ashpalt tracks. tracks are not playgrounds and after the accident in houstonmp few years back with the golf cart or watever it was, i still cant believe they still allow this s#$% not gonna mention no track names, maybe there's an alternative theres tracks that only let ages 18 and over to operate recreational vehicles,,just a thought hammer me i dnt care....

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