Crash at Mid Ohio SCCA T2 Nissan

[IamBatman]

could the ambulance be in a better spot? its like they planned it that way.

[HobanJ]

I regularly track at mid ohio (6 times so far this year) and the spot of the crash is at the end of the back straight the longest and fastest part of the track. What the pictures don't really capture well is that the car went through a couple hundred feet of sand trap to even make it to the tire wall and fence. Makes you wonder if there was some kind of mechanical failure on the car that prevented adequate braking. And yes the rescue crews are placed there for a reason as many people go off at that spot but most are slowed by the sand trap, this is the first time I've seen anyone go to the wall, let alone through it.

[waydui]

The accident reminds me of the one a Jaguar took at the ALMS race a couple of years ago.

In exactly the same spot, although the Jag stayed "in-bounds".

Here's the video of his wreck:

YouTube - Aston Martin ALMS Flying At Mid-Ohio Raceway

That's a tough transition spot on the track!

Regards,
Wayne

[Randy Chase]

From the driver

Hey all, here are the pics of my crash at mid-o this wknd. Data said I was going about 95mph when I went off the back straight before 7. Some kind of brake failure. Had brakes for a split second then nothing. Slowed from 130 down to 95. Someone said I flipped about 9 times. Cartwheeled over the gravel trap and catapulted over the tire barrier and then over/through a 18 foot fence and ended up in the spectator area. Officials said they have never seen a car go that far out or seen a crash like that at mid-ohio. I’m completely fine though, just a small bump on head. Can't say the same about the Z. Thanks to everyone out there that helped me out especially cat killer, ralphy and ed.
Yes, i had a hans on. That's what probably gave me the bruise on my forehead. Hans stopped my helmet but my head smashed into the inside of my helmet. I had a racetech seat with wings and head bolsters. Did not have a net on the right. Had a 5 point harness (2 groin belts combine into one buckle). Car never really had a hard impact. Just kept on doing cartwheels over a long distance dissipating the energy. Looking at the in car video looks like instinct took over and i tried turning at the end of the straight so i started flipping almost before i left the concrete. Should of gone off straight into china beach and hopefully had the gravel slow me down b/f hitting tire wall. Thing that bothers me the most is not knowing what happened to the brakes. Childs is conducting a csi investigation. My data showed a 1.2 G slowdown at the 400 mark just like always but only for a split second. Pedal felt good. Then my G's gradually dropped to 0. I remember lifting and pushing in the pedal again and the data showed my G's came back up to .7 then quickly dropped back down to 0 before i turned the car and flipped. I don't ever remember the pedal just hitting the floor. Brake fluid reservoir was still filled after the crash. Looking at the in car video, the car really shimmied at initial braking, almost looking like the rear brakes were working but not the front. Only evidence we have so far is on the front left wheel, the rotor had a weird discoloration and was completely scoured and gouged as if the caliper was stuck. I don't see how this happend though b/f the crash though b/c the car was pretty dead on straight, not drifting to the left as you would expect so maybe it somehow got scoured after the crash. Car does have ABS but I don't think it ever activated. Braking was totally fine going down the keyhole just prior.

[Randy Chase]

YouTube - Jeff's T2 Z car at Mid-O

ChaseCam footage before the recorder went flying out the car

[Alphonse]

Awesome photos from all. Sure hope the wife unit does not see that or it's no more racing for this boy.

[Bluevelocity]

So sorry to see that man, hope you are doing well.

[Monsi]

could have been alot worse... he coulda crashed a GTR instead hehehe
95mph spread out over that huge distance definitely helped him not getting hurt which is great

[fishguy]

doing those speeds is a very likely occourance during HPDE in any car on "your local track"

so the i dont need ______ safety gear is a really poor decision.

this is why i keep saying that you need to have the right safety gear before you need it......... the brakes going out can happen to the best of us, and then, as this guy was, we are just along for the ride.

i am so glad he is OK.

it makes me re-evaluate my stuff every time i see something like this.

[Randy Chase]

Yep. I think some people would want to think "well, that was a real race car so he was going very fast..." but... he was only going 95mph... not fast at all for a straight. It could happen to any car on the track. Look at the mini at Willow Springs turn 9 last month. Not that fast. Driver is deceased.

[kestrel74]

Here's a HANS for 695.00 seems better than not having one !....

View the B: Sport Series at http://www.apexperformance.net

[Randy Chase]

From a corner worker there

I was the blue flagger at Station 7 when the flip occured. From my view, I knew you were in trouble around the 300 ft mark. All four wheels were still turning. No sign of tire lock or slowing down at all. My communicator was already yelling emergency just as you went into the beach, we knew it was going to be big, when you turned sideways because it was close to the same path as the Aston Martin took a couple of years ago.

All I can say is I have never picked up som much debris in my life after a crash, next time try to keep it a little cleaner

I am glad you are OK with only a bump on the head, it was a scary sight from our perspective.

Bill Armitage
Lake Erie Communications

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by kestrel74

Here's a HANS for 695.00 seems better than not having one !....

View the B: Sport Series at http://www.apexperformance.net

I have one of these for my sedan i will be racing this season along with the DB-1. i got the one that has the sliding teathers already included for $710 retail. I git mine on ebay new for $625. its heavier than the other version, but i dont really care, its not ON my head, so its different than a heavy helmet.

I have seen great deals on used HANS on ebay all the time lately.

when you buy it, there is great resale value on them. last model 20 i had i ended up buying used, and then selling it after using it for almost 2 seasons for a few bucks more than i paid for it.........

it really costs you almost nothing to own one of these things when you think about it.

i swear by mine.
Fishguy

[shay2nak]

that is insane! glad he's ok.

Got to slow down that animated picture!

I remember that clip of the Aston. Looks like someone picked the car up and just threw it off the track.

[NMRJock]

I would have each picture in the series at the beginning of this thread printed 8x10 or so and framed. Then I'd have the series going across two walls of my office.

I'm really glad he got out of this OK. Be careful everybody.

[SM Bill]

A lot of members mentioned the roll cage as the reason the driver walked away. True, the roll cage did its job very well, but I am sure the RaceTech seat played a large part also.

For those of you who don’t know the seat was developed for the Viper Race Team. It was tested at 84 Gs, then the GM hold down bolt failed.

The seat is designed to keep your head and shoulders at 90 degrees. Once the head and neck are no longer at 90 degrees, you risk severe neck injury or even death.

No, I don't sell RaceTech seats, but I do have one in my car, and I am always encouraging my fellow racers to use them. The top non-carbon fiber seat is ~ $2500. Some racers say that is a lot of money for a seat. As my friend Louis of
Rush MotorSport says, "Hell, the wheelchair will cost you that much!" Call him if you want to know more about RaceTech seats.

619-562-1801
Rush Motorsports - 619-562-1801 - info@rushmotorsports.com

[SweetDaddyD]

Holy linkbacks. My inbox just exploded.

[Randy Chase]

Actually 692, since I have to click to enable them, I grew bored with clicking.

[gofastnow]

Originally Posted by Randy Chase

From the driver

Hey all, here are the pics of my crash at mid-o this wknd. Data said I was going about 95mph when I went off the back straight before 7. Some kind of brake failure. Had brakes for a split second then nothing. Slowed from 130 down to 95. Someone said I flipped about 9 times. Cartwheeled over the gravel trap and catapulted over the tire barrier and then over/through a 18 foot fence and ended up in the spectator area. Officials said they have never seen a car go that far out or seen a crash like that at mid-ohio. I’m completely fine though, just a small bump on head. Can't say the same about the Z. Thanks to everyone out there that helped me out especially cat killer, ralphy and ed.
Yes, i had a hans on. That's what probably gave me the bruise on my forehead. Hans stopped my helmet but my head smashed into the inside of my helmet. I had a racetech seat with wings and head bolsters. Did not have a net on the right. Had a 5 point harness (2 groin belts combine into one buckle). Car never really had a hard impact. Just kept on doing cartwheels over a long distance dissipating the energy. Looking at the in car video looks like instinct took over and i tried turning at the end of the straight so i started flipping almost before i left the concrete. Should of gone off straight into china beach and hopefully had the gravel slow me down b/f hitting tire wall. Thing that bothers me the most is not knowing what happened to the brakes. Childs is conducting a csi investigation. My data showed a 1.2 G slowdown at the 400 mark just like always but only for a split second. Pedal felt good. Then my G's gradually dropped to 0. I remember lifting and pushing in the pedal again and the data showed my G's came back up to .7 then quickly dropped back down to 0 before i turned the car and flipped. I don't ever remember the pedal just hitting the floor. Brake fluid reservoir was still filled after the crash. Looking at the in car video, the car really shimmied at initial braking, almost looking like the rear brakes were working but not the front. Only evidence we have so far is on the front left wheel, the rotor had a weird discoloration and was completely scoured and gouged as if the caliper was stuck. I don't see how this happend though b/f the crash though b/c the car was pretty dead on straight, not drifting to the left as you would expect so maybe it somehow got scoured after the crash. Car does have ABS but I don't think it ever activated. Braking was totally fine going down the keyhole just prior.

I had a similar situation a few years ago at Charlotte going into turn 1 (infield) where I jammed on the brake pedal and after having an initial pedal and slight deceleration, the pedal went away. I don't think it ever hit the floor before I pumped and got some pedal again, but by this time it was too late and I momentarily mated with a Honda in front of me (sorry Honda, whoever you are) that slowed me allowing me to make the turn (the Honda went straight on to Nascar turn 1 without incident).
My situation was caused by the brake pad material shearing from the backing plate. This occurrence , I learned, happens sometimes on pads after they wear past 1/2 original thickness. While my incident was nothing in comparison to the incident above, the lesson I learned is-don't be cheap, inspect pads often and replace when 1/2 thin or if there is any question of longevity from excessive heat as discoloration of backing might indicate.

[Phoenix SRT]

Originally Posted by fishguy

this is a testamony to safety equipment and why you need to have the good stuff.
so glad to see in the photo that he walked away.............. amazing, only because of his equipment.

I hope you guys running those 4 point harness and POS holes/grommets cut through your stock Elise seats get the hint.

buy the right stuff BEFORE you need it.

I am betting he had a H+N restraint of somekind that was properly utilized.

that must have been really scary for that guy.

If the OE seat is DIY slotted for the shoulder belts and sub belts so a 6-point harness can be installed, why is that a bad thing? Sure, the OE seat doesn't offer the protection of a seat with wings to reduce side-to-side head motion, and that is no small thing, but many race seats which are slotted from the factory don't have the wings. Why is an OE Elise seat w/DIY slots less safe than a slotted from the factory but no wings race seat?