[btg1963]

The person referred to as in "stable" condition is Kelly Kovski. He is part of Allgaier Motorsports from the Springfield, IL area. He is crew chief for Justin Allgaier's short track program and has driven for Justin's family in the ARCA series at DuQuoin and Springfield. USA Today had detailed information in an article published yesterday. Justin has been providing family approved updates on his twitter account. Prayers to Kelly and his family.

[PushEm]

I was at the track for both incidents and both were truly freak accidents. After Joey's wreck a plan was already set in motion for a complete fence overhaul. The one thing I can take away from both wrecks was that World Racing Group was on the spot with safety personnel and emergency equipment. Nobody could have seen this coming as both cars cleared a lot of ground and hit just perfect to clear the fences. Accidents happen and unfortunately it takes these accidents for some changes to be made.

[Jonr]

This exposes a problem that many tracks face. They will go to great lengths to protect the people at the front gate, but turn a blind eye to things happening at the back gate. Simply because a person bought a pit pass does not mean that they have a right to view the race from an unsafe vantage point. How far is the stands away from the fence on the front straight? How tall is the fence on the front straight? Why would they be different on the back straight?

[Puppy]

Originally Posted by baldtireman Fence needs FIXED!!!

Originally Posted by Jonr They will go to great lengths to protect the people at the front gate, but turn a blind eye to things happening at the back gate. Simply because a person bought a pit pass does not mean that they have a right to view the race from an unsafe vantage point.

If you are viewing this post, you are on IOW and thus your involvement with sprint cars is likely more than just casual. So you have seen countless sprint cars and midgets clear fences through the years. Guess what? Every track I go to I see people standing right up next to the fence in the pit area, I even do it myself. Why? Because I want the best view I can get. Most tracks have a sign, DONT NOT STAND HERE! Nobody listens... The thing that bugs me here is this guy Jonr suggesting that people in the pits are "So innocent and have had their rights stripped from them because they bought a pit pass". Of course I don't like that this happened, but you cant blame the track only, those people CHOSE to stand where they were standing, most likely knowing what is possible And they had the RIGHT to walk a few feet back and watch from there, but they didn't.
So tired of the "victim" mentality in our modern society. It's your life folks... LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!!
Another question is, how high do they start building fences? the higher you go, the weaker the fence will be at the top which would probably involve a beefier foundation/lower portion of the fence. How many tracks can afford this and stay in business?
I hope everyone recovers from this and can move on happy and healthy....

[Charles Nungester]

Originally Posted by Puppy If you are viewing this post, you are on IOW and thus your involvement with sprint cars is likely more than just casual. So you have seen countless sprint cars and midgets clear fences through the years. Guess what? Every track I go to I see people standing right up next to the fence in the pit area, I even do it myself. Why? Because I want the best view I can get. Most tracks have a sign, DONT NOT STAND HERE! Nobody listens... The thing that bugs me here is this guy Jonr suggesting that people in the pits are "So innocent and have had their rights stripped from them because they bought a pit pass". Of course I don't like that this happened, but you cant blame the track only, those people CHOSE to stand where they were standing, most likely knowing what is possible And they had the RIGHT to walk a few feet back and watch from there, but they didn't. So tired of the "victim" mentality in our modern society. It's your life folks... LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!! Another question is, how high do they start building fences? the higher you go, the weaker the fence will be at the top which would probably involve a beefier foundation/lower portion of the fence. How many tracks can afford this and stay in business? I hope everyone recovers from this and can move on happy and healthy....

I agree with some of this, You need to look out for your own safety, Which is why there are a couple tracks I won't even go to as a normal spectator, Tracks that three fans went through the grandstand and two cars cleared the fence in one night.

I ususally sit high enough that I think a car couldn't possibly reach but there is still flying debris (Think Indycar tire hiting a top row spectator)

And I'll agree, I've stood in areas that if stuff happened, I probably would be in trouble. (That's on me)

That being said, There are ways to build tall, sturdy catch fences. Terre Haute comes to mind. Those are Railroad Track concreted into the ground poles. If a 600,000pd locomotive can barely bend em. I feel reasonably certain a sprint will be stopped with a link fence and cable.

Didn't Volusia announce it was closing after last season, Then it was announced day's later that they would hold the scheduled races? Is that when WRG bought it or leased it? Not placing blame. just wondering.

[Backitin]

LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF !!!!

Wow what a concept, I like it.
I used to stand in the infield of a fast 5/8 mile, leaning up against a 2 1/2 foot high wooden fence. I have pictures of modifieds going past me at over 100mph less then 2 feet from me. By far the best and most exhilarating views ever. I was also stupid for doing it, but would do it again tomorrow if I could. I guess that proves I'm still a bit dumb but one persons feeling safe is another persons feeling bored or corralled.
I guess if they were serious about people not standing where they shouldn't be they should return the persons ticket price and ask them to leave if they are standing where its off limits.

[Aces&Eights]

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester I agree with some of this, You need to look out for your own safety, Which is why there are a couple tracks I won't even go to as a normal spectator, Tracks that three fans went through the grandstand and two cars cleared the fence in one night. I ususally sit high enough that I think a car couldn't possibly reach but there is still flying debris (Think Indycar tire hiting a top row spectator) And I'll agree, I've stood in areas that if stuff happened, I probably would be in trouble. (That's on me) That being said, There are ways to build tall, sturdy catch fences. Terre Haute comes to mind. Those are Railroad Track concreted into the ground poles. If a 600,000pd locomotive can barely bend em. I feel reasonably certain a sprint will be stopped with a link fence and cable. Didn't Volusia announce it was closing after last season, Then it was announced day's later that they would hold the scheduled races? Is that when WRG bought it or leased it? Not placing blame. just wondering.

Agreed. WRG/WoO has owned Volusia for several years, I believe going back to when they bought up the "DIRT" sanctions and some other entities. Others have always promoted the track, but they've owned it for at least a decade.

[Jonr]

Originally Posted by Puppy If you are viewing this post, you are on IOW and thus your involvement with sprint cars is likely more than just casual. So you have seen countless sprint cars and midgets clear fences through the years. Guess what? Every track I go to I see people standing right up next to the fence in the pit area, I even do it myself. Why? Because I want the best view I can get. Most tracks have a sign, DONT NOT STAND HERE! Nobody listens... The thing that bugs me here is this guy Jonr suggesting that people in the pits are "So innocent and have had their rights stripped from them because they bought a pit pass". Of course I don't like that this happened, but you cant blame the track only, those people CHOSE to stand where they were standing, most likely knowing what is possible And they had the RIGHT to walk a few feet back and watch from there, but they didn't. So tired of the "victim" mentality in our modern society. It's your life folks... LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF!!!! Another question is, how high do they start building fences? the higher you go, the weaker the fence will be at the top which would probably involve a beefier foundation/lower portion of the fence. How many tracks can afford this and stay in business? I hope everyone recovers from this and can move on happy and healthy....

You missed the point that I was trying to make. My point which I have made several times on this board is that dirt track racing is far behind every other racing group when it comes to safety. NASCAR went through a huge effort to improve the safety after Dale's death. NHRA did it after Medlin's death. IndyCar did it after Wheldon's death.

Yet, dirt track racing continues to battle the same issues that we have for years. We don't learn from our mistakes. We do the same stupid stuff over and over. When we lose a star like BC, we all get emotional and sad, but yet we never use the event to change the safety of our sport.

Are all of us smart enough to know not to stand by the fence? Yes, but we still do it. Are all of us smart enough to look at a pit stand and know that it is not safe? yes, but we still sit in it. My point is that everyone should be looking at the way things are done with a new view. We should start protecting ourselves from ourselves. We should be smarter than we are.