Originally Posted by riskybrisky5:
We all know sprint car racing is dangerous. Everytime you strap in it could be your last. But shame on us if we do not try to learn from each accident on how to make this sport safer. If we had the attitude that I have seen from some of the posts we still would have no roll cages, short sleeve shirts, and leather caps. Just the advances from when I started are amazing like from low back seats to high back seats to full containment seats. Look how many arms have been saved since arm restaints. So if we can make this sport safer we have got to look at it. Motormasher you must not look very close at cars if you have not seen guys running cars that are not safe. Old belts, belts mounted improperly, head out of the cage or to close the list goes on and on. I see no problem with tracks or organizations checking all cars for safety. I am thankfull for every saftey improvement that we have seen over the years and hope to see more. I would hate to think of some of the crashes I have taken over the last few years with my original low back seat with the belts the way the were mounted at that time. You guys have got to realize the speeds get quicker each year so saftey has to evolve with the speed. In 1986 we were turning 12 second laps with a wing at Bloomington. Now everyone is consistantly in the low 11 second bracket without wings. So thanks to all that have came up with all the safety advancements that I have seen over the years and look for more in years to come.
Thats just what amazes me. Some of the fixes or damage control like roll bar padding are cheap fixes in danger of breaking nobody and it isn't done. I took pics of all cars at the first two twin cities shows and a full 2/3rds had no roll bar padding. 1/3rd had no nets almost half didn't have containment seats, some little more than a aluminum bench that didn't even come the full length of the back. and about 1/2 didn't use shields.
I thought USAC mandated bar padding and shields back in the 80s-90s I could be totally wrong and the pics I have aren't a usac show or neither was the midget week show I seen a full three months later at Gas City where it was about the same in basic safety equiptment.
Is it worth 10 bucks for a net or 5 dollars for some padding and tape to save your life?
Your risk, I know. I climbed into a bomber with a stock seat and over the shoulder belt with no fireproof uniform. The chance to race is kinda undenyable but most of the teams have hours every nite and time before a race to check the little things as well as the majors, Maybe a Checklist before stagging?
In some cases those missing items were on the same teams with different drivers.
Chuck, again only wishing everybody ends the night in one piece.