I know that Jim and I went into a lengthty conversation with Dave Rudicell at Lawrenceburg a while back about the saftey barrier walls. I believe that the track checked into it.... Unfortunately I just can't remember the response he made about it. These cars are going faster and faster and it breaks my heart as a mother to see these serious injuries to all the young adults this year

Arin and family you remain in our thoughts and prayers, if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask.

Get Well Soon.

Jim and Cindi Whiteside

I was at the Burg when Arin got hurt. Track conditions had nothing to do with her injuries. Being as hard and slick as it was, it wasn't near as fast as the place is when heavy. The accident looked mild , as sprint car wrecks go. Unfortunately for Arin , it wasn't as mild as it appeared.Sometimes the easy ones hurt the most.

Sometimes you do everything right and it still goes wrong

That barrier was only proposed for the area around the track exit. I believe the response was that it was deemed the barrier would fill up with dirt and become ineffective and very hard to maintain. I've noticed little issues from the barrier they came up with but it was never proposed for the whole track that I know of.

My understanding of the safer barrier is a bunch of triangle metal crush zones behind a metal wall
_______________________ Track
________________________ Metal Barrier wall
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Traingular steel Baffles designed to crush
________________________ Concrete wall
If the open areas of that crush zones gets filled with dirt then it will not crush as designed. Don't know if there is a cap available for it a vaccum system or something or even if it's econmically possible for a short track.

Chuck

Maybe the safest way to race a sprintcar, if that statement can be made, is to not run tracks bigger than a 1/4 mile! That would answer alot of the questions on here, such as, speed, hp, impacts, etc. And the wall thickness of tubing can be measured in a matter of seconds, we check wall thickness of tubing in boilers all the time, but I doubt $100 will buy the device.

"I was at the Burg when Arin got hurt. Track conditions had nothing to do with her injuries. Being as hard and slick as it was, it wasn't near as fast as the place is when heavy. The accident looked mild , as sprint car wrecks go. Unfortunately for Arin , it wasn't as mild as it appeared.Sometimes the easy ones hurt the most.

Sometimes you do everything right and it still goes wrong "

The quote above is from racephoto1

Not trying to start an argument but sharing my opinion. The track looked black and slick but it was a rubber down race track. All race car drivers and owners know what that means. The track becomes like a tacky race track and is super fast. They were flying around the bottom pulling wheelies off the turn. My guess 2 seconds quicker than what we hot lapped on Friday night. Arin was one of the fastest cars on the track and had just passed for fourth position when Arins tire let go the car went up the race track sending her out of the rubber. It looked from my perspective that the car picked up speed because we all know that when we get out of the rubber it is like hitting an Ice patch. At that point Arin was along for the ride. She hit the wall left side first as hard as I have seen a car hit the wall. Arin is a great race car driver I have watched her from when she started she has better car control than most drivers out there. From all of my experience and watching it happen there was nothing she could have done different to avoid the situation. Again everyone please Keep Arin, Robert and Alda in your prayers. She is one tough cookie and she will get through this. On a side note I am in the begining stages of getting a fund raiser going. Any ideas or anything you would like to Donate please let me know.

Kevin,
If there is anything i can help you with on the fund raiser please let me know as I will help out in any way I can. Rob, Alda and Arin are some of the best people I know.

Kevin

Kevin,

Please let me know how and where to donate. I am willing to do what I can to help out. I took my niece to a race this year and of course Arin was her favorite. We went and talked to her in the pits and she was one of the nicest people I have met. I have been praying for her and the family since I heard of the accident.

Jason Watt

It is great to read about all the interesting ideas on how to make open wheel racing more safe...too bad it takes serious incidents to make it of interest.

Here are a couple of thoughts for you...
Racing is dangerous under the best of conditions...safety must a full-time concern.

Head and neck restraining systems are designed to prevent basilar skull fractures (the injury that killed Earnhardt and so many others) and neck injuries resulting from primarily impacts to the front and some toward the sides. Some of the newer devices are even better for side impacts. A well-designed and properly fitting seat with head restraints will do amazing things to protect from side and rear impacts.

Firesuits must be at least 2 layers and must be worn with fire-resistant long sleeve underwear...and must be replaced periodically. Gloves need to also be replaced when holes appear, or when badly soiled or contaminated with petroleum fluids...can you say "wick?"

Belts need to properly installed and replaced every 2 years...period! Dirt is an abrasive...it works into the fibers of the belts and cut fibers, weakening the belts. Sunlight (UV exposure) also causes loss of belt strength. Wash them now and then per manufacturers instructions.

Helmets must meet current standards and must fit properly. Impact is located smack in the middle of Indiana...see them or someone like Chet from Simpson to get a proper fit for your helmet...it is what they do!!! If the helmet takes a hit from debris or a crash, get it checked...replace as recommended. Helmets need to be considered to be nearly a disposable, not a "lasts forever" piece of equipment.

May God bless all of our injured and grant them healing.

http://racingsafety.blogspot.com/

OK, I am getting nitpicky on this, but NASCAR had very little to do with the development of the SAFER Barriers. While it's true, they are featured at NASCAR tracks, they were developed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the University of Nebraska.

Only after their development did NASCAR get in with the program, but now they take all the credit and it upsets me.

End of rant.

First, I want to express my prayers for Arin and her family. There's little that I can add to what's already been said about them by many others.

One image that sticks in my mind from this summer is Arin in the dirt replacing the gears on her sprint car for a night of racing at Lawrenceburg. This was just after she told me about her plans to attend IUPUI this year on a scholarship -- an academic scholarship.


Second, I concur with the comments above from Safetyworker. The first line of defense for any driver is his or her safety equipment. I am constantly amazed at the poor, or lack of, safety gear I see on competitors -- whether it be winged, non-winged, sprint, midget, late model, modfied, sanctioned, non-sanctioned. These are choices of individuals. Anyone choosing to wear only a t-shirt under their driving uniform is playing with fire. Literally.

I remember watching in shock about 13 years ago as I took pictures of a driver preparing the qualify at Winchester in a midget. His arm restraints were so worn that the velcro would no longer hold them together. The solution, under the watchful eye of a race official, was duct tape and a promise to get new ones.

I trust that Arin took to the track with the best safety equipment available. I've never seen her not wear the fire protective underwear under her uniform. Each year she's donated her helmet to our charity auction at Fort Wayne, so that's updated each year.

Third, racing today is the safest its ever been. Drivers have available excellent safety equipment. Improvements are constantly being made to protect the drivers in their cars. Had this crash happened 40 or 30 years ago, we would not be praying for Arin's recovery. Arin survived Saturday night because of those improvements, and because of the grace of God. We're all thankful for that.

Heal quickly, Arin.

Jim Morrison