Why leave it nameless? Don't you think drivers should know about this?

Exactly, if you can't name names then it NEVER happened and you are part of the problem.

We had a guy in high school we called “The Doctor.” I wonder if it was the same guy?

After that moment in levity, let me tell you my story. First, let me explain my situation. I am partners with two other guys in our race team. The high-end teams probably spend more in a weekend than we spend all season. We run on used tires and tired motors. I can count on one hand the number of times we had a legitimate shot at winning the feature.

This was one of those magic nights. We were running a non-winged dirt race. Jim was driving and he set 2nd or 3rd quick time. He won the heat going away and was scheduled to start on the front row of the feature. Jim looked more determined than I ever saw him.

Then we became aware there wasn’t an ambulance or rescue crew. After a very brief discussion between us, we loaded up and left. We were only one of three teams that left. Everybody knew, they just chose to race.

My point is, its not always just the track. If racers show up and agree to race, in my mind, they are just as much at fault as the track. I will accept there not being an ambulance on site, if there is a well-trained rescue crew. I honestly would rather have someone like PTS on site than some of the EMT’s I’ve seen. The EMT’s can treat, but they’re not equipped to cut someone out of the car.

I’ve said my piece, I’ll go back to putting the race car together now.

Tom Paterson

Reason I left it nameless is not to shame them even more, because this incident happened 3 years ago and after talking to someone it seems like this issue was fixed at end of 2017 in to the full season of 2018 and there was a
big thread that got nasty a few years ago about it which I think actually got deleted. I was just giving my story. On a side note we also didn't start our A until 2:45-3:00 AM that night.

OK, glad they fixed it....

Wow.... I respect your wise & responsible decision
But i'm surprised that you left. You already took a bunch of big chances & were SO close...

So, the topic of ambulances leaving the facility or not leaving the facility is an interesting topic. I have been at tracks where this has happened. I have watched driver exchanges occur at the end of the property. However, I have also seen tracks where Air-Life helicopters have been flown in. If you have the ability for one, does it matter that you don't have the ability for another?

I do agree with the comment about track ambulances being only there for show. I find those to be the most troubling solution that we have.

Finally, I find KDobson's comments the most interesting. I have been to tracks in a small community that has to stop the show to wait for the ambulance to make another run. They were at the track, but had to leave the track to take care of something else only to come back. I thought that it was a strange situation, but now it seems that it might not be that strange. As someone who has been on this board numerous times questioning the attitude our sport takes around safety (btw, it sucks), the comment about "coaching" the driver to think about the ambulance ride was very interesting. I think it shows that at some point everyone needs to be practical and use common sense.

I can't believe the larger traveling series do not have a few extensively trained medics traveling with them to help educate the local EMS and fire providers how to care for and or extricate injured drivers, on that note I think there also needs to be a concussion protocol also.

See all this talk about ambulance at the track, some of you drivers need to look at your safety gear, fire suits that look more like coveralls, wearing a sweat soaked t-shirt will get you burned by boiling sweat, old belts. My friend Tom Davies found out last yr about old belts, God was w/ him on that ride. Remember when buying a helmet you're not buying a hat, the helmets to protect you, should fit firmly, rock it up & down, do you eyebrows move to? Next tie it in place w/ your hood on, now reach around to the back & see if you can pull it off, if you can it's too big. Gloves, their should be fire proof material behind the leather on the palm, leather will shrink in a fire. All your clothing should be fire proof don't skimp
Drivers, do you race on a 1/4 mile w/ walls or 1/2 mile w/ no walls? How long will it take the safety crew to get to me. Burns are a horrible thing to deal w/, friend of my dads got cooked 3rd degree burns on 60 - 70% of his body, I saw him.
Your family needs you

This^ I've seen this at Grundy County years ago. They had a ambulance, it belonged to the Fair. I don't know of the training of the people in it, but it couldn't leave the track. So it would sit out near US47 and wait for the local ambulance to come and take the driver off their hands.
Back at the Joliet Stadium they used to have a private Ambulance company,and the hospital was just a few blocks away. But when it left with a driver, racing stopped until another showed up.