If you're gonna’ crash...

phantomjock

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
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Retired Again!
"Don't close your eyes, you'll miss the best part."
Bruce MacInnes, MacInnes MotorSports

You may recall I'm building the 'vette to race – Project Elvira. Meanwhile, I got my SCCA Competition License, and have started racing. The Corvette is maybe at the 60% point - but I needed to get some seat time and a few races in to keep the license current. [Sort of like having a pilot's license – currency is required.] Unfortunately autocrossing the Solstice doesn't count.

I developed what seemed like a simple plan, drive down to Sebring FL - a track I'm familiar with, log a few races on Labor Day weekend, then back to the garage and finish the 'vette before heading off to South East Asia for winter. I joined a team that had a car available (rental, arrive and drive). The plan was get some more seat time, and begin transition from open wheel to fendered cars. I would be racing in one of the Team's Spec Racer Fords.

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The SRF is reasonably fast but built like a tank.

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Saturday was good. Started out the morning with practice and qualifying for a 90 minute Endurance Race on Saturday. That was followed with practice and qualifying sessions for the Sunday Sprint series (2@30 minute races). These back to back sessions helped me get a pretty good feel for the car and a need to keep its momentum up. This was my first time in an SRF but it was very similar in size and handled very much like the Formula Mazda-like cars I've run before/trained in. Unlike the 'vette, there is no horsepower, so as a "momentum car" you've got to maintain as much speed into and through a turn to keep the 4 banger in the power zone. Over brake, get slow into and through the turn, you're waiting for the mice to get the car moving again.

On Saturday, the Enduro was called after 5-6 laps on account of lighting in the area. As it turned out I had an engine problem, and had to get towed back in. Overall, I finished mid-pack out of 60+ cars/drivers. I figured not so bad, my first competition in the SRF and the mechanical malfunction on the last lap left me sitting at Turn 17 (on the outside).

The team set me up in another car for the sprints. But, Sunday - was not to be so good. After a few parade laps and start, somewhere in the first few laps [about Lap 3 as I recall], I wound up chasing 2 Mazda Miatas. We were a "close formation of 3 cars- an inverted V". They were side-by-side, door handle to door handle, and me right on their bumpers, trying to keep that speed up and pass once we got through Turn 16. As we entered and rounded Turn 16 – which leads on to the long back straight, they each split - one left and one right. Next thing I knew - BAM - I hit a stopped RX7 right on the track facing backwards. That car had been 5 or 6 ahead of us, spun and came to rest facing backwards on the track. With all the tire and smoke I saw nothing until last micro seconds, and in a last ditch attempt – tried to hit the brakes and come off right (fighter pilot instincts – off target to the right- eh Pappy!)

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That is my car coming through the brake/tire smoke and debris
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Vain effort to come off to the right
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IMPACT!
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(My videos didn't run – but those stills are from the other car's video.)

I checked my car - no fire, the other car no fire, but my right foot didn't look so good - 90 degrees to the left - shit that is going to hurt! The wheel was a pretzel.

Her car
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My car
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I got myself up as the EMTs arrived to get us to the meat wagon, and they stopped the race (restarted later after we left the scene and the cleaned up the mess.)

The high school girl had a few ligaments in her knee messed up.

Me; initially ER said:
Multiple fractures of right foot,
Right foot was straightened in ER. They said it was dislocated with some small fractures, one from previous idiocy, Soccer [never healed, never will].
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Fractured pelvis,
Lower back, T4 & T5. So, they sent me off to the Tampa Trauma Center.

At Tampa, they determined the back injury was really the pelvic "ring" not vertebrae. There, I was told the Doc was the national expert on pelvic reconstruction, so I was real lucky. All later downgraded to pelvis ligament tears, with minor fractures. I now have a plate and 4 screws across the front and an 8" screw across the back.

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Today I'm near 100 percent – foot works well, not running yet and keeping impact down. Weight limit on lifting is what has kept me out of the garage up until recently. The team replaced the chassis and is rebuilding the car this winter. Here it is in the Pick up – enroute to the dump.

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They sent me a nice collection of bits for my garage wall:
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I'm back on my feet, in the garage trying to get some work on the car done before we head off to South East Asia after Christmas for a few months. You can follow the build over at:
http://vettemod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10667

Cheers - and have a safe Merry Christmas! :beer:

Jim
 
P J, you dunno when to quit do you?? when did this wreck happen???

:shocking::beer:
 
Labor Day Weekend 2014.

Bruce MacInnes told me; "...(I) have too much warrior spirit - and don't know when to quit." That is when he clocked me entering that turn faster than the rest of the class in the Formula car.

:beer: Jim
 
P J, you dunno when to quit do you?? when did this wreck happen???

:shocking::beer:

Labor Day Weekend 2014.

Bruce MacInnes told me; "...(I) have too much warrior spirit - and don't know when to quit." That is when he clocked me entering that turn faster than the rest of the class in the Formula car.

:beer: Jim


UMMMMMMM........:shocking::beer:
 
LOL, I noticed you went a bit silent back in time. So your finally able to tell the tale. Hope all's good PJ and your having fun.

Ralphy
 
Oh wow! When I first started reading I really didn't expect much more than bent metal and bruised ego. Sorry it was that bad but glad to hear you're recovering.
 
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