Unfortunately we lost one of our fellow racers at Buttonwillow on Saturday.
In a relatively low speed crash (estimated at impact at 45 mph) an ASC car
(Nascar style tube frame with crate motor) hit a berm sideways and on the
passenger door.
I bring this up here, since this is an impact that is very possible in an
autox environment.
For some reason the driver did not have on his neck brace. Nor did he have
a HANS or Hutchins device. Apparently his skull and helmet displaced enough
to cause severe injury resulting in death within minutes, even given
immediate emt aid.
I don't ever recall that I owned a neck brace until I started road racing.
However I can not imagine putting on a helmet today without one. Bell
Motorsports in Oakland has them available in a bit of a proprietary design
for a very nominal sum. If you don't think much of adding 5 lbs of helmet
to your 15 lb skull that is flopping around held to your body only by a thin
stalk of cartilage, nerves, arteries and veins, it probably is a pretty nice
addition to your race gear.
The NASA website has a short release on the accident.
Perry Kincy
pkincy@msn.com
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