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[924RACR]

Cross-posted from rennlist... very worthwhile reading...


I experienced every racer's greatest fear this Saturday. On a test session at
Buttonwillow Raceway in our ASC (American Stockcar Challenge Professional
Road Racing Series) race car, a carbuerator float bowl adjustment bolt vibrated
loose and sent fuel onto the headers. I smelled fuel and immediately saw black
smoke coming our under the hood. Pulled over off the side of the track and
shut it off... too late! Huge gouts of flame belched out of the cowl induction
opening, then under the windshield.
I managed to stay very calm. Quickly released the camlock harnesses, then the
window net. Tried climbing out the window (the car has no doors) only to
discover that I forgot to pull the steering wheel pin! By then, the flames were
inside the cockpit and I could feel them under my helmet (fortunately, I wear a
neck collar). I couldn't feel for the pin so I had to look down... directly into the
flames. Fortunately, I wear a full face helmet with visor, but even so, looking
directly into a flame is pretty wild! Important note: Never inhale into a flame...
the oxygen you inhale will draw the flames into your lungs and burn them. My
crew chief had once warned me about this and somehow through this, I
remembered. I pulled the pin, rolled out of the window and ran to the other side
of the car to grab the fire bottle. Had the fire out before the corner marshall
reached me. Most interesting part was that the patches on my driving suit
were all scorched off!
The 2 things that worked against me were that we had accidently set off the
fire system in the shop a few weeks earlier. Since we hadn't ordered the new
bottle yet, we just ran a fire extinguisher. Had we had the fire system, I would
have just been able to pull the fire system handle and the fire would have been
extinguished before I got out of the car. Also, because it was a test weekend,
they only had corner marshalls at 2 of the corners. The closest marshall was
only about 2 turns away, but even so, it took him a few minutes to reach me.
So important things that I learned from this experience and hope to pass it
along:
1) Don't skimp on the fire system
2) Practice emergency exits in your car with full driving gear on. You should be
able to get out under 10 seconds
3) Practice the exit with eyes closed or tape over your visor
4) ALWAYS wear a full face helmet with visor. I will never wear anything else
from now on
5) If you have facial hair, wear a balaclava or at least a helmet skirt or neck
collar. If your hair extends past your helmet as mine does, tuck it under your
collar.
6) Check all fuel related fittings before each weekend
7) Never inhale into a flame

Nothing new and revolutionary, especially for those who have gone through an
SCCA or NASA racing school. But you'd be surprised how accurate and effective
those procedures are.

Regards to the car, we dropped our guard for the weekend. Since it wasn't a
race weekend, we simply let a few things slide. Plus, we had thrashed to get
other mechanical issues resolved all week and skimped on the safety checks.
The bolt vibrating loose was really a fluke... one in a thousand. But regardless,
it was our oversight.
The car came back on the hook and my crew chief investigated the damage
and compiled a list. We got straight to work cleaning the dry chemical (which is
a pain to clean). By the way, clean that stuff immediately, it corrodes
everything it touches! By morning, the guys had rewired the car and cleaned
most of the mess. We also had to replace the distributor cap, plug wires, carb
parts, brake lines and hydraulic clutch lines. I took the car out Sunday
afternoon (1:45pm) and ran 3 sessions. Kudos to the guys for thrashing to get
the car ready.

So on a final word, all those safety procedures are important! Don't skimp and
practice your exits.

Regards,
David
REALRIDE.COM RACING
www.RealRide.com
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[Lizard]

lets just hope it wasn't someone in his pit crew that doesn't like him,

and gotta say damn am I ever glad that wasn't me
_________________
3 928s,