Tyler Moor Critically Injured At Auburndale

[scottgarrity07]

Sadly the news has come out that Tyler Morr, 12 yrs old, has been critically injured in a Kids Club race at Auburndale last night. I know some people will say that children don't belong in full size cars on full size race tracks. The problem isn't children racing. The problem is a lack of safety. I have raced at most of the asphalt tracks in FL and not once has my car ever had a thorough safety inspection. Tech inspection yes, but safety no. It amazes me that no ever checks dates on the belts, no one looks at your helmet and firesuit, no one looks at the condition of the rollcage or the welds holding it together, nor does anyone look at your fuel cell, fuel lines or shut off switches. It also amazes me that at some tracks there is no ambulance or fire truck present. I have been racing a long time and have seen my share of racers killed or seriously injured. That alone drives me to have adequate safety gear and inspect my car before every race to make sure that it is as safe as can be, in my eyes. The problem is that not everyone has been racing that long and doesn't understand what can be a potential hazard within their own car. I just hope that this child can recover fully and that this becomes a wake up call to all the management at all the tracks to do a thorough safety inspection at every track before any car is allowed to hit the track each year and put a sticker on the windshield and helmet of each competitor. This can be done for the cost of a sticker (essentially free). I would be happy to pay a couple of dollars more for a pit fee if it meant that there would be a fire truck, ambulance and paramedics at the track every night. Racing is a great sport but it also can be the most tragic. We all need to do our part to make this dangerous sport as safe as it can possibly be.

[VeaseyRacing]

I remember when Auburndale wouldn't let anyone on the track until the ambulance showed up. I raced last season at Auburndale and not once had they looked at any aspect of my car except the motor. Went to Desoto and the tech spent 10 minutes going over EVERY inch of the car.

[Ocala Camper]

Scott, I am not sure when you raced at Bronson last, but if it was this season or last season you car was given a safety check by myself. I have a file of every car that has been on our track (if I was present) for a safety inspection. We check fire suit, helmet, belts window nets, fire extinguisher, fuel cell, battery straps along with about 10 other items. I do not know the details of this accident and we may never know the full details. There are many stories circulating about what happened and not once has any safety details been mentioned.

[EJC Engines]

i would not let my kid in a car at 12 inless i had a nice cage new belts hans device and nice helmetand make sure everything fit just right but that still dont help all the time you hit just right you could die.I think at 12 he should be in a qauter midget if he want to race then start them out in a low class around 14 15

[scottgarrity07]

I'm not throwing stones here. I just think that safety is being overlooked by EVERYONE. Nor do I assume that it played a part in this tragic accident. It may have or not. But I feel we ALL must do our part to DO WHAT IS WITHIN OUR POWER and I am just not seeing it when I go to the track. I was at a track last night and I saw a Sportsman car that looked like it had been under a tree for 3 years before it hit the track. And that was from the grandstand! I can't even imagine what it looked like from up close. Like I said I have been at tracks with no fire trucks or ambulances and had not heard competitors complain, so essentially we are all to blame. But that doesn't mean we can't use the lesson from this accident to step up our safety preparedness. NASCAR made sweeping changes after the Earnhardt tragedy and as a result Eric McClure was able to survive a head on collision (without ever slowing down) to an inside wall at Talladega, of all places, thanks to soft wall technology and head and neck restraints. If Bronson now checks all of these things I applaud them, but they didn't do it last year when I showed up early in the year (at least not when I was near my car). In addition, it should be mandatory to have fire, ambulance and paramedic crews at every race.

[ocalasp76]

I didn't race Bronson last year, but it was checked nose to tail before being allowed on the track this year. A sticker applied over the Lake City sticker and good to go. I have had a safty tech at Citrus by Travis and at Ocala(asphalt) years ago.
Bottom line is that I drive that car and it's up to me,first, to make sure it's safe and not rely on someone else. If I missed something, then tech should catch it, but it's still up to ME first.
The rules require a fire extingusher which I don't have. I choose to have fire supression and let the track crew know where it is and how to trigger if I can't...
Bronson and NSS won't allow a car on the track till an EMT shows up and ready too..
-JIM-

[Edm]

You have to be a certain height for rides at the fair for a reason..........

Our thoughts and prayers go out to this little guy and his family.

[Benny The Mule]

Scott,

Please elaborate on the lack of safety you speak of.

There are no details released involving this event.

Is there something you know no one else does?


I wish the kid a speedy recovery.

[scottgarrity07]

I don't have any inside information. I wasn't even there, I was at Citrus. But I'm just saying from a competitor's point of view that I just don't see enough emphasis on safety around here. However, I just can't see how running a Kid's Club car on a 1/4 mile track with a top speed of about 45 m.p.h. can result in an accident that creates critical injuries without something being inadequate safety-wise. I know I'm speculating and may be wrong but that's just my opinion. I'm glad people are coming out and showing examples of how some tracks are doing some things right. Just having a discussion about it may lead someone to go out to their garage today and take a hard look at their racecar and find something wrong that they may have overlooked. If I'm stepping on anyone's toes and they have hard feelings, but it leads someone to do something to make their car or racetrack safer then that's a good thing. I just think maybe we need to have a discussion about this and take this tragic event and make something positive come from it. Don't you?

[ocalasp76]

There was one comment on Face book last night about Tylers seat belts not being tight..???... I have tried to find it now but can't. I think it's the same person who said the driver had passed after the wreck.. Which we all know now is not accurate, so maybe the seat belt comment is false too.
Just have to wait and see on this one I guess.
-JIM-

[dave41]

scotty

I don't have any inside information. I wasn't even there, I was at Citrus. But I'm just saying from a competitor's point of view that I just don't see enough emphasis on safety around here. However, I just can't see how running a Kid's Club car on a 1/4 mile track with a top speed of about 45 m.p.h. can result in an accident that creates critical injuries without something being inadequate safety-wise. I know I'm speculating and may be wrong but that's just my opinion. I'm glad people are coming out and showing examples of how some tracks are doing some things right. Just having a discussion about it may lead someone to go out to their garage today and take a hard look at their racecar and find something wrong that they may have overlooked. If I'm stepping on anyone's toes and they have hard feelings, but it leads someone to do something to make their car or racetrack safer then that's a good thing. I just think maybe we need to have a discussion about this and take this tragic event and make something positive come from it. Don't you?

parents hurting enough without the bull.needs to drop it

[Lizzard]

The tech guy at NSS does a very thorough job of inspecting for safety.

[Jimmy McKinley]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news...P-0HI.facebook

--AUBURNDALE--

A 12-year-old boy racing in a youth division at Auburndale Speedway on Saturday night was critically injured in a crash, the Polk County Sheriff's Office has confirmed.

Tyler Morr of Arcadia was driving a stock car in a Kids Club heat race about 7:45 p.m. He was in the outside lane of a turn when he collided with a car in the inside lane and crashed into the track's outside wall.

Track rescue and medical personnel rushed to the scene, and Morr was airlifted to Lakeland Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He was stabilized and flown to All Children's Hospital, where he was listed in very critical condition this morning.

Morr's grandfather, David Morr, attended the race. There were five other cars in the race, and no one else was injured.

The Kids Club cars, less powerful than those driven by older and more experienced drivers, are built strictly for racing. Drivers wear helmets and harnesses, and speeds are estimated to be no more than 40-45 mph.

The remainder of Saturday night's schedule at Auburndale was canceled. The speedway posted a statement on its website saying, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Tyler Morr (and) his family and friends."

The Kids Club was started in 1992 as ARMY - Auto Racing Motivated Youth - as a program that teaches kids ages 10 to 16 how to race properly.

Polk County sheriff's traffic detectives are investigating an injured person investigation.

[BJ Cavin]

There was one comment on Face book last night about Tylers seat belts not being tight..???... I have tried to find it now but can't. I think it's the same person who said the driver had passed after the wreck.. Which we all know now is not accurate, so maybe the seat belt comment is false too.
Just have to wait and see on this one I guess.
-JIM-

Just to clear the air, there were two different posts in two different places on Facebook about this. One began with the news of the injury and later the same person commented to their own post that the boy had passed away. A short time later someone else on Facebook posted a different update that also said that he had passed, but that one was taken down later, presumably by the person who posted it. In other words, a lot of people were trading info via text, etc. and some of the info became inaccurate as a result. And as for me, I'm guilty as well. I got some info from what I thought was a reliable source (a breaking news media report found online) that turned out to be inaccurate as well, probably due to the same secondhand info and a failure to double check sources.

[Darren]

I guess and its only a quess. The best thing to do is to wait for someone that is the correct person to give the offical report. Thats in anything.