Citrus

[ronabneysr]

i have been racing a long time and know something

about race cars and safety next why jump on here and blame any one do you know what happened ; don't think that race cars are not inspected ; also if you own a race car why don't start with your own car is it safe is ever thing in it up to par ,, i know my nephew dennis abney at age of 21 had been racing eight years and he was one of the best figure eight drivers around he was running in a line of cars single file i think he was third i know rusty crews and couple more was in a group with him and he was going to front and a new driver from st pete 3 laps down hit dennis he died instanly at lakeland speed way ,, his car was built by a professional it was a first class car the inside of car around seat - and sterring wheel and floor pan never crumble up and him and seat never moved === i don't guess the car took enough of shock . it broke his neck the blood ran down his back and seat was full of blood - they did not have them then if he had a hans device on he would be alive today ---- how many of you all are still using old seat belts that are not mounted right or good seat make sure before you drive out on the track your car is safe don't wait for some one to tell you heh your seat belts are to old

[UREZ2PASS]

BECAUSE - there are people out there that have shit for racecars and they not only make racing dangerous for themselves but everyone around them. How many times have we seen an overturned car with fuel running out on the track ? Get in a crash with one of those idiots with sub-par fuel cells and you might get burned because of his lack of safety. Tracks should be checking this stuff because we all know they are out there. That's my point.

Sometimes we need to learn from others misfortunes and take the steps necessary to make sure it doesnt happen to someone else.

[Boneman]

Drivers and mechanics, take nothing for granted. I bought a car this year, and when I inspected the ball check valve on the fuel cell, I found that the ball was missing. If that car got upside down it would have rapidly leaked fuel 6" behind my helmet.

Winger, more government is not the solution to our problem. The fewer state regulations the better. We have to police it ourselves with guidance/enforcement from the insurance companies.

[UREZ2PASS]

I have to ask this question -

Why did the bus roof collapse at Citrus ? Buses are designed to withstand rollovers. They are inherently safe vehicles by design.

[Joanne Lucas]

First off

Okay, first off let's have the family in our prayers. Second,the track rules tell you what you have to have in your racing vehicle. It should start from the bottom, YOU!.... Don't blame the track or the owner. Blame YOURSELF....This is a tragedy that happened again and only YOU can stop it. The racers!!
My prayers and blessing to the family, RIP
Joanne and Paul Lucas

[UREZ2PASS]

Okay, first off let's have the family in our prayers. Second,the track rules tell you what you have to have in your racing vehicle. It should start from the bottom, YOU!.... Don't blame the track or the owner. Blame YOURSELF....This is a tragedy that happened again and only YOU can stop it. The racers!!
My prayers and blessing to the family, RIP
Joanne and Paul Lucas

Third off, who the hell is going to protect me from the hazardous pieces of crap the racetracks let on their tracks ? All my cars have every safety item installed, up to date, and even fire suppression systems. Anybody that drives my cars can be assured they are as safe as possible.

Let me or anybody in my family get hurt by someone else's careless negligent enforcing the rules, and we will have EZ speedway. No bull.

Try this shoe on - does your track have any dated safety inspection forms signed by a track official ? I highly doubt it. In a court of law, NEGLIGIANT , case closed.

[UREZ2PASS]

My statements are not directed at citrus, they are blanket statements that should concern every racetrack.

[gina6walker]

Sad day at CCS.

I watched this crash happen right in front of me like it was in slow motion. What a tragedy it was to Chick and his family. The reactions of his daughter and grandbabies broke my heart. But all I can say about this is safety should be enforced by the track, which it is, but it's up to US- the builders and drivers to know what you're driving and the dangers of it and come to terms with it. Don't drive an unsafe car. Build them right. That bus should have had a cage in it. If it had that halo, it probably would have saved his life. Now I ain't sayin he chose his fate, because Lord knows he nor his family saw that comin... but COMMON SENSE people. Safety first! Don't forget it!

Rest In Peace.

[Don Nerone]

These buses are normaly safe and roll cages as most racers know them would not work in a bus.. Once a bus has been rolled the first time most of them stand up well.
One of the bigest mistakes is to take the window frames out of the bus. They hold the roof up.
Most of the deaths in bus racing (3 i think) the driver fell out of the the seat .
That i know of this is the first fatal crash due to a roll over. I feel very sad about this and all the other racers that have been hert in this sport.
The thing that most of you arent seeing is that if we makes the cars have all the best safty eqpt there will be now lower classs of cars. In a few years there will be no local racing..
the racer has to take some of the liability fo rthere safty. It took years to get fule sells in cars. The mfg finaly got the price ware the lower level racer could but one.
It would cost over $2500 to fully eqpt a stock car and most of the entry level cars havent spent that muck on the whole car.
Ron i was there and will never forget...

don62

[Winger]

I decided I'd post a few photos of some school bus issues that I've witnessed and just happen to see in some photos. I've tried obscuring the drivers so they can't be identified. One issue seems to stick out in several situations and I didn't separately label them. Check out the seat belts, their color, possible mildew, and the way they're mounted. I've put one photo up of a bus where it's obviously been rolled before and the body is distorted. Will it hold up better the next time, as Don suggests, or will it fold up. This particular bus does appear to have some sort of square box in it but I can't see any triangulation so I'm not one to put myself in it. I happened to be looking at these and noticed the winner of one of the races had a torn fire suit. I hate to tell you this, but I've seen this quite often. One of the seats has a bolt sticking through the back of it about an inch or so. You can see that because the driver has the belts so loose, it's obvious. Of course there's no padding back there so he may have been trying to keep it from sticking him. One picture shows a fan leaning against the driver. I'm not sure if it was loose and flopping against him or if it was just that close. Another shows the seat supported by a couple of 2x4 wood blocks. I have to post these pictures in a couple separate posts and they are small but I found these just by going through some of my photos last night. If this is considered safe in Florida racing, I don't want to be around it. We've seen 2 tragic deaths recently and, from what I've heard, they both could have been prevented. Surely, if it's too expensive to require this, maybe you just shouldn't be racing. There are a lot of things I haven't done in my life because I couldn't afford it.

[Winger]

More pictures.

[UREZ2PASS]

Funny how some of the track officials and promoters are saying its up to the drivers to be safe. You guys need to talk to an attorney and take a course in business. You are obviously very mistaken about legal issues and good business practices.

[Cooneygump]

I have to ask this question -

Why did the bus roof collapse at Citrus ? Buses are designed to withstand rollovers. They are inherently safe vehicles by design.

Buses are made to withstand their own weight in a rollover. They are not made to withstand the force of another bus hitting the roof. Once the integrity of the structure is weakened it doesn't take much to collapse a bus.

I race buses at Desoto and try to do everything possible to make it safer. I'm sure my bus is not perfect but is safer than most.....