Always Wear Your Seat Belt???

[ancrdave]

The car in the first photo, an Iso Griffo A3C, was driven in the 1965 Sebring 12 Hour race by Charlie Rainville and Mike Gamino. When a huge rain storm came up later in the race (I was there and boy, did it ever rain) it flooded the track. Gamino had just taken over from Rainville in an extra long pit stop for repairs. In his haste to get going he failed to put on his seat belt. Three laps later in front of the pits the car hydroplaned in the standing water, spun a couple of times and hit the Mercedes-Benz Bridge abutment and split in two (second photo). Corner marshals went to his rescue and he was still sitting in his seat, uninjured, with his hands on the wheel. The back half of the car was about 15 feet away. The seat belts were still attached to the back half. If Gamino had buckled up he would have been cut in half. He got out of the car in a daze in the pouring rain. Marshals asked him if he was okay and except for a bump on the knee he said he was. He then was allowed to walk back to the pits where he met Rainville. Rainville asked, "How's the car?" In his confused state Gamino said, "Don't know." Back they went and when they saw the car, cut in two, Gamino fainted.

[Old Sunshine Fan]

Well, he was one very lucky man...that said the numbers actually work against you when not wearing a seat belt...we recently lost Bobby Alexander Jr. while driving w/o his seatbelt... There is an individual at EB that I keep preaching about the seat belt....(I sure hope he doesn't see your post)...there are "Some" stories where the person was better off by not having used the seat belt....but not in anyway "Great Number's". OSF