The Modifieds put on quite...
The Modifieds put on quite a show, as they usually do at every track. This is one division where you can experiment with the chassis somewhat, at least more than the lower classes and more than the Late Models. This may be why this class has been growing for the past five years or so.
As the head moves forward more quickly in a crash with the fabricated race car, something has to give and it’s usually the upper spine, neck, and associated tendons and blood vessels. This is referred to as a Basal skull injury and it’s the process of ripping the head off of the rest of the body. Get the point?
The H&N restraint devices offered to racers today deal with this specific type of injury and help prevent it. No device is perfect or works to save you in all instances, but it has been proven to reduce injury significantly. No driver wants to burn up in a race car as evidenced by the numbers of fire suits worn. But why would you want to break your neck and possibly die? It makes no sense to me.
I see drivers in lower divisions like the Mini cars, where they wouldn’t climb in the car without their H&N products on. It’s past time for sanctions like NASCAR, ASA, and other short track sanctions to take the lead and start requiring H&N restraint systems to be worn for fabricated race car racing. And that includes Mini car-types as well.
Team pink cars are all lined...
Team pink cars are all lined up for racing. This race shop maintains several cars in the same division at Columbus. This low cost division is growing here and elsewhere.
In this crash at Columbus, it could have been worse and the driver was most likely on the brink of not surviving this impact. Had he been wearing the device he owned, he might have walked away instead of being carried away. Now he has a hospital bill to take care of, a race car with a cut-off roof, and a pissed-off family. I would be willing to bet he has one on the next time he climbs into the car.
Aside from that, we loved the racing at Columbus and despite the weather delays and usual racing incidents, we were very entertained and witnessed some heated battles on a very competitive racetrack.
Conclusion
When we visit these racetracks across America, we keep an eye out for anything that will relate to our readership in the way of promotion, performance, and safety with the intent of improving our sport. If that includes comments that seem negative toward anyone, I can assure you that our intent is to improve through observation. What we see and experience is what anyone would see and some of those are often times unseen by the persons who run the speedways and/or sanction the races.
There was a police presence...
There was a police presence at Columbus and that is something that keeps the fans feeling safe and the racers from getting too out of hand with their emotions. At some tracks we’ve been to, there was no security and that could be a huge problem at some point in time.
I’m open for discussion any time with anyone on the topics outlined above and what we can do to promote rules and requirements that can help reduce injuries. We’ve always been that way and won’t stop any time soon.
Next week we’ll make our way into the beautiful state of Pennsylvania, where I was born, for our next series of races. We’ll eventually end up in Maine next September. For now, our next race report is on Motordrome Speedway in Smithton, Pennsylvania, and then (after a rainout at Sharon Speedway), on to Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania.