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BEMorton
02-09-2004, 08:01 PM
I didn't see anything posted yet about this tragedy. The below came from the FL Times-Union Newspaper.

Track worker killed during Daytona race


The crew supervisor was struck by a paraplegic Dash Series driver while he was removing debris.


By DON COBLE
The Times-Union
DAYTONA BEACH -- A safety worker was struck and killed by a paraplegic driver going more than 100 mph during a race Sunday at the Daytona International Speedway.

Roy H. Weaver III, 44, became the 35th person to die at the speedway of injuries sustained during a race or testing session. He was the supervisor of the speedway's track crew.

The driver of the race car, Ray Paprota, 41, of Birmingham, Ala., doesn't have use of his legs. He used a series of knobs, levers and buttons to control his Pontiac during the IPower 150 for the newly formed Dash Series.

Paprota's car struck Weaver as the track worker removed debris from Turn 2 during a caution period, said Randy Claypool, executive vice president of the IPower Dash Series. The impact was so severe, it took medical crews nearly 90 minutes to clean up the track.

NASCAR sold the series for four-cylinder compact cars to a pair of Daytona Beach businessmen on Oct. 26. Sunday's start was the only race on Paprota's schedule this year.

"We made the decision to allow him to come to Daytona for winter testing,'' Claypool told the Associated Press. ''He attended a rookie meeting and went through extensive testing both on and off the track. We also asked other drivers ... and we felt very confident he was qualified to compete here.''

The IPower 150 was the second half of a racing doubleheader at Daytona that included pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 earlier in the afternoon.

Paprota's Pontiac failed to start before the race, and it took his team 17 laps to replace a faulty battery. During the repairs, a crash involving Bill Clevenger, Tony Billings and Danny Keaton put the race under caution for 10 laps while emergency crews cut Billings from his car.

Billings slammed into the disabled car of Clevenger, prompting a violent impact, followed by a brief fire. Billings was transported to Halifax Medical Center for observation and was alert when he left the speedway, track officials said.

As the cars circled the track under caution -- a time when the speeds are drastically reduced and racing isn't permitted -- Paprota finally entered the race. He sped off pit road and headed into Turns 1 and 2 while the rest of the field was in Turns 3 and 4. Weaver, a seven-year employee of the speedway, apparently didn't know Paprota was on the track because the other cars were at the other end of the 2.5-mile track.

Paprota left the track without commenting to reporters or series officials.

The race resumed after a 1-hour, 33-minute red-flag period while emergency crews, including the Volusia County Medical Examiner's office, worked the accident scene.

The race was shortened from 60 to 40 laps, and Danny Bagwell -- Paprota's teammate -- was the winner.

"We all knew something really bad happened," Bagwell said.

He questioned whether the race should have been resumed, especially because there was visual evidence of the accident at the scene.

"If you got some doubts, some concerns, yes it's hard," he said.

Paprota tried to break onto the ARCA and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series a year ago, but he wasn't able to secure enough sponsorship. With the help of Bobby Allison, he made four appearances on what was then known as the NASCAR Dash Series.

Paprota, who was injured 20 years ago in a car accident, turned his attention to racing after a failed attempt to make the U.S. men's basketball team for the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

Paprota, who controls the throttle, brakes and clutch with his hands, passed all the necessary requirements last year to earn a NASCAR license, including the ability to make a quick escape from the car.

The Daytona Beach Police Department will conduct an investigation, Claypool said.

gsbaker
02-09-2004, 08:38 PM
I was in Daytona this weekend, and I believe it is safe to say that this tragedy goes far beyond the basic information that is being reported in the general press.

The front page article of Saturday's Daytona News Journal was about Paprota being the first paraplegic driver to drive at the Speedway. It was a very upbeat piece, describing his considerable racing experience and the efforts of supporters to keep him on the track.

Very sad.

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Gregg Baker, P.E.
Isaac, LLC
http://www.isaacdirect.com

gran racing
02-09-2004, 09:24 PM
It is too bad that they somewhat focus on the fact that the driver is a paraplegic. Did that really have anything to do with the accident? Or would it have happened regardless.

Based on the little information I know, it dealt with the driver and track, not his physical limitations. And yes, it definately is a tragedy. That really sucks!

pgipson
02-09-2004, 10:48 PM
It is not clear from any of the reports if the track worker was alone, or if he was in any sort of communication with Ipower's version of Race Control. This is a tragic circumstance, but the emphasis in the media on the driver's physical limitations does no good. There have been several successful drivers in SCCA that raced with various degrees of physical challenges. And I do not recall ever once hearing that used as an excuse for their driving (either good or bad).

MMiskoe
02-09-2004, 10:56 PM
This incident, as awful as it is on its own has potential for creating impact on racers at our level.

Watkins Glen is a good example of this. Basically, the workers will not go over the rail while cars are on the track. One car in the gravel forces a full course caution and often a blag-flag-all, even though its a 3 1/2 mile course. With an incident like what happened this weekend, it can be used to show there is sound proof of need to stop all racing prior to sending workers on track.

What this means is that more tracks and sanctioning bodies will be likely to go full course yellow, or black-all for what used to be a local yellow.

Moral of the story as it pertains to us racers - passing/poor driving under yellow will end the use of local yellow flags in lieu of full course cautions.

Sorry to have highjacked this thread, it is not out of disrespect, but to point out that this could have happened at a Regional race. Lets hope it doesn't happen again at any level.

whenry
02-10-2004, 09:47 AM
I can tell you that the SE Div was already planning to take a hard approach to yellow flags this year. And yes, this type event is exactly why. Racing cannot afford to injure its volunteer staff. A worker must feel comfortable responding to an incident and there are few excuses for "blowing a yellow flag" as a driver. I am not talking about the yellow being shown just as you approach the site; the real problem is not responding appropriately on the second or third corner or lap by the incident.
I wasnt there and dont know the reasons for the incident but it would seem that mutual mistakes were made. Both driver and worker are responsible for maintaining a safe atmosphere. The type of controls mounted in the car had nothing to do with the incident. I'll betcha that the worker was out inspecting the track with his back turned to traffic and the driver was adjusting something in the car when this unfortunate accident occurred. Classic wrong place at the wrong time.

gsbaker
02-10-2004, 03:38 PM
Originally posted by whenry:
I wasnt there and dont know the reasons for the incident but it would seem that mutual mistakes were made....Classic wrong place at the wrong time.

Orlando Sentinel--10 Feburary 2004

Daytona driver not held at fault....

At least one standard safety procedure appears not to have been followed. When a worker removes debris from a track while cars are still driving, a safety vehicle with flashing lights normally pulls onto the track to shield the worker....but a videotape that police released shows a safety vehicle parked on the edge of the infield with its ligh flashing at the time Weaver was struck.

Paprota locked up the brakes trying to stop after he saw Weaver. This happened exiting turn two, where many tall RVs park. The driver following Paprota commented, "It's blind in there. You have maybe 200 yards of visibility at 120 mph."

------------------
Gregg Baker, P.E.
Isaac, LLC
http://www.isaacdirect.com

racerdave600
02-11-2004, 08:49 PM
I crewed in that series for 3 years, the last being 2001, for a good friend of mine. We were the first factory Toyota effort in Nascar.

Anyway, I do not know the full story here, but lets just say safety in Nascar does not come close to even SCCA specs, as most drivers had real trouble seeing beyond the hoods of their cars. (no driver training required, except you needed a state drivers license, and some experience before you could run a superspeedway)

You would even see guys getting fuel smoking, and everyone thought we were crazy when our fueler wore a fire suit. They talk quite a bit about safety, but except at the Cup level, it's pretty poor.

Randy Claypool is actually a nice guy, and I hope he does well with this series, but he really needs to work on driver training and crew and pit safety in my opinion.

I could go on about this, but my heart really feels for the family of the man killed...

Dave