April Grassroots article

[Streetwise guy]

Very good article by Charles Espenlaub about his fire at Thunderhill. I may reassess my dislike of wearing a balaclava, and check for worn spots on everything.

[924Guy]

I always wear a balaclava, even w/o facial hair; it's a great way to keep your helmet from getting quite so badly funked up.

[BruceG]

I always wear a balaclava, even w/o facial hair; it's a great way to keep your helmet from getting quite so badly funked up.

May be hotter n' hell on a 90deg day but worth every penny. I'm amazed at guys I see wearing cotton tshirts under their nomex in the summer in New England...ouch.:mad1:

[Knestis]

Anyone who wears Nomex because they think they might actually BE in a fire has already figured this out. Same goes for helmet visors.

K

[Greg Amy]

I've always been a big fan of open-face helmets. After reading this article - and seeing the photos - .... ain't so sure any more...:shrug:

GA, shopping for balaclava...

[Matt93SE]

I've been making it a point to run DEs with my visor down and 3-layer suit more. It's a motha to do that in the 100+ heat in Texas, but that article definitely makes 30 min of sweating seem like a good compromise.
The chances of a blown engine and car fire are nearly the same whether you're at a DE or in the middle of a race, so it only makes sense to wear full safety gear.

[Marcus Miller]

Yeah. you guys should been there.... the car, the fireball, the tears from the crew were all too real.

Wear your nomex boys and girls...

[rsportvolvo]

Didn't folks learn from Dale Jr's ALMS Corvette fire at Sonoma in 2004? If I recall correctly he wasn't wearing a balaclava and was burned pretty good.

[Knestis]

Didn't folks learn from Dale Jr's ALMS Corvette fire at Sonoma in 2004? If I recall correctly he wasn't wearing a balaclava and was burned pretty good.

The story as I understood it was that he wasn't wearing long johns and burned his naughty bits a bit...

K

[rsportvolvo]

He was burned in multiple areas. I guess I wasn't as interested in the "naughty bits" as Kirk was. :shrug:

Here's a write up on it:

http://www.nascar.com/2004/news/headlines/cup/07/24/dearnhardtjr_safety/index.html

[BruceG]

Interesting that with the number of crashes in NASCAR, many of the drivers choose not to wear nomex underwear or balaclavas.

[rcc85]

Considering the number of crashes in NASCAR and the small number of fires, I wonder if those guys don't take the threat of fire seriously anymore.

I read the article today at lunch and two things struck me:

1) I need to practice getting out of the car with my eyes closed (I think the NHRA has a test for funny car drivers that requires them to locate the parachute and fuel shut-off with their eyes closed) and

2) A hand-held fire extinguisher (which I have) isn't much good if you are on fire and still driving the car!!

Bob Clifton
#05 ITB Dodge Daytona

[tom91ita]

NASCAR has some rather substantial fire suppression systems as i understand them.

what i think is interesting is how good this article in GRM was and how lame the article in SportsCar was where they discharged a system basically to see what happens.

SCCA HQ wants us to get the GCR electronically to save money. i wish i could have the cash equivalent of my SportsCar subscription back. i'd use it to extend my GRM subscription.

[BruceG]

NASCAR has some rather substantial fire suppression systems as i understand them.

what i think is interesting is how good this article in GRM was and how lame the article in SportsCar was where they discharged a system basically to see what happens.

SCCA HQ wants us to get the GCR electronically to save money. i wish i could have the cash equivalent of my SportsCar subscription back. i'd use it to extend my GRM subscription.

Pay the $45 to join NASA and you get a year free to GRM($19.95)!!
$25 to join SCCA's rival seems like it might be a good deal....LOL. Also, NASA has several all day track days at LRP for $75 less than one of their competitors.:026:

[tom91ita]

i have been a NASA member in the past and did not care for it. ymmv.

but i might do the 10 year GRM for 99.99 plus free T-shirt for the next go-around.

[mr. black]

I wear all my gear all the time. I did a NASA event with an in car instructor. He wore jeans and a T-Shirt and told me that it wasn't necessary or required to wear a full suit since it was a HPDE. I just told him it was practice for when I don't have a choice. But, I also wouldn't go out without full safety gear. I wasn't gonna go any slower than if I was racing. Accidents happen all the time. By the end of the day someone had rolled their car in one of the turns. Just as easily could have been a fire, etc.

Grassroots is obviously a better mag, but I have an onboard fire system and have always been curious. Probaly better as video. Speaking of onboard fire systems where and how much to have recharged?

I don't quite understand the concept of the facial hair thing. What does hair do when it's on fire?

Burns like everything else.

[lateapex911]

I THINK hair catches fire and it's ON your face. So if one flame gets between your helmet and you, you're more screwed with a beard.

[wrcRS]

I look at it this way, we spend soo much money on the best tires we can afford, best brakes we can afford. Whats a balaclava, a few bucks? Just as we upgrade the performance, we should look at upgrading our safety systems as money allows as well.

Of course, not everyone has a family back home to worry about.

[tomylee1]

i always wear of DR jeans
:dead_horse: