April Grassroots article

S

Streetwise guy

New member
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.
 
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.
 
924Guy said:
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.
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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:
 
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
 
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...
 
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.
 
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...
 
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.
 
rsportvolvo said:
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.
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The story as I understood it was that he wasn't wearing long johns and burned his naughty bits a bit...

K
 
Interesting that with the number of crashes in NASCAR, many of the drivers choose not to wear nomex underwear or balaclavas.
 
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
 
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.
 
tom91ita said:
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.
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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:
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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