Run-Off Issues

Pat Joffrion · 07-06-2008, 05:57 PM

After my good friend Woodro went into the drink at Gainsville, I took a good hard look at the shutdown area at No Problem Raceway. I remembered how I watched a Super Stock racer go thru the sand trap at Reynolds, Georgia. “Fred” apparently suffered a heart attack. I was just getting off the track after a qualifying run with Steven Hall when I watched as his car ran full throttle thru the sand, hit the berm, and went airborne across the highway, landing in a field, nose first. Fred’s head was down as he passed me, but his foot remained on the throttle. Nothing could have saved him. It was just a bad situation.

When I built No Problem, I thought about Fred, and designed a ½-mile shut-down with another ½-mile of run-off. But all of that was no help for a racer who suffered a heart attack after he crossed my finish line. He died before his car came to a stop after slowly hitting both walls several times. The driver let off the gas, but never applied brakes. The car had only cosmetic damage, but it did wind up in a drainage ditch 400-feet from the end, and to the right of the asphalt. By the way, his family sent me a two-page “Thank You” letter for trying our best to save their father’s life. CPR and our electric defibrillator were of no benefit. His autopsy indicated that he died instantly.

To avert the possibility of another driver going into the drainage ditch I erected a 45-degree concrete wall. That wall is lined with tire bundles, is over 50-feet to the right of the guard wall, and is designed to keep a racer from going into any standing water. We have second tire-wall 1,000-feet past the end of the asphalt which is designed to slow a runaway car.

With the tragic loss to the Kalitta family, I took another look at our run-off. I used to “chop” the sand, but found that it caused the cars to “dig-in” and caused a runaway Jr. dragster, and a big dragster to flip. The kid wound up with a broken arm, and a totaled machine. The older driver flipped his machine, but had no injuries. Since those incidents, I no longer chop the sand. Rather, it is a smooth grass surface that assists the driver of a runaway car to maintain steerage and control of the car. We have actually had a 200+ mph dragster loose his brakes and traverse the run-off at 150+, avoiding the tire wall, and making it back to the pits by way of our road course. He ran thru the grass, got on the asphalt road course, and idled back to his pit area unscathed.

I don’t purport to know it all, nor have I seen it all. But I have seen sand (or chopped dirt) cause cars to flip, which resulted in injury. In my opinion, the fact that I have another ½-mile of grass and road course has worked out fine for the racers who for whatever reason have run off the end of the track.

I truly believe that most track owners look out for the safety of their racers. Some however, are limited to the space available. In a perfect world, all tracks would have another ½-mile of runoff. In the meantime, track owners need to take a good, hard look at what can be done to improve the safety for drivers in trouble. As racers, we should take time to inspect the runoff areas, and give suggestions to the owners. I don’t remember noticing the pond in Gainesville, but I do remember a barb-wire fence at another track. I made one pass there, and have never been back. Barb wire is for horses… not horsepower.

07-06-2008, 05:57 PM	#1
Pat Joffrion Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Bayou Country, Louisiana Posts: 163 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 2 Posts	Run-Off Issues After my good friend Woodro went into the drink at Gainsville, I took a good hard look at the shutdown area at No Problem Raceway. I remembered how I watched a Super Stock racer go thru the sand trap at Reynolds, Georgia. “Fred” apparently suffered a heart attack. I was just getting off the track after a qualifying run with Steven Hall when I watched as his car ran full throttle thru the sand, hit the berm, and went airborne across the highway, landing in a field, nose first. Fred’s head was down as he passed me, but his foot remained on the throttle. Nothing could have saved him. It was just a bad situation. When I built No Problem, I thought about Fred, and designed a ½-mile shut-down with another ½-mile of run-off. But all of that was no help for a racer who suffered a heart attack after he crossed my finish line. He died before his car came to a stop after slowly hitting both walls several times. The driver let off the gas, but never applied brakes. The car had only cosmetic damage, but it did wind up in a drainage ditch 400-feet from the end, and to the right of the asphalt. By the way, his family sent me a two-page “Thank You” letter for trying our best to save their father’s life. CPR and our electric defibrillator were of no benefit. His autopsy indicated that he died instantly. To avert the possibility of another driver going into the drainage ditch I erected a 45-degree concrete wall. That wall is lined with tire bundles, is over 50-feet to the right of the guard wall, and is designed to keep a racer from going into any standing water. We have second tire-wall 1,000-feet past the end of the asphalt which is designed to slow a runaway car. With the tragic loss to the Kalitta family, I took another look at our run-off. I used to “chop” the sand, but found that it caused the cars to “dig-in” and caused a runaway Jr. dragster, and a big dragster to flip. The kid wound up with a broken arm, and a totaled machine. The older driver flipped his machine, but had no injuries. Since those incidents, I no longer chop the sand. Rather, it is a smooth grass surface that assists the driver of a runaway car to maintain steerage and control of the car. We have actually had a 200+ mph dragster loose his brakes and traverse the run-off at 150+, avoiding the tire wall, and making it back to the pits by way of our road course. He ran thru the grass, got on the asphalt road course, and idled back to his pit area unscathed. I don’t purport to know it all, nor have I seen it all. But I have seen sand (or chopped dirt) cause cars to flip, which resulted in injury. In my opinion, the fact that I have another ½-mile of grass and road course has worked out fine for the racers who for whatever reason have run off the end of the track. I truly believe that most track owners look out for the safety of their racers. Some however, are limited to the space available. In a perfect world, all tracks would have another ½-mile of runoff. In the meantime, track owners need to take a good, hard look at what can be done to improve the safety for drivers in trouble. As racers, we should take time to inspect the runoff areas, and give suggestions to the owners. I don’t remember noticing the pond in Gainesville, but I do remember a barb-wire fence at another track. I made one pass there, and have never been back. Barb wire is for horses… not horsepower.