Black Friday

The driver and passenger in this picture were killed. The following is a quote reproduced in full from someone who claimed to be at the accident scene:

The person driving the vehicle who was behind him (Ferrari Stradale) just called us and told us what happened from his view. He was first on the scene. He said the GT past him at over 150mph as they eased onto the straigh a way and was traveling close to 165mph when he saw the car swerve. He got his car stopped and was first on the scene. One person was DOA and the other (driver) passed away in the helicopter enroute to the hospital.

What happened with the pit marshall:

Marshall saw the GT coming and gave the Ferrari owner the "GO" Ferrari guy hesitated.. looked back at the track.. passenger was shouting "GO".. then marshall says "STOP" and the Ferrari guy takes off.

Now: If the GT was moving at 165+ and the pit marshall wasnt familiar with cars generating that kind of speed (I'm doubting he was a CA Speedway employee) I could easily see how a split second hesitation on behalf of the driver could really mess things up.

This sucks. The passenger had just jumped into the GT. He was thinking about buying one and wanted a hot lap in it. Several of the FOC members are on their way to his house to "inform" his wife.

The reason for this entry is not to sensationalize a tragedy or make a spectacle of it, but to bring home the fact that track enthusiasts face a very real danger of losing their lives in pursuit of something they enjoy doing. Besides being at the mercy of mechanical failures, accidents can also be attributed to poor preparation, poor judgement and even total lack of responsibility on the part of the participants.

I'm angered by the fact that I've personally seen drivers who blatantly disregard all manner of common sense and driving etiquette whenever they get on our regional race tracks. Drivers who know beforehand that their brake pads are worn yet insist on braking late, diving into corners, not observing universally-accepted overtaking rules, generally all-round bad behavior that should be worthy of a black flag, yet go scot free without so much as an admonishment.

People who are unable to demonstrate the basic decency of caring for the well-being of others should just be banned and thrown out of the track.

So if you're a friend of one of these gungho idiots (I don't need to name names, you know who they are), pull him aside and ask him to keep his ego in check and drive within his abilities. You just might very well save his life, and of others around him.