Lost Brakes at 154mph....scary

[Rod P]

here's what really scary! Our PT cars do this without even a second effort and with LESS safety gear.....This is me at 145 on Michigan International Raceway, in a streetcar, no cage, no driving suit......after that event Jane now has a cage because at 140mph on a 30 degree bank you think about SAFETY a lot, shifting into forth and floored the car will easily surpass 140 but any faster was REALLY scary without safety gear

[Ron Sutton]

I was glad to see Tim had a full containment seat in that crash. That may be a requirement in that racing, as some sanctioning bodies have stepped & require it. For others it's optional.

Regardless, it made that hard side impact a non-issue. Without a full containment seat (the head & shoulder supports) holding the driver's upper torso & head in place ... that type of crash typically causes a head snap at impact ... occasionally breaking the driver's neck.

The 7 keys to safety in these cars are cage, 5/6 point harness, full containment seat, good Nomex firesuit & gear, helmet, HANS & a fire system.

Let's keep this fun & be safe out there guys. Don't let the lack of safety rules in our sport guide your decisions.

[Build-It-Break-it]

I think to often people are consumed with making there cars faster, handle better and look nicer more then safer. Look at the chassis/suspension section on this site and its 129 pages, paint and body has 71 pages but you look at the safety/ roll cage section and its only 2 pages. Peoples priorities are often mixed up.

Its great to have a nice track car but not worth getting killed in it because you wanted to "be comfortable" driving without a cage, fire containment, harnesses, etc.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Rod P

here's what really scary! Our PT cars do this without even a second effort and with LESS safety gear.....This is me at 145 on Michigan International Raceway, in a streetcar, no cage, no driving suit......after that event Jane now has a cage

What cage you put in Rod?

Originally Posted by Build-It-Break-it

I think to often people are consumed with making there cars faster, handle better and look nicer more then safer. Look at the chassis/suspension section on this site and its 129 pages, paint and body has 71 pages but you look at the safety/ roll cage section and its only 2 pages. Peoples priorities are often mixed up.

Its great to have a nice track car but not worth getting killed in it because you wanted to "be comfortable" driving without a cage, fire containment, harnesses, etc.

Absolutely. No matter what group you run with, with or without a real "tech", we are ultimately responsible for our own safety and answer to our families in that regard.

[Che70velle]

There's a lot to be learned here guys, from both a safety standpoint, and a driver coherency standpoint.
The OP stated they'd he couldn't imagine what was going through the drivers mind. It's very clear to me that from the moment that he realized there was a problem with the brakes, he immediately went into "landing mode". His thoughts went from racing with peers, to protecting his peers first, then himself.
I've watched this video over and over, from different views, and I have to say that this is a textbook maneuver. Without panic, he immediately turned out to miss the guys in front of him, while downshifting to slow himself as much as he could with engine deceleration. Once clear, he went into a drift type move to scrub as much speed as possible, while setting himself up to contact the barrier wall with the right side of the car. As Ron mentioned, the full containment seat was a life saver in this case, as was belts, cage, helmet, etc. And he only had a couple seconds to do all of this. As a former driver, I'm impressed, and once the dust cleared and the car went on the truck, you would have never known by looking at the car that this was a 130 mph impact. Had this been my Chevelle, or most other PT cars, the result would have been much, much different. For those of you running these type speeds, please reconsider today what would happen to you if this was your car, in this accident.

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Rod P

here's what really scary! Our PT cars do this without even a second effort and with LESS safety gear.....This is me at 145 on Michigan International Raceway, in a streetcar, no cage, no driving suit......after that event Jane now has a cage because at 140mph on a 30 degree bank you think about SAFETY a lot, shifting into forth and floored the car will easily surpass 140 but any faster was REALLY scary without safety gear

Glad you stepped up & got a Cage!