Ron Spencer wrote:
Donny I was there last weekend helping crew for Tony Ave and his customer's cars. Saw you were there but had very little free time 95 cars is a LOT of cars to crew for....even with 9 or more people!).
What happened with you and the wall? Where and what caused it? I've got to assume it wasn't you as you are good.
Hope you are OK.
Well, on the one hand, a broken brake line can be called "one of those things" that isn't really the driver's fault. So in a sense, no, I didn't cause it.
But I should have checked. I really should have checked. I don't know when it happened, but I did have a MINOR off at Oak Tree. Just tried flying into the straight between the two turns a little too hot and lost the rear. Half spun and the rears went off, but I swear I don't think the fronts did. Got going very quickly and didn't think nothing of it. Even starting from a dead stop just on the other side of the tree, I still made it to fifth gear and 115MPH in the SM before going to the brakes, and I was *right* on another SM's ass. Somehow dodged him with no brakes, passed, got five and maybe six full pumps on the brakes with NO response before leaving the track. Had the presence to know I had passed that dude fully and could turn right, so I did. Left the track at around 110MPH and thus not much turning was possible, but got just enough that it went sideways in the dirt before going backward into the tire wall on driver's left.
Hit the right rear hard, slapped the wall with the right side, and bounced back out pointed straight out of the tires. No hit to the left side or even front of the car. But after getting it back to the paddock, we found no fluid in the master cylinder and the left front brake line was broken at the crimp where the braided line goes into the caliper. Obviously something flew up and hit it somewhere (and even if I did do it going four off at Oak Tree, it was something odd!). It could have happened long before and picked that time to finally blow through, or it could have been something that flew up in that off.
Either way, after an off I should have checked my brakes. I didn't. I learned. The hard way. Fortunately, it's nothing money won't fix as I'm fine. Expensive lesson.
I'm happy I was able to navigate that other car, and he would have hit something hard, too, if I had hit him. Happy I kept my wits about me the entire time. I was attempting to drive it the entire way until I got into the dirt, then I just went two feet in and held on. I'm happy I have good safety gear and it all worked. I'm happy I'm gonna race again, and doubt this one will cause any lingering affects, unlike the T10 wreck I had a few years back (I'm just now doing T10 at a full clip again as that was ALL driver error and hurt more thanks to not-as-good safety gear).
Car is fixable. No frame rail damage, no cage damage. Does need a lot of sheetmetal AND a new hard top. *sigh* And subframes and suspension pieces.
--Donnie
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I'm just thankful for roll bar padding. That's what I didn't have enough of in my first big wreck a few years ago.