In a message dated 1/27/00 2:07:49 PM Pacific Standard Time,
rjl6n@server1.mail.virginia.edu writes:
<< FOTer Chip Bond had a fuel line break and spray fuel onto
a hot header; he drove straight toward the corner station. Unfortunately,
this region had not seen fit to provide fire bottles at all manned
stations, so the worker was no help at all. It took Chip more than a
few seconds to get the car stopped and extricate himself from the flames.
Luckily, he had a good fire suit on and suffered only minor injuries.
Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, I'd suggest the same thinking for fire
suits that I do for helmets - if you've got a $20 head, stick it in
a $20 helmet. >>
I appreciate the response John. After almost pulling an all nighter, I
arrived late at the Cumberland National Race at the Connelsville Airport.
Chip came over and told me about the above incident. His carcass didn't look
damaged at all at that time. He said that he blew all his ozone damaging
onboard halon, and it had no effect on the fire, plus his whole car was gone.
It wasn't long before he was racing again.
This same weekend, the choke cam, which I should have removed, caused my
throttle to stick open, sending me off a bend and over revving the engine.
The race was run in a continuous downpour. While orbiting around in a lake,
the engine exploded putting three bullet holes in the metal hood. I then
missed a lot of racing by spending countless hours in the Nuclear Plants,
building an engine, and looking, buying, and installing the newly SCCA
required dual braking system.
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