Tom I am glad you are OK, that was a tough hit. I am the epitome'of the eternal optimist and can always find the positive in the worst of times.....you finally got the video kinks worked out and it worked flawlessly! Good luck getting back on track quickly!

Yeah, damn right, those video cameras worked great! Glad that someone noticed! :)

Tom - I've watched your video about 10 times and the one thing that sticks out more than any other to me is this - At no time were you a passenger in the car watching things happen - you drove it under your control throughout the entire accident sequence. You had your emergency procedures down cold with unbelting and getting the window net down ready to egress the car, and then with your communication to the corner workers that you were safe.

From the time the white car started to spin, you were on top of what was going on around you. At no time was there any hesitation in your actions - you took evasive action prior to impact and drove the car until it was stopped. Your emergency procedures for egress were flawless, as was your communication.

I sure hate to see your car get bent, but as with all your videos, I learned something valuable from it. Thanks!

I'm looking forward to seeing you get back on the track.

Tom ,Glad you are O.K. and still in the game !
One 'interesting' option for a replacement car may be Copart.https://www.copart.com/lot/44297146 will probably sell for less than $500.
They are a bit tricky to deal with but many here would coach you through their procedures.
Thanks for mentioning a repair facility that meets with your approval.I hope they realize how valuable your endorsement is !
Here is the link to ProMotorSports in Burbank:
http://www.promotorsportsla.com/
I know 2 other local sources for used parts/cars if you want to PM me.

The camera looked good, have you been working out? :cheers:

Thanks Rick, a lot of what you noticed was training and remaining focused on the task at hand.

And never give up!

Side impacts
 

It's hard to tell because the video is a bit dark in this area, but it appears that your seat does not have head bolsters. And I can see it doesn't have a side net.

Most clubs require one or the other for side impacts. Does your club not require this?

Wow...nothing, no where to go. I think I counted around four different direction changes for the guy ahead....just keeps you guessing until you run out of options......good choice hoping that the brakes would stay on. Running of the track and that speed with that terrain looks dicey at best.

Hope you heal up soon

POC and PCA use the same rules set for Spec Boxster and there is no requirement for a full containment seat or a center net. I don't know what rules NASA or SCCA use.

With that being said, both of those items are highly recommended and I actually bought a full containment seat last year but it wouldn't fit in the car. I was planning on buying another containment seat and installing it after this event along with adding the center net. This incident happened one event too early.

Thanks for the Copart link and info. I should know more about the needed parts by late next week.

Here's a Copart just up the road a ways from you. Sells tomorrow.

https://www.copart.com/lot/42774656

Impact Update:

Thanks for all of your good wishes - I genuinely appreciate every one of them. And while I did walk away from last weekend's impact, it was not entirely without issues.

On Saturday evening, a good friend gave me a ride home from the track after the incident and I felt ok, but looking back, I was probably somewhat in a minor form of shock and still riding a wave of adrenaline which masked a lot of emotions and physical feeling.

On Sunday, I felt like crap. I felt like I had been in a boxing match and lost. I was tired and lethargic along with feeling aches all over. I also had a splitting headache that wouldn't go away even with Tylenol. I'm not a headache prone person and rarely have to take more than a single 500mg tablet of Tylenol to get rid of a headache so this was not normal. I figured that this was the downside of the adrenaline and the forces imparted during the impact.

After laying around all day, I noticed my vision becoming blurry around 5pm and shortly thereafter, I started to see lines of colored lights in my vision. This was definitely not normal.

I discussed this with my wife and she drove me to the ER (< 5 mins away) where they took me straight in and thought that I might be having a stroke or a brain hemorrhage. The hospital moved as fast and as well coordinated as a F1 pit crew and administered history, dexterity tests, blood tests, EKG, and a cat-scan within 15 mins of my arrival to the ER. All of the tests were normal/fine.

Within an hour, my symptoms had subsided and I was feeling better than I had all day. They kept me for a few hours of observation and the ER doctor called and coordinated with my personal physician.

I was released later in the evening with a preliminary diagnosis of "migraine with aura". I had never heard of this but it seems to be quite common for people who suffer from migraines (which I do not) to see colors (call auras) during short (less than 1 hr) migraine episodes.

I followed up with my personal doctor on Monday who checked for residual symptoms (none) and then recommended that I see an ophthalmologist and a neurologist. The ophthalmologist verified that there was no problems with my eye, cornea, retina, etc.

The neurologist confirmed that that this was indeed a migraine most likely brought on by the stress of the incident. She also confirmed that it was normal to think that you're dying the first time it happens! :)

I am cleared to go back to racing as soon as I like and so I went indoor karting last night and nailed the second fastest time of the week at that track.

I'll post video from the car behind me tomorrow and should know more about the extent of the damage to the car this week.

Tom, glad to hear you're feeling better. Watch out for those kart tracks -- I broke two ribs and ended up with a nasty concussion from kart racing.
Speaking of concussion....did anyone evaluate you for that? I've known a few LeMons drivers who've had "minor" impacts on track and experienced symptoms very much like yours. It turns out that they had minor concussions and needed some time to recover.
Take care friend.

Really? Damn, that's a big injury. I was hoping that karting would be somewhat safer but maybe not. I'll be careful out on the kart track too.

Yes, the hospital went thru the concussion protocol and I scored in the safe zone so they moved on to evaluate the other possibilities.

Here is something for your Sunday evening viewing - video of the incident from Branimir's #318 Spec Boxster....

(Branimir, sorry for the opening title typo saying #818).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vmxty2SCd5U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I love karts -- they really teach you how to be both fast AND smooth. But unfortunately, I discovered that when someone loses control of their kart and plows into you, there's not a whole lot there to protect you -- no cage, no door frame, nada. Your just sitting out there in your little plastic chair with your helmet. I've had some nasty injuries in my life, but broken ribs -- those are special.

Much relieved to hear your feeling better!

Kevin

Sweet video but I do wish it wasn't you!!

I have crashed on track in the 911 and on Motorcycles. Never feels good just after. Glad it turned out to be a bit of nothing... a bad headache.

Now that you are OK, what's the prognosis on the car???

Thanks and sorry to hear that you've also had a couple of mishaps. Not fun.

The shop jacked up the car and did a preliminary inspection. They plan to get it onto a lift today or tomorrow and then I'll go over for a thorough walk thru of what needs to be done. Stand by...

Standing by.

It's part of the game!! Find your personal limits and then explore a bit further. I understand the risks, as I'm certain you do too. I far more enjoy the riding on track than fearing another get off. Having a crash because of another's mishap (or stupidity) is less than zero fun but has to be figured into the equation as well before you even get into the car or bike track world.

Well, the best that I can say is that it could have been worse. :eek:

But with that being said, there is still a LOT of damage that needs to be repaired and as you all know, parts and labor isn't exactly cheap and it all adds up faster than one might imagine. :barf:

The chassis looks fine but will be checked by a body shop to confirm it's ok. The front hood looks ok too (kind of amazing). The right front suspension is destroyed: adj LCA broke the bolts on the chassis side and snapped cleanly away at the hub. Drop link snapped off at upper mount and tore from lower heim joint. Track arm severely bent. Inner-outer tie rods bent. PSS9 shock may be bent. Right front fender heavily damaged and fender inner liner mostly gone. Both radiators need replacement along with mounting brackets and plastic air ducts. Front bumper cover was in two pieces. Rear suspension cracked. Fuel filler cover gone. Fuel filler tube crushed. Etc...

My primary sponsor (my wonderful wife) gave the go-ahead for the repairs and parts are being ordered as I type. The goal is to get the car back on the track in time for the March 11-12 races at Buttonwillow.

Pics of the car up on the rack for inspection.

Front suspension damage. The right front wheel was pushed back almost to the rear of the wheel well and in doing so, destroyed all of the right front suspension. Coolant lines look ok - both radiators broke off at the upper and lower hose attachments (which are plastic). Front chassis appears fine.

Front suspension is missing LCA and sway bar drop link. Everything else bent. Chassis rail looks straight and appears undamaged but will need to be checked.

Lower control arm snapped off at ball joint/hub.

...photo's continued...

Fuel filler tube crushed.

Left front damage consists of radiator, rad bracket, and plastic ducting.

Right rear quarter panel and taillight damage. Nothing too serious, should be repairable by body shop.

Right rear suspension subframe cracked just below the adjustable rear toe link mount.

The Tow hook looks fine :dance:

The rest, no problem. It will buff out

2 weeks to repair and back on the track? Wow, that's pretty fast (just like you :))

Could have been a lot worse with you getting damaged

That was exactly what the tow truck driver at the track said as he was hooking up the car to drag it onto the flatbed....

Front end and suspension teardown mostly complete and starting to get it back together!

The right front PSS9 was bent so it will need replacement. They seem to be sold only in kits of 4 so if anyone knows of a single used PSS9, please let me know. For now, they are using an old base shock in the strut.

More progress today!

All of the damaged parts removed. The door jamb, firewall, and front tub appear nice and straight. Coolant lines and brake lines were still intact. Caliper and hub appear fine.

Radiators replaced and engine running fine. Inner/outer tie rods replaced. Control arm replaced. Stock strut used as a stand-in until a replacement PSS9 is found.

The fuel filler tube is pretty mangled!

Wow, that's a quick turn around! I'm glad the car was salvageable and the damage actually not too extensive, given the size of the hit.

Yeah - I'm surprised the damage wasn't more extensive. Glad to see you getting it turned around so quickly.

Pro Motorsports in Burbank is a great shop and the co-owner/mechanic Tyson Schmidt is nothing short of a Porsche genius.

Those Rennline studs didn't budge!

All things considered - that looks great!!!

Try rennlist as well for the used PSS9's surely, someone broke a different corner :-)

Mike

Here is some video from Willow Springs - there was a lot of good racing prior to the incident that I'll be posting this week.

This is the opening lap of Race #2 as the Boxster Spec field comes thru the Turn 3 left hander and up the hill to the T4 right at the top of the Omega...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AYA1gGqodII" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Repair Update:

All of the major parts have been delivered so there has been a lot of progress today!

The radiator brackets and rubber ducting has been installed on both sides...

A replacement PSS9 was installed along with a new 996 GT-3 adjustable lower control arm + new shims (which are ridiculously expensive). The top shock mount was also replaced (more on the damaged parts below). A new Tarrett drop link mount has been installed on the shock and the drop link itself will be installed when everything else is complete. The front suspension subframe was found to be loose at the LCA mount so the subframe will also be replaced.

Some notes about the damaged parts...

The old radiator had about 20% of the cooling fins bent over to the extent where little to no air was going through that portion of the core. This isn't from the accident, this is just from 5 years of track debris hitting the radiator and slowly but surely bending over the fins. The new rad's should cool a bit better!

The upper threaded portion of the old PSS9 was bent and the entire shaft was bent (through its not really visible to the naked eye) such that the shock would only compress about 50% of its length and then bind up.

The top shock mount was also bent...

Moving along fast!!

You will be back on the track very soon

!!!!Awesome!!!! Can't wait to see you race again!

You got lucky Tom with much less severe damage than I expected. Yay! Looking forward to seeing you back out there again. :cheers:

Thanks, I hope to be back on the track in only 10 days! Practice next Friday and Sat/Sun races at Buttonwillow.

The process is right here on the car...

Hey Tom, nice repair work. You might want to consider mounting the helper/tender spring up top, with main spring down below. The reason is to reduce unsprung weight.

Keep up the good work. Can't believe you're going for a 2-week turnaround on this! Doesn't it take about that long to dial-in the alignment settings? :eek: Hope everything gets pulled straight so you can get the right alignment characteristics!