I just got a call from John. While running at Buttonwillow this weekend, he spun and hit the wall. He's okay -- sore in a couple places -- but the car is totalled. He towed it to the track, so he can get home (although he's not sure if or how he'll get the damaged car onto the trailer), but the car is done. He said it was the hardest hit he's ever seen at the track.

I'll let him explain exactly what happened and show the pictures when he's back online, but I thought I'd let you all know.

My condolences, John, but at least you're not hurt.

 

Glad to hear he's ok. Wasn't he testing the new aero aids today?

 

I don't know. He did have new suspension elements.

 

I too got a call from John just after it happened. I am glad he is ok.

We scaled, aligned, and set his car up with the new suspension for him at the shop yesterday just before he loaded it up on the trailer and headed off to Buttonwillow. There was no aero mods that I was aware of on the car that he was testing. I was supposed to go as well, but I just have been to busy to get the Time Attack car ready in time, plus it is Easter weekend.

He is bringing it back to our shop as soon as they are able to load it up for him. I am sure he will be commenting on it here shortly. As far as he told me, he miss-judged the final S-turn and bounced off the curb a bit harder than he wanted to, upsetting the car and sending him into a barrier.

 

John wasn't testing aero stuff it was Eagle1 who I think was at BW today as well.

 

Ahh man, I always hate hearing about this stuff, but I am glad he is ok. At the end of the esses in Buttonwillow you are carrying some serious speed and I am sure it doesn't take much of a hit to upset the car into a spin and the wall is definately not too far from that area. Last time I was there an EVO did the same thing.

So John, whats your plan? Another Z? Something different?

 

Very sorry to hear. Which BW configuration was being run? The first and last time I was there (back in '03), a Z pilot backed into a tire wall near the pit straight. The car held up pretty well and after we taped up the lights, I even took some laps in it (it was straight and drivable).

 

Today they were running #13 CCW

 

Damn that sucks. Good to hear he's not hurt.

 

Got a PM from him earlier today. Sounded like he was ok which was good to hear. Sorry for the loss.

 

Thanks for updating us. Glad to hear he's ok.

 

Wow, I haven't seen you post in a LONG time. How have you been?

(sorry for going off topic)

 

John called me about 30 minutes ago. He basically was only just asking me if he could bring his car over to the shop tomorrow instead of late tonight when he got back. I assured him that it is ok, and that I would be around to help him out. He seemed just fine, very up-beat, and in very good spirits (consider) I commend him on his good mood and overall outlook on the whole thing.

 

That sucks. Glad he is ok though. He'll probably be sore for awhile.

 

Least he's okay. Car can always be replaced.

 

ouch!

 

Hey Mike, doing good. Yeah, I was slammed last season with getting the Diasio rebuilt and dialed in. Didn't really get a chance to post much last year. I'm ready to go this year though. I'll probably post up some pics of the new setup once I'm done. I kept an eye on your track posts, like the C-west bumper and VRT. I've even had a small hand in developing a track part for the Z that should be coming out soon.


You guys know John is probably hamming his pain up so his little Polish sweetie will pamper him.

 

OK, here I am...

Yes, the car is indeed deceased. What happened? Well, a combination of things, but ultimately the icing on the cake was my driving. I came to a new track with a new suspension, and I simply pushed the envelope too much with the car without respecting the track enough. Instead of spending time on perfecting the line and learning the nooks and crannies of the track, I focused too much on exploring the limits of my new suspension. Another mistake was that I should have been running a little more conservatively on my rear sway bar setting to learn the car instead of flicking it around.

As mentioned, I came into the esses (13CCW) pretty hot, using the curbs pretty aggresively. As I crested the last left curb hard, I got knocked sideways in a blink of an eye and I was sent sideways directly into the raised concrete flag stand, which was protected by a layer of tires. Nothing I could do at that point, and I saw the corner workers there jump out of the nest right before I impacted.

The damage? Well, ground zero was right behind the front right wheel - the entire firewall is shifted over several inches. I almost rolled, and I have to say that I can't say enough for having my roll bar there. I didn't even notice the airbags go off, and the OEM door bars held up wonderfully. I have to admit that these cars really do well in protecting the cabin as I had a VERY hard impact that probably would have seriously injured the passengers in most cars.

All in all, I'm alright, although my ego is bruised and I know that my neck is going to be throbbing tomorrow. I have nobody to blame but myself as I make all the decisions on my car, and as the driver, I made a mistake that I can't take back. There were a lot of preventive measures that could have avoided this accident, but that's all in hindsight... it's unfortunate, but just a friendly reminder that unless you can bite the bullet and write off the car, you probably shouldn't be taking it to the track. While I'm pretty upset that I totalled my car, I think I'm more upset that I did it at the time that I did. This weekend was the culmination of many hours of personal work and energy to get the car back where I wanted it to be, and unfortunately, my enjoyment of that moment was minimal...

I have no idea what's next to be honest, I will just need some time to recoup my thoughts and prepare myself for whatever lies ahead.

I'll take some photos tomorrow for your sadistic enjoyment...

 

good to hear he is ok

 

See you tomorrow, get some rest man