Rising from the Ashes. The Rally 240SX rebuild thread.

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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IanS
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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:58 pm
Also you were supposed to reply to my questions individually so we get to a new page ;)
Once not a post whore, always not a post whore hahahaha.

//Edit// and there it is.


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Need moar pics and story!!!

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float_6969 wrote:
Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:54 pm
Need moar pics and story!!!
Oh I guess. Watch the split screen battles, they're awesome.

So, when we left off the interior was getting a bit of a revamp. With the new engine broken in (50 miles of street driving) It was off to the dyno to see if we could re-class the car.

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Pulled off a pretty respectable 145ish WHP and 150 torque on a conservative tune. Not bad for an engine only rated at like 155 bhp from the factory. The important part was the nice broad torque curve.

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Hot off the dyno the car went on the trailer, and we packed it up for a early May 2019 race at Road America with WRL.

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During testing on Friday before the race the new Aero mods proved to really help the balance. The rear was planted, and it was much easier to commit to going full send in the turns.

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I even had a chance to wander down to T5 and snap some pictures while one of the other drivers was out testing.

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Saturday morning turned out bright and cool. We were able to bump down a class to GP3, which meant wed be battling much similar machinery, instead of losing to M3s and other powerful cars.

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Saturdays race went mostly without incident. We did have a mystery misfire that returned late in the day that slowed us down a bit, but we were able to pull off a best finish of a second in class. Besides the misfire, the car was excellent. During re-prep Saturday night we replaced the TPS to fix the misfire, and one of the front hub assemblies as it was a bit loose.

Otherwise the car was ready. The only thing I would have asked for was more power. It stopped and turned as well as I believed a twice wrecked 28 year old sport compact with more race miles than street miles ever could. It is how I will always remember the car, and thats why that last best photo of it gridded up and ready to race on Saturday is my signature. I remember her as she was, not what became of her.

Sunday started out much the same as Saturday had. Car was doing well when the misfire returned. We had replaced the TPS during reprep Saturday night, and it had failed just like the prior one had. We threw our last good TPS at it and sent it back out. Jaret, Evan, and Matt all had relatively uneventful stints. We weren't doing extremely well in the standings due to time lost replacing the TPS. I was last in the car and as I jumped in I asked the exiting driver to check the brakes. Generally by the end of a full weekend, there's not much pad left. He checked both fronts, and gave me the double thumbs up. I hit the start button and rolled out of the stall towards pit exit. The car felt the same as the morning prior, and I was in full send mode from the moment I left the pits. It was a glorious session. With no other drivers to get in the car, there was no fear of breaking the car or wearing out the tires before someone else had a chance. I was having the time of my life jamming lap after lap. Something to know about Road America is, its a Fast track. Lots of long straights into tight corners, its known by some as a brake killer. There are also 2 configurations, "The Kink" and "The Bend". The bend is the moto track, its also used by some entry level series. It adds a chicane at the most dangerous part of the track. The kink is a very tricky high speed bend with walls in very close proximity to the racing surface. Its tricky to get right, and goes very badly if gotten just a little wrong. We were running the kink. With the correct turn in point, our car with take the kink WOT in 5th gear. But the timing had to be perfect, and you had to use nearly every inch of track.

Just before the Kink is the Carousel which is not much different to a highway cloverleaf. You enter the long sweeping bend and exit near the top of fourth gear and 80-90 mph. Make the shift to 5th, pin it, and hold on for the kink. Ive never not felt a little terrified going flat through the kink, but that's what makes it fun.

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Road America

Image

A little over an hour into my stint, and with less than an hour left of racing in the entire race weekend I entered the carousel with a C5 corvette not far behind me. I was intent on keeping them there until at least the front straight. I exited the carousel at 80-85, pulled to redline in 4th, and slotted 5th. I committed to the kink and tried to keep my foot planted to the floor. As I exited into the kettle bottoms I glanced in the Mirror knowing the corvette would have to lift. I stayed flat though the bends heading towards Turn 12, Canada corner.

As I passed through T11a at nearly 120 mph I lifted off the throttle and planted my foot on the brake. The pedal went straight to the floor. Game over. My mind still in shock, my body went into autopilot. My right foot furiously pumped the brake pedal, my left foot slammed in the clutch and my right hand dropped a gear. Left foot clutch out, right foot still pumping, both hands steered as hard as the could into the turn, my brain knew there was no chance of clearing the corner. Only 2 seconds had passed, but it seemed like an eternity. Muscle memory was in control, I was along for the ride. The single row of tires stacked against the concrete wall did little to dampen the impact.

The hit wasn't hard enough for me to black out, but it was close. The surge of adrenaline dampened the pain, I feebly attempted to radio the team in a voice not my own. They'd know soon enough what had happened, but I wanted them to know I was alive. Then the pain hit en masse. The noise I made is recorded on the in car video but I had to mute it, hearing that sound still sends shivers down my spine. As a sat there, trapped by my own safety equipment. I pulled the release on the steering wheel and tossed it unceremoniously onto the passenger floor. I eventually became aware someone was yelling at me. Are you OK, they kept yelling. Through my closed helmet, I attempted to yell back the only question that mattered. "Can I undo my belts"? He responded with another "Are you OK". At every safety briefing I have ever attended, they remind you that in a spin, an off, a crash, or a mechanical, unless you're actually on fire, never undo your belts, because you don't know if you may be hit by another car. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to disregard that advice, despite the safety marshal standing next to what was left of my car. I'm not sure how many times I asked before he either agreed, or I gave in and twisted the cam lock on my 6 point belts. The moment the tension was released my body crumpled toward the steering column. The pain was blinding, but with the belts loose I could think again. The safety marshal asked if I could get out, I shook my head yes. I needed to be out. Being out was the only thing that might lessen the pain. With help from the marshal I pulled myself from the car, not daring to look at anything but the ground.

The video. The angle does a lot to hide how fast the car is actually going. Its not for everyone, but Ive watched it way too many times. Ive dissected it trying to decide what I did right and what I did wrong.


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Out of the car I walked slowly toward the already waiting track ambulance. With a little help I climbed into the back and gingerly sat down, still refusing to look at the car. It was a short ride to the med center where they led me in to see the track physician. They removed my helmet, and H&N restraint. Then they removed my racing suit and handed me a hospital style gown. Still standing the doctor informed me that he would need to do an "inspection", I agreed. He looked over my neck and chest, then he informed me that he'd need to remove my underwear. This is a moment I knew was inevitable. This was where ALL of the pain was emanating from, it was unlike anything Ive ever felt. He tugged them down as he crouched in front of me. Then he made "the face". The face you make when you open the refrigerator drawer and discover all your fruit is rotten...

There is a deep sigh. Then he looks me in the eye and asks the question. "Do you have kids?" I answer in the affirmative. 2 actually. He crooks his mouth slightly, and asks, "do you want more?" I shake my head no. Then he says matter of factly, lets get you some ibuprofen. He tells me to lay on the bed before handing me the pills and some water. Then he tells me there is going to be lots of swelling. He also informed me that I would need to see a doctor for a follow up within 24 hours. Then he asks me if I'd be willing to see the team. I shake my head yes. A bit later there is a knock on the door. Instinctively I respond in a high pitched voice, "House keeping". Jaret and Evan both enter the room, they're both shaking their heads at my terribly timed Tommy Boy reference. They help me into some clothes and collect my racing gear, and we walk out to a waiting truck. I ride back to the paddock where I am surprised to see no smashed car. I learned later that when a crash is really bad, the take the car to a location away from everyone else to prevent too many pictures, and to prevent from upsetting spectators. Someone brought me my cell phone, and I spent the next 30 minutes attempting to contact my wife before she might see something on social media. It turned out she was at a friends house, and her phone was in the car. I sat in the truck the whole time the team loaded up. The feeling was awful watching everyone soberly load tools and spares into the truck. As the adrenaline rush finally subsided I cried. Partly from the pain, partly from what I could only assume was the total loss of a car that had been with me for the better part of a decade of racing. 1000s of hours of blood, sweat, and tears, and 10s of 1000s of dollars invested, and I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was bad. But how bad.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually the truck was loaded and the trailer was hooked up. We rolled towards the area outsides the gates where we had been told the car was left. As we rolled up along side it, I struggled with the emotions flooding through me. Pain or no pain, I climbed out of the truck. It was hard to look at. The damage was so complete it was difficult the put it into perspective.

At first glance it was still car shaped.

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From some angles anyway.

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Its hard to tell how much shorter the car became.

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The ride home was blur. Every bump was massively painful. I did have the mental capacity to type out a facebook post to let everyone know that I was ok. The story would be out eventually

"Testing is important, and generally a good thing.
Unless you're testing the structural integrity of your roll cage, and the efficiency of your safety equipment.
Today I experience catastrophic brake failure at well over a 100 mph in the Sons of Irony Motorsports
240SX. The crash that followed was extremely violent, but thanks to the safety equipment I should make a full recovery. I'd like to thank Road America
staff for their rapid response and the medical services that followed. They truly are the best in the business.
Cars can be replaced, and I'm glad I was able to walk away from something that could have been far worse. My Zamp Helmet
did a fantastic job of allowing the Simpson Race Products
H&N restraint to protect my neck and back from the impact. My OMP Racing
seat held up great as well. All will be replaced with improved versions.
But mostly thanks to the rest of the team (Jaret
, and Evan
, and Matt, and his wife) for having a great attitude regarding the situation, and doing all the heavy lifting to get us packed up on the way home. You're the best team a guy could hope for. I'm truly sorry about the car. We're down, but we're not out."

I don't remember unloading, but the next morning my wife candidly snapped this picture of me talking with my kids about what happened. Sometimes I think they miss that car more than I do,

Image

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Man, that's still a hard thing to read and watch even knowing what happens and knowing you're alright. Brings back a lot of anxiety.

So glad you weren't hurt any worse than your were.

What's all the liqid on the floor post crash and what is spraying around? Cool suit?

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DeXteR wrote:
Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:55 pm
Man, that's still a hard thing to read and watch even knowing what happens and knowing you're alright. Brings back a lot of anxiety.

So glad you weren't hurt any worse than your were.

What's all the liqid on the floor post crash and what is spraying around? Cool suit?
Yah, getting "back in the saddle" was hard.

Thanks.

The coolsuit cooler disintegrated. And the spray is the fire suppression system. Part of the coolsuit cooler hit the bottle hard enough to trigger the handle, and it has a lock so once it's going, it stays going until it's empty. I was soaked head to toe, so it was evidence my nozzle placement was good.

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The recovery process following the wreck was a long one. A follow up with my doctor lead to a referral for an ultrasound. The following day I spent one of the most uncomfortable 45 minutes having my abdomen and groin thoroughly inspected with an ultrasound wand. I learned that you can in fact make bad dad jokes while having your genitals fondled by a not unatractive nurse.

In the days after I developed an almost perfect bruise that showed where the shoulder harness had been. I popped blood vessels in both my eyes. My ability to focus my eyes was extremely delayed. Looking at a cell phone or a computer would quickly lead to a headache. The swelling and bruising in my "nether regions" was by far the worst though. It was next level.

What I learned. My initial understanding of the impact taught me a lot about racing design theory, driver positioning, and how all the modern safety equipment I had been wearing was designed to work in concert. I learned that while it may be required to lean a race seat back to keep a drivers helmet away from a low roof line/roll cage, you are sacrificing the safety of the driver in other ways by doing so. The more you lean the seat, the more impact load you transfer from the shoulder harness to the anti submarine belts. Because my seat was mounted with a significant lean, the "crotch straps" were instrumental in arresting my forward motion when the car abruptly came to a halt. In the future I will work harder to mount seats closer to vertical.

I also learned that many people overlook certain parts of roll cage design. At the end of the day, pretty welds, and shiny paint mean nothing if your cage is poorly designed, or if its missing critical structures to protect the parts of the driver that are most vulnerable. The cage in the 240 not only saved my life, it likely shortened my recovery time significantly and due to its design it likely made the difference between walking away, or being stretchered away.

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It was months before I had the strength to begin the task of disassembling the car and inspecting it. It was determined upon seeing the car at the track that the shell was absolutely Not rebuildable. Over the weeks following the crash the team discussed many options. We could re-shell what good parts were left on the car, and use the spares to complete a V2 of car 240. Or we could wipe the slate clean, sell all the S-chassis specific parts, and move to an entirely new platform. One way or another, the old shell would need to be stripped.

I started by doing a thorough inspection of the roll cage.


The footwell area of the car was badly deformed. But thanks to the footwell protection bars, or "anti intrusion" bars seen on the left, the firewall was prevented from pushing back further.

Image

Those forward tubes had both been bent along with the strut towers. Where the upper footwell protection bar met the foreword A post is where I found the worst damage. This shows not only the force involved in the crash, but it also proves the importance of always being aware of "load paths". The energy from the frontal impact was transferred through the footwell bars to the A post. Because the A post was supported on the opposite side by the door bar, the energy crushed the tube instead of breaking it.

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The rest of the cage, was for the most part still in its original shape. The body shell was a different story. One of the most impressive things was the damage done to the transmission tunnel. The engine being difficult to bend, it pushed back so hard that it folded the tunnel.

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This picture is evidence of how far back the firewalll was pushed. There should be approximately 14" between the dash bar and the rear of the wiper cowl, but the whole firewall/cowl was actually pushed against the dash bar.

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With some of the cage removed for access its easy to see how badly the transmission tunnel and passenger floor are buckled.

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This picture shows that my right side lap belt reinforcement plate both worked and didn't work. It did not pull out of the floor, which is good, but it also buckled the floor and tunnel. The weight of my body pulled the floor and tunnel forward a significant amount.

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The weight of the wing also collapsed the trunk, as well as folded its supports, turning it into an air brake.

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And it peeled the hatch up.

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Moving to the theoretically reusable suspension, I quickly noticed something a bit, "off".

Correct

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Uh oh....

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Found the issue. When the car stopped, the rear suspension didn't quite get the memo. The whole rear subframe tried to continue moving foreword, and it folded the frame rail and wrinkled the floor where it mounts to the chassis. Woof

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Lessons learned. Time for disassembly.

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Time to salvage what we can. Luckily I occasionally have a super hero for helper. Spiderman to the rescue.

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After pulling the seat, the ECU, and the some other safety gear I moved onto the front. It took me a while to remove the hood, or what was left of it.

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I pulled the knuckle assemblies to save the springs. Everything else was ruined. This is where I discovered Why the brakes went away. The inner brake pad for the RF caliper was missing. The downfall of a sliding caliper is if the pad gets thin enough, it can escape between the bracket and the rotor. I surmise that it slipped out somewhere in the carousel when the bearing was loaded and pulling the rotor away from the bracket at the bottom. Another lesson learned.

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After getting the core support cut out of the way, I backed the trailer into the garage and pulled what was left of the engine. Turns out I didn't have to remove most of the bellhousing bolts....

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Turns out a KA trans was Not designed to be a stressed member. F1 car material this is not.

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Shes not pretty.

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Back outside, I yanked the whole rear subframe.

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Buckled the frame all the way back, even with a cage. That will definitely not buff out.

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Started laying out spares so I could assess what I had. The green driveshaft was a spare. The one in the car got accordioned.

It was around this point that as a team we decided it was time for a new platform. With zero fully functional engines or transmissions left. With a large amount of the suspension destroyed. And with a need for an entire new braking system, we decided to move to a new platform. With S chassis parts getting older, and harder to find, it was just time to move on. I had planned to sell everything off partout style, but you know, best laid plans and all. The second person who came to look at stuff wandered around for a while, poked a few things, and asked a bunch of questions. Then he looked at me, and asked how much do you want for it. I asked what, and he said, waving his arms around for effect, "all of it. We agreed on a price, and over the few days we loaded every single piece of S chassis related stuff into his pickup truck. It took 3 loads similar to this one.

Image

With all the parts gone, all that was left was the shell. I hauled it to the local recycling yard. I had intended to hop out and grab a picture of the loader picking it off the trailer and taking it away, but he had his forks in it before I had the truck in park, and by the time I got out he was driving away, and just like that, it was gone. This is the last picture I took of it.

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A big piece of me left with the car. Its amazing how often I still wonder about where we'd be had we finished that race as normal. I owned that car longer than I've ever owned any other car. I doubt I'll ever stop missing it. I honestly don't know how I would cope with such a dramatic change in my life had it not been for a supportive wife, 2 great kids, and a race team down for just as many shenanigans as I was.

That, is the end of this chapter. Luckily, its not the end of the story. There's more to come. With the 240 gone, I will likely never own another Nissan. But don't worry, we ended up keeping things in the family. Here's to new beginnings.

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Dude. :iconeek

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FlatBlackIan wrote:
Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:14 pm

"Testing is important, and generally a good thing.
Unless you're testing the structural integrity of your roll cage, and the efficiency of your safety equipment.
Today I experience catastrophic brake failure at well over a 100 mph in the Sons of Irony Motorsports
240SX. The crash that followed was extremely violent, but thanks to the safety equipment I should make a full recovery. I'd like to thank Road America
staff for their rapid response and the medical services that followed. They truly are the best in the business.
Cars can be replaced, and I'm glad I was able to walk away from something that could have been far worse. My Zamp Helmet
did a fantastic job of allowing the Simpson Race Products
H&N restraint to protect my neck and back from the impact. My OMP Racing
seat held up great as well. All will be replaced with improved versions.
But mostly thanks to the rest of the team (Jaret
, and Evan
, and Matt, and his wife) for having a great attitude regarding the situation, and doing all the heavy lifting to get us packed up on the way home. You're the best team a guy could hope for. I'm truly sorry about the car. We're down, but we're not out."
I remember reading that on FB, but I had never watched the video until tonight or really heard the whole story. That was a terrible crash... possibly the worst I've ever seen on a privateer event.
From the video - "I am fully aware that a brake check likely would have prevented this, and that some mistakes may have been made in the moment. Turning in could have made the impact worse, not better, but unless you plan to recreate the accident with your own car, feel free to keep those sorts of comments to yourself."
Was someone giving you s***? I'm guessing some keyboard nazi on FB? Do we need to knock on some doors?! :mad:

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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Sat Nov 14, 2020 6:08 pm

I remember reading that on FB, but I had never watched the video until tonight or really heard the whole story. That was a terrible crash... possibly the worst I've ever seen on a privateer event.
From the video - "I am fully aware that a brake check likely would have prevented this, and that some mistakes may have been made in the moment. Turning in could have made the impact worse, not better, but unless you plan to recreate the accident with your own car, feel free to keep those sorts of comments to yourself."
Was someone giving you s***? I'm guessing some keyboard nazi on FB? Do we need to knock on some doors?! :mad:
Hahaha. I am a member of a lot of racing groups, and many crash videos have been dissected. I've discussed racing theory at length. I am also my own worst critic. I understand now that there are things I "could" have done differently. But whats done is done. As I continue to upload more pictures, I may explore what I did right, and what I did wrong. I was lucky enough to return to Road America, and I had the opertunity to venture down to Canada Corner. Being there on foot changes ones perspective significantly. There are things you don't see as the driver of a race car, because any decent driver learns early on that the car goes where the eyes go. You're always looking down track, and even when you've seen a turn 200 time, there are things you miss. I learned a lot of lessons that day and since,

That crash was one of the worst the safety workers had ever seen period. It was a chernobel type disaster that wasn't caused by any one incident. Multiple failures came together to create a perfect storm. I used every single safety apparatus the car had all at once, and I walked away. That's why I was willing to get back in the car. I survived what is hopefully a once in a lifetime crash. The chances of that happening again, especially with hindsight helping build the new car better, safer, faster.

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Dude you're my hero. And I don't say that... ever.

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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Sat Nov 14, 2020 6:59 pm
Dude you're my hero. And I don't say that... ever.
Haha, thanks. I am a terrible role model though. Just a guy with a an addiction to adrenaline and building cars hahaha.

In other news, I officially started the build thread for the new car. Maybe I can get that one up to date as well.

finndurance-motorsports-g35-endurance-r ... 27903.html

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It will always be a very important and influential car in my life. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to spend some time racing alongside you. I learned so much about being a rallyist and what a good rally car is from you and that 240sx.

Rest in pieces.

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DeXteR wrote:
Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:56 pm
It will always be a very important and influential car in my life. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to spend some time racing alongside you. I learned so much about being a rallyist and what a good rally car is from you and that 240sx.

Rest in pieces.
Thanks, now get the Sentra RS done so you can carry on the torch of NicoClubs rally car.



Continuing the story a bit and hopefully sharing another lesson learned.

We had planned to complete the new car over winter 2019-2020, with a debut at the May 2020 WRL race at Road America. But as everyone knows, Covid 19 laid everyones plans to waste, and many races were canceled. Instead we scrapped the debut, and continued to develop the car. As luck would have it, the October ChampCar Endurance Series race at Road America was on, so we loaded up.

I was both excited and nervous to return and attempt to get my revenge. We arrived early, and Jaret and I along with a driver for another team took a walk down to the scene of the crash.

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Seeing Turn 12 from a distance down track.

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Here's looking up towards 13 from the woods above 12. Road America is beautiful in the fall. The leaves swirling around the cars as the thunder through the kettle bottoms always reminds me of LSPR.

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Canada through the trees.

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And here is the 11a/12 combo. We were standing just above where I had impacted the wall.

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Seeing it up close again taught me a few things. 1st the runoff gravel trap on the left of T12 is much deeper than I had ever realized. Its so deep that there are something like 10 rows of stacked tires ready to catch a runaway car. I have since found videos of cars crashing into said tires. The tires do a better job of arresting the motion of the car. At that speed its still likely the car ends up a total loss, but the driver may not be hurt as badly. The down side is that the car is traveling so quickly that the gravel does nothing to slow the car, so you hit the tires faster than if you scrub speed the way I attempted to. I think if I had to do it again, I'd try for the tires, but mostly because I like trying new things hahahaha.

I also learned the importance of a track walk. Ive walked my home track (BIR) but Road America is 4 miles long, and there's never been an opportunity during a busy race weekend to burn a couple hours walking. What I should have done, was use the extensive service roads to visit different parts of the track to see things from the perspective of someone not battling it out with 3 other cars at 100 mph. There are things you never see from the drivers seat, even on a warm up or cool down lap, or by watching youtube videos. I'll make a more concerted effort in the future to see parts of the track I haven't before.

I'll end with another shameless plug for the new build thread. The story continues there.

post6815573.html#p6815573

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I couldn't watch that wreck more than once. That was atrocious. I've watched vids like that before, but watching it with someone you've met, makes it much more difficult. I can't tell you how happy I am you were able to walk away. I also can't tell you how happy I am that you've not given up and will get back in the saddle.

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IanS
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Car: 2002 Subaru WRX, 2010 Subaru Forester XT, 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe.
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float_6969 wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 8:38 am
I couldn't watch that wreck more than once. That was atrocious. I've watched vids like that before, but watching it with someone you've met, makes it much more difficult. I can't tell you how happy I am you were able to walk away. I also can't tell you how happy I am that you've not given up and will get back in the saddle.
It is hard to watch. I watched it for the first time on the ride home from the race. I had to know that I did everything I could have done, and while watching it made my stomach drop a bit, it also showed that I didn't freeze. Even if the actions I took following the brake pedal initially going to the floor may not have been the ideal actions, they were actions. I did something when faced with death and that's a very interesting thing to learn about yourself. Many people will go their entire lives without finding out what they're made of when all the chips are down.

As for getting back in the saddle, I spent the first few day choosing not to make that decisions because I wanted to make sure I wasn't making any knee jerk reactions. But I think I knew deep down that I wanted to be back in a car. If I hadn't been in so much pain, I'd have picked myself up, dusted myself off, and gotten back on the bike immediately.

A lot of people asked me, if I was going to give up such a dangerous hobby now that I'd had an accident. I tried to explain to each and everyone one of them that, while scary to think about, the likelihood of experiencing another crash like that in my lifetime is unlikely. By the statistics, I'm far more likely to get seriously injured during my commute to work than I am in the race car. Especially since I had such a terrible accident yet I have no lasting damage from it. The changes to my vision were that last remaining "symptom" and those dissipated after 3 months or so.

I'm not going to lie, I was slightly nervous getting into the new car at the first test session, but that only lasted until I got the throttle all the way open the first time. Then it was all smiles. Maybe its Covid, but I'm more excited to get back to racing now than I ever have been.


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