Karamesines Crew Incident

[Chris]

Wow just seen it on ESPN hope he's alright.

 

[J]

yea me too,wow

 

[z28]

Wow just seen it on ESPN hope he's alright.

Anyone know if that guy (Swearington)is in the family that runs at San Antonio?
That's a good example of what can happen when you get out of routine (4 wide) Too many guys trying to keep up with each other and you make a mistake.

 

[Ellen]

I believe Dennis is from California....if you are ok Facebook, type in his name and his profile will come up!

 

[baxter]

that was crew chief and crew error period plus the driver is 80 !!! so glad he is ok . helmets may be needed on the starting line ?? lucky more crew guys haven't been injured over the years !!

 

[jackass]

Know many of those guys well... no one takes more percautions than they do... freak things happen .. Tim and the guys were still trying to figure it out when i left today...


and drivers age has nothing to do with it...

 

[TF CREW]

Anyone know if that guy (Swearington)is in the family that runs at San Antonio?
That's a good example of what can happen when you get out of routine (4 wide) Too many guys trying to keep up with each other and you make a mistake.

Its Dennis Swearingen and Dennis lives in So Cal

 

[Just Paul]

Glad they are ok.


Time to bring back the crew uniforms with a tire tread mark printed on them like Bernstein 88.

 

[.]

I missed the TV coverage today..... Someone got ran over? What happened?

 

[Nick]

Can someone explain what exactly happened? What I mean by what happened is, how did the car ignite & lurch forward like that?! I'm just a fan, and not knowledgable in the mechanics of the starting line procedures with the fuel cars.

I'm glad everyone is Ok and I do understand that mistakes happen.

 

[Nick]

I missed the TV coverage today..... Someone got ran over? What happened?

The Greeks car ignited unexpectedly on the starting line, lurched forward taking a crew member down. Crew member is ok, but badly bruised. Similar, not exactly but similar to the Tony Pedregon incident some years back.

 

[BrianT]

that was crew chief and crew error period plus the driver is 80 !!! so glad he is ok . helmets may be needed on the starting line ?? lucky more crew guys haven't been injured over the years !!

What does the drivers age have to do with this accident?
a crew member admitted he made a mistake, you didn't include the crew members age.
it was an accident. Fortunately the guy is OK

 

[.]

[vbtube]HTobPSCONtU[/vbtube]

[vbtube]n4-3uch5CTU[/vbtube]

 

[camaro]

might be a silly question, but when those cars are in the process of firing up, shouldn't the clutch be disengaged ie. clutch pedal down ??

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Another reason to go to a self-start system. How many times do we have to hurt crewman before we avoid this ?? We could have lost him today if he would have got run over, instead of bouncing off the rear tire.

 

[.]

might be a silly question, but when those cars are in the process of firing up, shouldn't the clutch be disengaged ie. clutch pedal down ??

Yes, the clutch pedal is normally depressed. (down) However, they are centrifugal clutches that are activated (engaged) via engine RPM. Even if the pedal is down, and the RPM raises high enough, the clutch will still engage.... the clutch pedal will actually lift the drivers leg.

Glad Dennis is OK.

Thanks for the videos, Paul.

 

[MM]

Can more of you guys who weren't there and have no idea what happened (other than what you saw on TV) please tell me more about all the changes we need to make to the starting line procedures and the way the cars are started?

 

[__]

Can more of you guys who weren't there and have no idea what happened (other than what you saw on TV) please tell me more about all the changes we need to make to the starting line procedures and the way the cars are started?

The most unwelcome sentences in the English language all begin with the same six words. "You know what you outta do..."

 

[TF CREW]

Can more of you guys who weren't there and have no idea what happened (other than what you saw on TV) please tell me more about all the changes we need to make to the starting line procedures and the way the cars are started?

THANKS MIKE!!!!!

Good luck to you Pat, Dan, and Scoots

 

[Heavyhauler]

No I wasn't there haven't seen it on TV but I can tell you that just starting a TF or FC is a very sensitive procedure and not for the timid. There are hundreds of ways to get hurt when starting them, and more are being invented every day. Gas bottles stuck in the throttle blades, starter motor exploding, running your fingers through the blower belt, batteries shorting and exploding, neutral not set correctly on the pedal stop, lock up bolts left in pressure plate, mags 180 out of time, loose fuel or oil lines, foreign objects in the blower, being assaulted by connecting rods falling out, head gaskets squirting out because someone didn't think it was important to back the motor down before hanging the starter, gas bottles filled with solvent instead of gas.

At least when we push started all you worried about is hooking a tire and parking the pickup on the roll cage and the nitro bath the wipers took made that first rain storm a real treat.

Self Starting, not a chance any driver I've known would be comfortable with that notion. Accidents happen on the starting line and it is sad that's how we lost Herb Parks, but on the whole the procedures and the personnel within the restricted area are all very competent and look out for each other.
My gosh do we really need more rules, we have plenty to go around now.