Starting line crowd (1 Viewer)

Cliff

Nitro Member
Have been watching 4 different feeds from various races today. One in San Antonio, outlaw street. Noticed that there are a lot of people on the starting line, & inside the starters area. Was thinking, if a car gets loose on the burnout, or someone blows an engine, there could be a lot of people that get hurt. I dunno why that is allowed by those associations, but it seems to be part of outlaw street. Arghh
 
Cliff,
Have you ever been to a street race? Heck, it's in the title of the event.


Alan
 
Hi Alan,
No, never been to a street race, altho have seen footage on U Tube. I guess my concern was so many people on the starting line for safety reasons. I noted that Tucson Drags has No Prep races scheduled this year. Did see footage of a big outlaw race they had earlier this year. I like Pro Mod and kinda see these cars in the same way.
 
I've long thought there are way too many people allowed around the burnout and staging areas on the tracks at national events.
You've got people standing beside the cars when they burn out, and they stand directly behind the cars once they're staged.
And that's just for the cars that are running. Behind them is the next group of people for the upcoming pair of cars.
Plus, you've got others with passes who are just standing around watching the racing.
Heaven help us if there should be another incident such as what claimed Shelly Howard and her son at Tulsa in 2005.
 
Something will eventually happen. Last year at the World Series of Pro Mod event, a top sportsman car was having issues staging, finally got the second bulb lit and when he hit the gas the car went in reverse. Thankfully he was quick on the brakes and there was only a few people behind him and they thankfully were paying attention.
 
I've long thought there are way too many people allowed around the burnout and staging areas on the tracks at national events.
You've got people standing beside the cars when they burn out, and they stand directly behind the cars once they're staged.
And that's just for the cars that are running. Behind them is the next group of people for the upcoming pair of cars.
Plus, you've got others with passes who are just standing around watching the racing.
Heaven help us if there should be another incident such as what claimed Shelly Howard and her son at Tulsa in 2005.

Standing room only :)
 

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Someone will lose control on the burnout someday, people will get hurt, the track will get sued, and then they'll get everyone out of there. I've seen some races where there are so many people on the starting line there is literally 12" on each side of the car to do a burn out.


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When Larry Miner (Miner Bros) drove my car in 2005 Fred Miner, Larry's brother, was on my crew. We noticed that Fred was missing an eye. He said he lost it because he was standing behind his dad in their blown gas Opel when it kicked a rock up on the back tire and took his eye out on the starting line. The same thing almost happened to me at the 2007 Tucson divisional while we were warming up my car on stands in our pit. I was wearing sun glasses and got a rock off the left rear tire in my eye. 10 minutes later I was in ER at the nearest hospital getting sunglasses dug out of my eye. My exploding sunglasses managed to save my eye from the impact of the rock, thankfully.

I never stand behind a car doing a burnout or launching at any distance in any class and I always wore safety glasses to the starting line and while warming up in the pits after that incident in 2007.


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Have been watching 4 different feeds from various races today. One in San Antonio, outlaw street. Noticed that there are a lot of people on the starting line, & inside the starters area. Was thinking, if a car gets loose on the burnout, or someone blows an engine, there could be a lot of people that get hurt. I dunno why that is allowed by those associations, but it seems to be part of outlaw street. Arghh[/QUOTE I noticed there were a lot of race cars there yesterday morning when I passed the track on the way to Gainesville Fl.
 
A while back at a Div 1 event a collector came loose on a burnout, got under the slick, shot backwards and severely injured someone. That area is no place for spectators.
 
I believe a couple of years ago Greg Anderson was hit in the temple by a rock while waiting a couple of pair back. I say all the time that someone's going to get hurt especially when they are directly behind the cars on a burnout or launch.
 
I believe a couple of years ago Greg Anderson was hit in the temple by a rock while waiting a couple of pair back. I say all the time that someone's going to get hurt especially when they are directly behind the cars on a burnout or launch.

The Cooner Wire suite at Pomona had a bulls eye break in the window straight behind the starting line. That's a 2nd floor suite probably 150' back of the water box. The Cooner Wire suite occupies the area in the windows above the "Cooner Wire" and "Lucas Oil" signage.

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This is a screenshot of a video I took a few years ago from the Cooner Wire suite. Jack Beckman left lane, Del Worsham right lane were under way.


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I always wondered why they let spectators stand in the staging lanes at Norwalk when Bob Motz was burning down the sign.
 
Heard a story about someone taking a zeus button in the calf. Imagine getting shot in the lower leg.
We have slow-mo video of a run last year where we lost a zues button from starting line shake and after the tire ran over it, you see the button fire across over our heads like a bullet.
 
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