Posted on 02/04/2008 10:43:18 AM PST by stainlessbanner
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A 60-year-old tourist died after he crashed while driving a Richard Petty Driving Experience NASCAR vehicle at the Daytona International Speedway.
Track officials said Robert Boswell was driving around the speedway Sunday night when he somehow lost control of the race car and crashed into a wall.
Boswell was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center, where he was declared dead at about 7 p.m., officials said.
Cars can reach speeds of 120 mph in the simulated stock car racing attraction at the Daytona Beach International Speedway.
An autopsy is being conducted to determine if any health condition contributed to the crash.
Boswell was an avid race fan, officials said.
The Richard Petty driving experience was closed to the public Monday because of the crash.
Well, at least he died happy.
Yeah and he probably had to sign a release.
It’s a shame, but this guy wanted to do something with an element of danger. No doubt his family will sue. Chances are the price of the driving experience will be raised, if it isn’t closed altogether.
Since when did freedom come to mean freedom from harm?
But I've signed a waiver at Texas Motor Speedway just to ride along, not drive.
It said, my fault, their fault, nobody's fault, I would pay for any damages !
If I have to go, this is one of the ways I’d want to go. Prayers for the man and his family.
Next up, lawsuit, followed by the end of this type of entertainment.
Same here.
I used to race limited late models on the local dirt tracks. Had to sign a waiver at every track.
That’s why we used to say it’s $500 worth of car and $10,000 worth of safety equipment.
Scary, since my old man (who is 60) wants to go out, if given the choice, on a race track — preferably at the end of a 1/4-mile run.
or soiling his pants.
Or as Bill Cosby put it, “First you say it, then you do it.”
Sounds as if he was dead or unconscious before the crash.
He signed up for the Richard Petty Driving Experience and got the Dale Ernhardt Driving experience intead.
The erratic movements, and report the driver looked like he was slumped over the wheel tends to lead toward heart attack. Another possibility is that his body couldn't handle the G-forces of the speed and 38 degree banking and he passed out.
Maybe he meant to take the, "KYLE Petty Driving CAREER Experience"? Non?
Ping
Whats the big deal there? If I am going to be pretty big bucks to drive a NASCAR car, I want the thing to be real. Not a wimped down version. I'll pass until they replace the kiddy cars with the real deal.
Oh, and our Gov., Mike Easley, has crashed 2 cars at Lowes Motor Speedway and a 3rd on city streets!
He signed up for the Richard Petty Driving Experience and got the Dale Ernhardt Driving experience intead.
Sick sense of humor ... and uncalled for.
Well, at least I know where the comment that went through my mind would have ended up if I had hit the post button.
Probably had a heart attack at all the excitement.
I agree. 120 in a NASCAR doesn’t seem that different from doing 90 in my truck on a normal day between DC and Baltimore on I-95. If I am paying money I want to go fast; 180 or more fast if possible depending on the track.
With all due respect to the dead man, its asinine to allow novices onto a racetrack. Just as it would be to climb aboard a space shuttle or dive into a shark cage.
Certain activities require a level of expertise, and paying simple admission isn’t a qualifier.
I was ready to post the same thing. I guess some people still worship St. Dale and insist his name shall not be mocked.
With no statistics at hand, I’ll postulate that the death/injury rate per mile for the PDE is better than for the general public on suburban roads.
Just as the death/injury rate for a US soldier working in Iraq is lower than if he/she was in many US urban areas.
It was much more physical than I thought it was going to be. The Cars are really striped down and you vibrate with the RPM, teeth and all. I did start to doubt my confidence after the car was started and the belts were tight, (real tight!) But I hit the gas and tailgated the spotter in front of me for 8 laps.
I'd do it again.
I hear there are a couple drag racing experience places with full blown, top fuel dragsters that will do in excess of 300 MPH. I would much rather do that.
Maybe they could rename it the
Dale Ernhardt Experience
Cold but funny.
Sounds like a heart attack behind the wheel to me...
I just did this last summer (IT WAS FRICKIN’ AWESOME!).
But, that being said - you can’t “slump over the wheel” with all the straps and safety equip.
The heat inside is about 30-40 degrees higher than ambient. Maybe a stroke or something.
>>Well, at least he died happy.<<
That’s what I was thinking.
Meanwhile, I’ve had my Chrysler 300m at over 130 in Montana. It is amazing how tight those “gradual” turns feel at that speed.
i agree - i did the ride-along at lowes (165 mph!!)
highly recommmended and i love nascar - but that’s why i didn’t drive it to start. there’s a reason they make all that $$
man, whatta rush, though!
everybody should try it!
>>With all due respect to the dead man, its asinine to allow novices onto a racetrack.<<
If the top speed is 120, it is hardly a “racetrack”. Also, if he was alone, he wasn’t racing. It is probably the safest place in the country to do those kind of speeds.
I drove a GMC Syclone 125 mph for two laps around Rockingham once....then they saw me and I took off.
Honestly, it felt like the truck was glued to the track and everything was slow motion, since the track is much wider than a lane on the freeway.
How, exactly, do you get track experience without being a novice at one point?
You have to start somewhere.
My boss a few years ago did the one at Charlotte, like you did. He said it was the greatest thrill of his life. He had the pictures of him in the driving suit standing next to the car, and him with his helmet on strapped in.
That poor guy had to have had a heart attack or something before the car hit the wall. 70 mph in a stock car, that’s barely a love tap with all the safety equipment they have.
}:-)4
RIP.
There are plenty of racetracks where you can't drive at 120 mph in any car. In this instance, though, it is the car that is the limitation. They are probably de-tuned to an acceptable performance level for student race drivers.
Nascar cars are not particularly quick anyway, they have nothing like the performance of Formula 1 or even Indy Cars. For instance, the Nascar lap record at Phoenix's PIR is 26.499 secs (135.84 MPH) Whereas the Indy Cars routinely lap at 20 seconds or below which means they are averaging 180 MPH or more.
I know of an AC Cobra that holds (or held) the production car lap record at Daytona at an average speed of 198 MPH. So, the thrack is not the limitation in this instance, Daytona is a Super Speedway.
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep, like my Grandpa did... Not yelling and screaming like the four other people he had in his car...
>>There are plenty of racetracks where you can’t drive at 120 mph in any car. In this instance, though, it is the car that is the limitation. They are probably de-tuned to an acceptable performance level for student race drivers. <<
Yeah, I worded mine poorly. What I actually was trying to get across was that if he was driving on a track that was meant to be an asphalt race track, 120 isn’t very fast.
Does anybody know how fast the pace car goes around a Nascar track?
When I did the ride with a driver, we got to 147 as I was screaming, “faster! faster!”
They’re around 200 mph and more in a race. I don’t know the averages.
I remember once I was taking my Mazda 323 from Flint, Michigan to Detroit Metro Airport. I was in a real hurry, so I had the thing floored. The speedo needle was pegged at 95, but I was well past that.
I got to a fork where the Interstate divides in a very gradual turn. I nearly wound up molded into a bridge abutment, the thing came up so fast. I had driven that road a hundred times before, and things are just different when you double the speed.
I’m sure he signed a release form.
120 really isnt that fast in those cars. Heck I brought my wife’s Lexus SUV up to 100 on the way to the FL panhandle once (while she was napping ;) ) and it still had a little more.
Hadn’t done over 100 since I was in college, and the last time I did was in a BMW 2002 and the wheels about came off. Cars now are built so much better in many ways now.
Yeah, my speedo only goes to 120, and I was way past that. But I know my car has a governor at 140.
And yeah, I’ve taken the Montanabahn in my Chrysler, an oldsmobile rental and a Dodge intrepid rental. My 300 has the “performance” suspension package. It is why the governor is at 140.
The package doesn’t make it a BMW, but with the Dodge and the Oldsmobile, you could feel the difference in the front and rear suspension geometry at the slightest bump while cornering over 100. The Chrysler was VERY tight. It was a LOT of fun.
Super Speedways like Daytona and Charlotte are run at speeds around 200MPH, other tracks are slower. One mile ovals are around 130 MPH and smaller tracks are slower still.
The pace car is usually running at around half to two thirds race pace.
The speed at which he was going is only half the story, the angle he hit at is also a significant factor. I have hit walls at over 100 MPH and walked away. A glancing blow at high speed is far less dangerous than head on at 30MPH
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