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Dale Earnhardt Jr. burned after crash
Yahoo ^ | 7/18/04 | AP - Sonoma

Posted on 07/18/2004 10:54:47 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

Edited on 07/18/2004 11:16:00 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was treated for minor burns on his face and legs and hospitalized after an accident Sunday during practice for the American Le Mans Series Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Medical officials at Infineon Raceway described the injuries as ``moderate-sized burns of moderate intensity.'' Earnhardt was flown to the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento for precautionary reasons.

During a 30-minute practice, Earnhardt's Chevrolet Corvette C5-R spun and hit a barrier in turn eight of the road racing track, catching fire. Earnhardt quickly got out of the car on his own before being assisted by safety crews.

Earnhardt, who regularly competes in the Nextel Cup Series, was to have driven in Sunday's ALMS race with veteran road racing driver Boris Said. The team has withdrawn the car from the race.

FRom Nascar.com

Earnhardt Jr. burned in Grand Am practice crash
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive July 18, 2004

1:25 PM EDT (1725 GMT)

SONOMA, Calif. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered moderate burns to his facial and lower extremities Sunday morning in an accident during American LeMans Series practice at Infineon Raceway.

Track spokesman John Cardinale said Earnhardt was transported to the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Infineon's designated hospital for burn treatment.

According to an American LeMans Series statement, Earnhardt was driving a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R in a 30-minute practice session when the accident occurred. The car spun and impacted a barrier in the Turn 8 section of the road-racing track, then caught fire. Earnhardt quickly exited the car on his own, and was then assisted by safety crews.

Earnhardt, who regularly competes in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series, was scheduled to co-drive in today's Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma with veteran road racing driver Boris Said. The team has withdrawn the car from the race.

2 posted on 07/18/2004 1:57:30 PM EDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi Mac ... Godspeed x40 ... Support Our Troops!!! ......Become a FR Monthly Donor ...)


TOPICS: Breaking News; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: bruned; crash; daleearnhardtjr; dalejr; earnhardtjr; earnheardt; infineon; junior; nascar; notbreakingnews
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To: Vigilantcitizen; SheLion
Vigilantcitizen is absolutely correct. One reason why I wish some of the older drivers would retire when they get into their mid-40's is because they get used to doing things the way they always have. Eventually, advances in the sport pass them by. Rusty admitted as much about himself in an interview earlier this year after he won.

Whatever else Dale Sr. was, he was also a fallible human being subject, at times, to questionable judgement — just like every other human being ever born. He had his own, out-of-date approach to his personal safety. Unfortunately, many people in the garage area copied him, including his own son.

Dale Sr. was opposed to the head-and-neck restraints when they were invented. Had he not been, perhaps many more drivers would have started using them earlier, and maybe some lives — including Dale Sr's — would have been saved.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way blaming Dale Sr. for anything. He called it honestly, like he saw it, and hindsight is always 20-20.

Nevertheless, Vigilantcitize is right. When it came to safety equipment, Dale Sr. was his own worst enemy.

161 posted on 07/18/2004 9:30:12 PM PDT by Wolfstar (Get off your duffs and VOTE for Bush-Cheney in Nov. Your life may depend on it.)
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To: Wolfstar

Absolutely right he is a lucky boy tonight.

Also, as you mentioned earlier he had to bail out himself because no track official came to the car until he was on the ground on all fours.

It also looked as though he almost hit those guys when he spun. They were stationed behind a small tire barrier which he hit.

The ALS people better look at that tape very closely and get their emergency personnel up to snuff!!


162 posted on 07/18/2004 9:33:36 PM PDT by WestCoastGal (aka Coco~~~~~~>Freeping & Nascar >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> How Bad Have You Got It????)
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To: NormsRevenge

I agree, someone was watching our for Junior today. If it wasn't the good Lord Himself, perhaps it was Big E, as I said, giving his son a kick in the butt to get the heck out of that car NOW!!! I can almost imagine Big E saying in his best Intimidator style, "What you waiting for, boy? MOVE YOUR --SS!!!"


163 posted on 07/18/2004 9:36:07 PM PDT by Wolfstar (Get off your duffs and VOTE for Bush-Cheney in Nov. Your life may depend on it.)
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To: WestCoastGal
The ALS people better look at that tape very closely and get their emergency personnel up to snuff!!

Agreed. There have been a couple of incidents this year in NASCAR when the drivers thought the safety crew was slow. But the NASCAR crews are greased lightening compared to the crew in Sonoma this morning.

164 posted on 07/18/2004 9:38:36 PM PDT by Wolfstar (Get off your duffs and VOTE for Bush-Cheney in Nov. Your life may depend on it.)
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To: Wolfstar

I wonder if someone forgot to tighten a hose clamp on the filler tube when they changed the cell...


165 posted on 07/18/2004 10:27:47 PM PDT by tubebender (If I had known I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself...)
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To: WestCoastGal

I saw the tape on the sports news tonight and the car was stopped for a only few seconds at most before it ignited..


166 posted on 07/18/2004 11:31:26 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi Mac ... Godspeed x40 ... Support Our Troops!!! ......Become a FR Monthly Donor ...)
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To: GRRRRR; Mo1; Blueflag; Vigilantcitizen

The Automobile Club of the West (ACO), which sanctions the 24 Heures du Mans, will be under intense scrutiny over car safety after this incident.

All ALMS rules come from the the 81-year old French endurance classic and somehow the ACO and IMSA (which sanctions the ALMS, agreement between IMSA and ACO means ACO sets rules) need work on safety standards after this incident. IMSA can't set standards for the ALMS. They must yield to ACO when setting rules. One ACO rule prohibits cars from changing tires until the fueling has been finished, and under ACO rules, cars must be fueled at the agonising rate of one litre per second (1.06 quarts per second). During that stop, the only possible activity is driver changes. For a 22-gallon fuel tank, it can take nearly a minute and a half to fuel the car.

Sportscar racing has been a traditional part of Cup guys and it works both ways. Mark Martin won a few IMSA GT races in the late 1980's and early 1990's, and more than a fair share of Cup drivers have made appearances at the Rolex 24 over the years.

The late Rolf Stommolen, a German F1 journeyman and later sportscar driver who would be killed at Riverside, ran one NNCS race at Talladega in an ex-Holman & Moody Mercury (it was, as a 1967 Ford, Mario Andretti's Daytona 500 winner). That car later was sold to an independent driver based in Nashville who used it to run his first few Cup races. The rest for that driver is history, and is stored in his museum.

Tiny Lund's dramatic rescue of Marvin Panch took place while Panch was testing a sportscar.

Cup drivers love fans, and they love to come to the fans.

Question: Did the pneumatiques fail? Most ALMS cars run pneumatiques Michelin because of a deal between the brand and ACO. The Pratt & Miller Engineering Corvettes run pneumatiques Michelin. An investigation may take place in Greenville SC, but the ACO isn't even investigating the car. NASCAR would in such cases take the car to the impound and investigate what happened.

Blueflag and Mo1,

Dale Jr first used a closed-face helmet during a Corvette run, and that influenced his career. By the fall Atlanta race in 2002, Dale Jr switched to the full mask. He likes it aplenty and it showed today why disobeying his father worked. Darrell Waltrip went after Junebug shortly after his father's death over the helmet and it was a subject of his interview in 2001. In the interview, Junior said Senior seized the Corvette full-face helmet from him when he tried to wear it during Shootout practice.

The Esses has been a section of Infineon Dale Jr has pounded throught five years of Cup racing on the circuit and has enough experience. It's the Carousel, where his father passed Mark Martin to win an NNCS race in 1995, which he never raced, since the NNCS course removed the Carousel in 1998.

The reason Dale Jr was sent to UC Davis is directly related to Infineon policy on fire injuries. All injuries involving burns require drivers to be sent to this hospital. It's a matter of finding the best.

Dale shows he's a hard-nosed driver who came to the fans and decided to help Chevrolet's racing operations. That dedication will be worth it considering this year some of the top Cup stars have climed into sportscar cockpits. Chevrolet's top name driver goes down to help the brand with another race is big PR. You don't see Michael Schumacher going down to a GT class sportscar to help Ferrari win another race.

Earnhardt has worn Italian-made Sparco uniforms since 2002 in the wake of the Simpson dispute when Ty Norris (then general manager) joined Richard Childress and other top teams in ditching Simpson after Bill Simpson sold the company, and the teams chose the Sparco uniforms. The following full-time Nextel drivers use Sparco: 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 40, 41, 42. Those teams, plus the pit crew of the 48 and 31, also wear Sparco uniforms.


167 posted on 07/19/2004 4:21:33 AM PDT by Bobby Chang
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To: NormsRevenge

FNC had some video of the crash this morning. Right after the crash you can see a clear liquid, sloshing over the inside of the roof and streaming down the interior of the car. I'm assuming it's gasoline. Scary. Did the gas tank rupture?


168 posted on 07/19/2004 4:28:05 AM PDT by mewzilla
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To: Vigilantcitizen
Ma'am, with all due respect, your post is absolutely false.

I guess you told me, huh!

Actually, I didn't follow Simpson after Senior's death.

The only thing I ever heard about Dale not following safety features is that he didn't like to wear the full face mask.

169 posted on 07/19/2004 4:48:51 AM PDT by SheLion (Please register to vote! We can't afford to remain silent!!)
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To: Wolfstar
Nevertheless, Vigilantcitize is right. When it came to safety equipment, Dale Sr. was his own worst enemy.

Senior started out on dirt tracks, wearing nothing but jeans, a T shirt and a helmet. I still miss him very much.

170 posted on 07/19/2004 5:14:11 AM PDT by SheLion (Please register to vote! We can't afford to remain silent!!)
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To: small_l_libertarian
Good grief. I just read what I wrote to you previously and realized that I made two errors. One, the word "also" should be "a race in" (don't know what I was thinking) and "Daytona 500" should be "Daytona 24 Hours" (yes, I do know the difference). Sorry for my confusing reply - I've been awake for a really long time today.

Oh that's ok! :)

No harm done at all!!! ;-)

171 posted on 07/19/2004 5:15:51 AM PDT by SheLion (Please register to vote! We can't afford to remain silent!!)
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To: mewzilla
Right after the crash you can see a clear liquid, sloshing over the inside of the roof and streaming down the interior of the car. I'm assuming it's gasoline

I originally thought this too, but looking at the video again the fuel spillage you see is from a camera mounted under the car looking out the back. I could be wrong, but check that if you see the video again.

172 posted on 07/19/2004 5:18:39 AM PDT by McGruff
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To: NormsRevenge

Isn't this the doofus who said that everyone should go see Mikey Mooreons "Farten-hurt 9-11"?

I won't say what I'm really thinking.


173 posted on 07/19/2004 5:19:12 AM PDT by 7.62 x 51mm (• Veni • Vidi • Vino •)
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To: Bobby Chang

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing.


174 posted on 07/19/2004 5:37:49 AM PDT by Vigilantcitizen
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To: SheLion
I guess you told me, huh!

I tried to be nice and respectful...cuz I do like ya a whole bunch. :)

175 posted on 07/19/2004 5:39:00 AM PDT by Vigilantcitizen
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To: Wolfstar

Thanks Wolfstar.

BTW...See Bobby Chang's most excellent post #167.


176 posted on 07/19/2004 5:40:25 AM PDT by Vigilantcitizen
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To: Vigilantcitizen
I tried to be nice and respectful...cuz I do like ya a whole bunch. :)

Back at cha!


177 posted on 07/19/2004 5:44:48 AM PDT by SheLion (Please register to vote! We can't afford to remain silent!!)
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To: McGruff

Folks - most likely this 'spray' is water from his cool suit system. It's little more than a glorified water cooler/ice chest inside the car with a pump and circulation system

He sat still in his car for a bit probably because he was on his radio telling his crew he crashed hard and would need a ride to the pits.

One of the first things you do as a driver after a crash (after you radio in of course) is cut the master power so that, among other things, your fuel pump shut off. Not sure Jr. did this. That could be becasue he was on the radio yakking when he should have been shutting down and extricating himself from his now useless vehicle.

I raced for years, and worked as a corner worker for more years than i raced. Fires like Dale's are rare. Somthing broke (like tubing) in my opinion and punctured his fuel cell. A simple ruptured fuel line would not feed a conflagration like that. (unless the fuel pump was still on of course)


178 posted on 07/19/2004 6:30:58 AM PDT by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitor)
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To: Blueflag; McGruff

Thanks for the info.


179 posted on 07/19/2004 6:36:25 AM PDT by mewzilla
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To: WestCoastGal

"The ALS people better look at that tape very closely and get their emergency personnel up to snuff!!"

Look, this was a practice for a sportscar race on a road course, not a Nascar race with a budget of many millions and safety trucks loaded with workers and equipment waiting to zoom out there at a moments notice. Those guys were corner workers, mostly there to do flagging and communicate with the race officials. They didn't have firesuits, they were wearing shorts and t-shirts, and were very likely volunteers. I would have been pretty hesitant to run into that fireball, too.


180 posted on 07/19/2004 7:02:39 AM PDT by -YYZ-
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