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.
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
I would pay good money to go on a “rush hour” ride like that!
True, but if you passed out, your head would dip down a bit and your hands would slip down the wheel and fall off. Maybe that's what they meant by "the participant had kind of slumped over the wheel". Just speculating.
A 300 hemi ?
Rumor has it that limiters will not let a 300 go above 130.
Did it have any thing left at 130?
Well, the manual said it was at 140. It is actually part of the “features” of getting the “performance upgrade”. Without it the governor is set lower. And my 130 speed is an estimate. I was still accelerating quite a ways past 120. I actually thought my estimate was conservative.
>>Did it have any thing left at 130?<<
Being someone that is only comfortable with a sustained speed of about 105, I felt nervous going any faster. It was willing to go faster (because I actually backed off from the peak before I levelled off) but I was, I dunno, scared!
The “C” model is the hemi , the SRT-8 is the 6.1l hemi ,, this was M which means either the base V-6 or a 3.5l v-6 with high compression.. with the sport suspension it’s a good high speed cruiser.
“somehow lost control of the race car “
“Somehow” lost control? Isn’t that like an amatuer climber “somehow” falling off the mountain? Laws of physics trump inexperience.
I read this shortly before your flag...
Down the thread a bit, someone posted an article from another source I think and it states in there that the guy was up at around 125 his forth lap. And the he seen him in a jerky motion and slightly slumped over before he hit the wall...
Couple gut feelings on this. First, I do not think his “escort” would have brought him up to such speeds if he did not perform well enough the first 3 times around. Second, I think we may find at autopsy the guy may have suffered possibly a heart attack or something...
If something mechanical happened to the car, then they are in deep doo doo...
The wife's 300C is a fun car to drive.
She said I could drive it on The Atlanta Motor Speed Way if I could get permission.
Two chances of that: Slim and None
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