If I didn't get to do anything at the Portland Historics...

No one was injured

Kenny tells me that I must write up an incident report for the Forum before he posts the pictures of the incident. The incident in question took place during the Big Bore Production heat race on Saturday afternoon. Car 111, a Studebaker of some description, blew his engine in a big way in Portland’s turn 3, causing him to spin in his own oil off the track drivers right. He came to a stop facing oncoming traffic about 15 feet off the racing surface. Ross “Rooster” Thornton, Larry Firth, Kim McFarland and I were in the new Safety 2 truck wearing its brand new livery and were stationed at Turn 6. This new truck is a Ford F-350 4-wheel drive with a Triton V-10 engine. It is a big tough truck with a nice new drop bumper to keeps cars out from under it. When the Studebaker blew its engine, we started moving in that direction. On our way to the rarely used Turn 3 station, one of the historic NASCAR cars, number 15, spun in the oil and hit the wall drivers left, across the track from the Studebaker. The NASCAR was able to continue but due to the impact, an alert was called over comm. We were dispatched and headed for the only car there, the Studebaker. I parked the truck in a shield position while Larry and Rooster jumped out with a fire bottle to check for fire. There was lots of smoke from under the hood. While they were starting to open the hood, I checked my mirrors and saw that rather than a line of oil, the Studebaker and spread oil over half the racetrack right in the exit of Turn 3. At that point, I knew we were in trouble and called for a Pace Car Now over the radio. Kim was still in the back of the truck helping me by keeping an eye on what the traffic was doing. The first few cars to pass us were still very fast and very lucky to get through without losing control. I had my eyes glued to my left side mirror and my hand on the horn, basically waiting for the worst. I didn’t have to wait long. Car 45 black, a Sunbeam Tiger that is a regular at northwest tracks had seen the flags at Turn 1 and the lights of the new truck ahead. He came around Turn 3 at about 75%, which would probably have been enough if this had been a normal line of oil, instead of a lake covering a huge area. When he hit the oil, I realized that he was going to get the truck, so I leaned on the horn to help warn Larry and Rooster. The Tiger spun and hit the left rear tire of Safety 2 a glancing blow with his left front corner. He bounced away from that impact while the truck jumped sideways. He clipped the left front running board under my door on his way past, but did not damage the cab of the truck at all. The car continued to spin and managed to hit the right front corner of the Studebaker right where the workers had been a few seconds before. Kim saw the Tiger coming and slammed herself into the racing seat that is in the back of the new truck. After the impact, I asked Kim if she was ok and she said she was. I then scanned the scene and could see that Rooster and Larry and the Studebaker driver were ok. They all checked on the Tiger driver and signaled “driver ok”. I radioed in that Safety 2 had been hit and that all workers were ok and all drivers were ok. Later on, we found that in the process and as a result of the impact of the Tiger, Kim received some bruising along her ribs and the inside of her upper arms. Otherwise, she was ok. Rooster and Larry had both been on their toes and saw the Tiger coming and realized that it was time to exit the area. They were fine as well. I was unharmed thanks to the good seats in the truck, though I did lean away from the door in case the Tiger had punched it in. The two drivers in question have stated that had the truck not been there shielding things, one or both of the drivers would have ended up in the hospital. I fully agree with that assessment. The truck did its job and was on its way to be repaired before the day had ended. In 20-20 hindsight, had I seen how much oil had been spread, I might have chosen not to drive my friends into the line of danger, but hearing the drivers comments, I’m glad we did what we did. The truck will be repaired before the NSACAR race next weekend. The damage to the truck was mostly limited to the left rear with only minor damage to the utility box. No equipment got loose during the impact. Both race cars suffered heavy damage. I don’t know if they are repairable at this time. I hope so. I’m just glad that the truck did its job and protected the people from serious injury or death. She is a sweet truck that I will be delighted to operate in the future. Adam and I will be in Spokane for the Conference race next weekend. Russ Newhouse will be driving the repaired Safety 2 for the NASCAR event.
 
Dang guys, that was a haroing experience and good to hear all involved are okay! Nice job SAFETY CREW!!

That Studebaker Daytona has quite a history behind it and was a work of automotive love to build. Hope it's repairable. They were having some engine problems in Seattle too.
 
Geez, Rob, that's quite a story.

Thank God everyone involved came out OK! Special thanks to the volunteers for everything they do!

+1 on the Studebaker. I saw it at Pacific last week and it was a beauty.
 
Thanks Rob, I needed that.

When the driver leaves the car in an immediate danger, or impact zone, there is no choice but to get out there, and shield that individual, and the scene.

Standard OPs.

Your actions, and the actions of the whole team aboard Safety II qualified the validity of those tactics and, I believe saved the lives of three of our racing family.

"Best Care Anywhere" is not just a motto.

Since I was a bit too busy with other facets of the incident, I didn't get 'on-the-scene' pics (I have got to get in-cab video installed). I did, however, click a couple after the fact.

Geez, Rob. You spend a whole gig in the Navy without incident, so you get a truck shot out from under you by a Sunbeam Tiger torpedo.

What are the odds?
 
I can't claim to have actually been IN the Navy. I was just a Navy brat for the first 17 years of life and a Navy Dad for the last 7.
 
Fair winds and following seas to your son, Rob. If he's got 7 in he might as well make it 20 :)

I must say, the truck held up well from the pictures. Although pristine it was a beautiful machine, the 'battle scars' give it character.

On the other hand, the Tiger took a beating :( Wonder how difficult it is to find body panels for those. Considering the 'period correctness' of SOVREN even in terms of tires, he might have been the 1st car on slicks to hit the oil lake.
 
Well Robbie my dear, you are now two for two with the new truck.....LOL
(Bet no one knows about the concrete barrier do they??)

BUT, do you honestly think that the truck is going to be any safer with "Trouble Finds Me" Newhouse?????

Man this forum is going to be very busy, me thinks, after the 3 big weekends coming up.

In all seriousness though, I am glad Kim was OK all bruising aside, and that we have such a great Safety Crew that not only looks after the drivers but has the back of their own crew.
I am sooooo glad you and the Trunk Monkey are coming to Spokane to take care of us all.
See you on Thursday, probably quite late though.
 
For the record...

The Chief Safety Marshal for CSCC has not confirmed truck assignments for the next event.

He is, however, very aware, and sensitive to the shifts in Cosmic flux, and is directed by those Lords of the Cosmic Jest that affect them.

But I will confirm that the same fundamentals for stategy and tactics will be in full force.
 
I heard that the City of Portland has or had an amrored car for sale. We could buy it, paint it safety yellow, put lots of lights all over it, and maybe even its own tire barrier.

(All BS aside: THANK YOU TO ALL THE SAFETY VOLUNTEERS and I am SOOO glad no one was seriously hurt - What a bunch of GREAT folks you are).
 
I am proud to work with each of them, warped personalities and all. After they were so rudely interupted, they dove right back in and started taking care of business. They were hard at it when the calvary arrived to help take care of business. They can cover my back anytime. One of the improvements Kenny and I were discussing was replacing the truck horn with something more creative, perhaps the dive klaxon off a submarine. AH-OOOOGAH Dive Dive. The funny thing is that neither Larry nor Rooster remember hearing the truck horn from a distance of 10 feet or so, but all the workers in the surrounding area and the spectators reported hearing it.
 
Well Robbie my dear, you are now two for two with the new truck.....LOL
(Bet no one knows about the concrete barrier do they??)

BUT, do you honestly think that the truck is going to be any safer with "Trouble Finds Me" Newhouse?????

Man this forum is going to be very busy, me thinks, after the 3 big weekends coming up.

In all seriousness though, I am glad Kim was OK all bruising aside, and that we have such a great Safety Crew that not only looks after the drivers but has the back of their own crew.
I am sooooo glad you and the Trunk Monkey are coming to Spokane to take care of us all.
See you on Thursday, probably quite late though.

Lynn, I had that reputation long before Russ showed up. I expect that I'll have it long after I'm gone. Not all of my troublemaking is confined to the racecars on track, as you well know. I've got some quarters too, and unlike Curtis, I'm likely to place them carefully rather than toss them from a distance. <evil grin>

BTW, I should be landing at Spokane around 8:30ish. Adam should be over there by mid afternoon. See you in a couple of days.
 
So who was that unlucky driver in the Sunbeam Tiger? Glad to hear he was ok but that car will need major work - hope it is saveable, they are scarce.

Robert Barg
 
I don't know the drivers last name but have been told that his first name is Mark. Judging by the different colors of bondo under that shiney paint job, this isn't the first damage it has received. Clearly the worst of the damage was to the left front corner of the car. Its going to be a long repair process, but I would bet that it is fixable. Like I've heard many drivers say over the years, you have to be prepared to take your car home in a box if you take it on the track. I feel for each of the vehicles damaged. The Studebaker had to be even rarer since I've seen Tigers before, but don't think I've ever seen the Studebaker on the track before. Parts for that will be even tougher to find. At least the damage to it was less than that of the Tiger.
 
Yeah...sure...

Maybe he can turn it back into an Alpine.

I'm gonna guess that there is some serious frame tweekage in the front that may be considered a cause for termination.
 
The name of the Tiger driver is Mark Sorsdahl. When I talked to him on Sunday he said he would fix it! I btw am the driver of the yel/blk '67 Mustang that just passed the Studebaker seconds before the engine blew......talk about good timing!
 
I would love to see the engine of that Studebaker. Judging by the engine parts scattered on the track, it is probably split in two. They wasted no time in getting it loaded into the trailer. They were done by the end of the next race.

Its good to hear that Mark thinks he will be able to repair the Tiger. It has been one of my favorite cars to watch for years.
 
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