Quote:
Originally Posted by soda7o
rip
freak accident.. he lost it on a straight.. ?!?!?!?
|
Read the article thouroughly. It says he was slowing on the back straight approaching the chicane section. He put his hand up and looked over his shoulder. As a result of looking over his shoulder, he went off track and hit the armco (steel guardrail) by the chicane section. It wasn't the armco itself that got him, it was the stanction (steel i-beam) that supports the rail that he landed on top of behind the actual guardrail. It ruptured his spleen and I think punctured a lung, plus he had some other internal bleeding that they couldn't get under control in time.
It really sucks since I knew this kid from racing up at Loudon. He had great potential to be a mark in the sport and it is always depressing when something freak like this occurs.
I have looked at many armco barriers and always thought the i-beams behind them were dangerous since it is nothing but thin, sharp edges. If the barrier was enclosed with a panel on top, this would not have happened. This happening actually makes me want to write John Ulrich at Roadracing World to see if that can start a new movement to enclose or cap the armco barriers.
It further reiterates why you should also be wearing a chest panel under your suit or leathers. They are cheap and protect all the important stuff in the front. Check out Bohn for more details or click here to get the idea.
http://bohnarmor.com/catalog/proddetail.php?prod=KCCPW
Godspeed, Connor.