The Chesley Dixon Fire at Swainsboro

[Cardirt0]

I see a big law Suit from this one.. If its a UMP track Rules say Must have Proper Fire EQ . on Site..Wolfgang sued for this and won.. And the racing world came down on his head.. I was on Wolfgang side .. There should have been a way at the track too put out the Fire and there was Not..This is not good for the Dirt world.. 1 time Gov. stays out of it 2nd time I see the Gov. stepping in and mandate what must be on site...

[Cardirt0]

If the driver has a on board fire fight Eq. its only good for about 2 min if that .. Its so it gives time for the fire fighters to get there.. so it would have done little to help him after 2 min...100 to 200 bucks a night to have a fire truck there so this man will not be scared for life is not that much money..They will spend that in the first 5 min in the law suit...I know FarmerCity and fairbury have a fire truck there ever night...A little now or a lot later.. Plus maybe no no get hurt..

[jog49]

Bottom line would be are you willing to pay a bit more in admission prices to have the local fire department present?
My local track use to have a small emergency fire truck at its track, for a fee, but I guess that fee got to be too much for the promoter because there is no longer a fire or rescue presence.

[ClampedUp]

Bottom line would be are you willing to pay a bit more in admission prices to have the local fire department present?
My local track use to have a small emergency fire truck at its track, for a fee, but I guess that fee got to be too much for the promoter because there is no longer a fire or rescue presence.

Most all the tracks in my area (Western Pa.) allow the VFD's to sell 50/50 tickets and collect the proceeds for the VFD, do various other things to make money for the VFD's, give them free food and admission, and some if not all the tracks also give them a nice donation too.

[Cardirt0]

Most all the tracks in my area (Western Pa.) allow the VFD's to sell 50/50 tickets and collect the proceeds for the VFD, do various other things to make money for the VFD's, give them free food and admission, and some if not all the tracks also give them a nice donation too.

Yep work with the fire dep.. they will work with you.. most of the time...I know some tracks let all the Fire fighters in free and then they rotate the ones that work the fire truck..

[TerryM]

Good honest, articulate post TerryM, it's easy to feel your pain and frustration by your heartfelt words. I can imagine that was a traumatic experience for all the fans that had to witness that, I hope I never do.

I'm only asking this because I don't know, and I know their would be limits to protection, but how are driver's firesuits rated and/or certified? Are they required to be worn or required to be 're-certified' every so often? I know many drivers opt for the two piece firesuit, so is the one piece more effective? Again, I'm only asking these things because I don't know...the couple of teams I've helped with (several years ago now) the driver's firesuit was always 5-10 years old and often looked wore out. They would spend big money on a good helmet and seat, but the suit was always worn just as long as it would (halfway) fit.

I can only pass on what the announcer said after Chesley was put in the ambulance. He said he was wearing a one piece firesuit and advised all drivers in all classes to do the same. I don't know anything about ratings or certifications.

[Cardirt0]

I can only pass on what the announcer said after Chesley was put in the ambulance. He said he was wearing a one piece firesuit and advised all drivers in all classes to do the same. I don't know anything about ratings or certifications.

TerryM a man of reason...You have not had a bad day till you hear a man scream in a fire..Stand there and there is not a thing you can do to help..You feel so helpless. I have seen people toss there lunch as they watch..I watched a Man burn up Once,,, it was years, be for It stopped popping in to my head out of no were......First read this it popped back in too my head it still creeps me out..

[zeroracing]

To answer calverton, I don't know if he had an on board. I run an on Bord but honestly don't know how it would fair against a major fire. You can only hold so much on board.

[calverton]

but it would help and give him some time correct

[zeroracing]

Finnfann, Lucas oil is he only series I have ever had check my helmet and suit. They have no date on the suits, every other local track or series never checked them. One does make you wave on parade lap to show you have gloves, seen them boot a guy for not (they even tried to give him a pair and he refused). The cheap suits do not stay fire resistant for long, the old school proban stuff. Two piece suits have the obvious flaw in them. I am one of the only guys I know that wears the underwear, socks, under shirt and pants then a multiple layer fire suit. Also baklava and hood from helmet to shoulders. Most guys don't wear any of it.

The local track (Lucas oil speedway) is being proactive and has some stuff you can spray on your suit and make it flame resistant again/add more protection. I don't remember the name. Also they have the alcohol cars run stickers and have a seperate fire deal for them. Unfortunately most tracks don't take it seriously though.

Final comment, on the one piece suits, I wish they made suspenders inside them, mine always try to slide down when I unzip it and tie it around my waste, would make the one price suit easier to wear.

[44-19-21-39]

I have been watching Chesley Dixon race for several years and have cheered for him most of them, he's pretty wide open. I am definitely cheering for him and the family now. Our family is praying for all involved at this time.
With that being said, I am glad we left after the second caution in the crate race. Those cars should have never been on that 4 x 4 track. I couldn't stand to watch them tear up 50K cars for 2k to win. I am ok with the track doing the best they could with the amount of rain they had to put the race on as scheduled but they should of stopped before the first feature. I told my family when we were pulling out that someone was going to get hurt if they kept racing on that mess. I hate that it actually happened.

[Cardirt0]

Finnfann, Lucas oil is he only series I have ever had check my helmet and suit. They have no date on the suits, every other local track or series never checked them. One does make you wave on parade lap to show you have gloves, seen them boot a guy for not (they even tried to give him a pair and he refused). The cheap suits do not stay fire resistant for long, the old school proban stuff. Two piece suits have the obvious flaw in them. I am one of the only guys I know that wears the underwear, socks, under shirt and pants then a multiple layer fire suit. Also baklava and hood from helmet to shoulders. Most guys don't wear any of it.

The local track (Lucas oil speedway) is being proactive and has some stuff you can spray on your suit and make it flame resistant again/add more protection. I don't remember the name. Also they have the alcohol cars run stickers and have a seperate fire deal for them. Unfortunately most tracks don't take it seriously though.

Final comment, on the one piece suits, I wish they made suspenders inside them, mine always try to slide down when I unzip it and tie it around my waste, would make the one price suit easier to wear.

Smart by you the underwear gives you 2 to 3 more mins to get out of the car...that could mean scars or no scares...Plus you need too learn not to pull the Fire Ex. too fast wate till it gets too hot then pull it for more time too get out of car....

[TerryM]

I have been watching Chesley Dixon race for several years and have cheered for him most of them, he's pretty wide open. I am definitely cheering for him and the family now. Our family is praying for all involved at this time.
With that being said, I am glad we left after the second caution in the crate race. Those cars should have never been on that 4 x 4 track. I couldn't stand to watch them tear up 50K cars for 2k to win. I am ok with the track doing the best they could with the amount of rain they had to put the race on as scheduled but they should of stopped before the first feature. I told my family when we were pulling out that someone was going to get hurt if they kept racing on that mess. I hate that it actually happened.

I don't want this to be about anything other than the incident with Chesley, but yes, the track was terrible. We got 6 inches of rain the day before, from Hurricane Hermine. I was shocked the event wasn't cancelled or postponed. Having said that, they reworked the track after the second caution. It was pretty smooth when they restarted, compared to what it was before. But it was still heavy, soft and tacky, and that's not good racing conditions for these cars. The track conditions obviously played a part in Chesley's car hooking the right side and rolling over, but everything that followed was 100% the fault of the people in charge of making sure safety is the #1 priority.

Swainsboro is a nice facility, but it's very poorly operated. I could make an entire post about what the 00 car was allowed to get away with in the 10K to win SS feature, but that's another story for another time.

[Cardirt0]

I just hope hes OK !!!! he will do what he has too do for Him self .. What ever it is I will Back him....

[Crashmagnet]

This sounds identical to what happened at Southern Ohio. Nothing was learned. Nothing has changed. Nothing is going to change until the insurance companies shut down racetracks with insufficient safety equipment through extremely high rates.
And as far as racers and cars are concerned, the sanctioning bodies have to step up and mandate on board extinguishers, true fuel cells, and taller cages on these (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)#d cars.
I don't know what else to say, it's sad, dirt racing is fun, everybody on this board loves it, but man it's got problems.