Cherokee Speedway bad accident

[Mindwalker]

The guys in the tee shirts were the only people around to help. Had there been leaked fuel the driver was in big trouble. Im not gonna sit and watch any man burn alive. Kudos to the brave men that stepped up and possibly saved that mans life. Track safety is horrible there. Hope the crew members and spectators are ok

Well said!!

[J20in1st]

The inside wall was only 15-18" high at that point. Somebody will get sued over this one. A waiver isnt worth the paper its write on if a good attorney can prove negligence. That place has get hurt written all over it. Where was the ambulance? Geez!

You don't stand a t the fence and not know that's a possibility.

[Centeroff]

Thats chicken wire not a safety fence! NASCAR has a cable to pull and set off a fire extinguisher. Not sure why this isnt a mandated rule in all forms of racing. The extinguisher is installed at the firewall and a simple tug of a handle can and has saved lives.

[Mindwalker]

I wasn't challenging your opinion cnb. Just used your t shirt reference to give mine... As. centeroff said, I wont wait in hopes somebody gets to a driver on time if Im right there to save him. Id rather die trying then live knowing I could have saves a life. Just me ...

[J20in1st]

If I don't see anyone movin towards the car and I see fire, you better believe im movin that way. I don't care what um wearing that day.

[Centeroff]

CandB fan, just wants to discredit mindwalker. Any man with a set of balls is going to do his best to get that driver out of the car. I play with many minds on 4m but its all in fun. I have been to war and I understand the fight or flight clearly. As a matter of fact I was traveling south on I64 in the year 1999 and noticed a cadillac on its roof. I immediately stopped ran to the elderly woman whom was still wearing a seat belt. I smelled gasoline and pulled her out of the drivers side window. When the ambulance finally arrived the paramedics questioned my instinct of getting the lady out of the car i was insulted. She was bleeding from broken glass but I knew she didnt have any spinal injuries. If that car would have ignited in flames I would have got the poor lady out under any circumstance!

[chupp n bloomer fan]

Good to see y’all entirely missed my point. Chesley Dixon and Charlie Floyd got hurt/died, because of incompetent, or lack of, safety personnel. This stuff just happened recently. And people if nothing else, because we like to wait till the worst happens, should have reacted to these tragedies and have some proper safety personnel. Only reason Chesley lived was his car was facing the wrong way. So he was upstream from the fuel.

I was not saying if no one else is around to stand their with your thumb up your a$$. But no spectator should be the one on the track period. There should be proper safety personnel, EMS, Fire, or just track workers, out there.

Dam shame these tracks still have not learned their lesson. Then again, drivers shouldn’t race at these tracks either. All it takes is that one time. Sorry no one can look at the big picture. But you go and get about 5-10 people burned, blown up, that’s a helluva an issue for racing. And that track would be done. And a lot of lives ruined.

Guess I just grew up at tracks and go to tracks that have safety personnel. Never realized growing up, that Sharon Speedway has one of the best crews in the country.

[super_latemodel_fan]

Does anyone have an actual update on the spectators that were hit ? It seems pretty clear in the video the driver got out ok with some help.

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

The part of fence that got hit is where some crew member stand or park 4whlrs to signal there driver along w some pit fans.

[Fast Wheels]

Cherokee has always been a dangerous place. The bleachers are too close to the track and the walls are too low. Remember when Gary Webb took down the catch fence there years ago? They at least did make the front outside wall higher down the front straight, but only 1/2 way.

Look at the video. The inner wall is only a couple feet high at best with all of the dirt piled up on it. It's a ramp.

[Mindwalker]

You take your chances every time you enter any speedway. No track is a guarantee for complete safety. Getting out of bed, same deal for that matter...

Some tracks are worse than others but there aint nothing like stranding in turn one at eldora when they are hammer down... You never know, things go bad fast anywhere.

Id rather go to my grave sliding in feet first saying what a helll of ride then not take the chances and sit in a bubble wrapped life of boredom. ✌

[ThebigE]

Eldora's catch fence on both outside and inside walls are 20 times more durable and much taller than this fence at Cherokee. Crazier things have happened I guess but I feel completely safe standing against the fence at the Big E.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

Eldora's catch fence on both outside and inside walls are 20 times more durable and much taller than this fence at Cherokee. Crazier things have happened I guess but I feel completely safe standing against the fence at the Big E.

As much as I’m not a fan of Tony Stewart the person, what he has done for Eldora, A+. The lighting, catch fence, all of it, definitely one of the safest tracks around period. Cherokee, nope.

[No_Weak_Links]

Eldora's catch fence on both outside and inside walls are 20 times more durable and much taller than this fence at Cherokee. Crazier things have happened I guess but I feel completely safe standing against the fence at the Big E.

Not really fair to compare any dirt track to Eldora/Charlotte/Knoxville etc... most dirt tracks are not owned by muliti-millionaires with an unlimited budget. Most dirt tracks are owned or promoted by average people on a tight budget. I agree tracks need to do everything in their power to make the track as safe as possible, but there is no way the vast majority of tracks can keep their tracks as safe as these top tracks of our sport.

[CageFaraday]

The Place Your Mama warned You About

Not really fair to compare any dirt track to Eldora/Charlotte/Knoxville etc... most dirt tracks are not owned by muliti-millionaires with an unlimited budget. Most dirt tracks are owned or promoted by average people on a tight budget. I agree tracks need to do everything in their power to make the track as safe as possible, but there is no way the vast majority of tracks can keep their tracks as safe as these top tracks of our sport.

Thank you for posting a reasonable response.

As to the guy who saw a couch nailed to a tree at Cherokee, that had to be 25+ years ago. My first visit to Cherokee was 1990, when it was still the "BIG" track(150mph+ down the straights) and no walls except on the front stretch.

Its the place your Mama warned you about, I think that sums it up nicely. Not 100% sure but I think the wall is actually taller than it appears in the video at that point where the accident occurred, possibly a optical illusion of some sort. First rule I was taught when I started racing was never turn your back on the track, anything can happen and often does. I'm all for safety, but comparing any track to Eldora isn't an apples to apples comparison. Could things be better? Sure. I hope everyone gets well quickly and that any improvement needed can be handled in short order.