Instructor killed at Summit Point
 

I read recently that an instructor was killed during one of the events on the Jefferson circuit last weekend during HyperFest. The student lost control of the car after a sharp corner and ended up slamming into a tree on the passenger side door. This is extremely sad and sobering news. I just wanted to say thank you to all the instructors out there that risk their lives in the name of motorsports and rest in peace to the instructor that lost his life.

Here's an article about the accident. http://wvmetronews.com/2014/06/08/on...eway-accident/

It's really making me think hard about if and when I'll do another track day.

Man that's tragic. Just hate to hear about things like this.

I try to reduce risk by gravitating towards the safer tracks, and I'm a big believer in roll bars / cages, 6 point harnesses and head and neck restraint devices. Thankfully the tracks near me don't have trees that you are able to hit. Some like Buttonwillow have almost nothing to hit, comparatively safer than others.

:confused0068:

Strongly agree. The Jefferson Circuit at Summit has long been known to be unsafe due to the trees. You couldn't pay me to run there.

I've also dramatically ractheted up my safety equipment threshold in recent years. I used to jump into any car to instruct without giving it a second thought. Lately I have a hard time riding right seat unless I can wear my HANS with 5 or 6 point belts properly installed with a roll bar/cage and a racing seat.

To the OP, I wouldn't advise giving up the hobby, but I would be very careful about where you choose to run, and I strongly advise maxing out your safety equipment.


The article about the Summit Point crash below has a picture of the car, and I would advise extreme caution before clicking on it:

http://www.your4state.com/story/d/st...BE-k0_5mfp9cAQ

Yeah i dont know why i do this as well, i guess it's just for the title "Instructor" i know i don't enjoy being right seat.Don't get me wrong, i do enjoy helping people go fast. I know at this point in life i really don't care anymore. Maybe if there was someone in my life i would feel different, but since it's just me it really doesn't matter, and with that, i get to haul*uckingass :)

...Trees?...Race Track?....wtf?....Why not a few land-mines for good measure?

Agreed :word:

I've seen your videos. You're an excellent driver who is ready to go W2W racing. I would argue that you would be safer racing W2W in a car with full safety equipment than instructing in a car with no or questionable safety equipment. And I can absolutely guarantee you that W2W racing is WAY more fun than instructing.

Very Sad.....

I have a good friend/professional racer that has worked at Mid-Ohio for many years. He was in a students car that crashed and ended up with spinal injuries. He is OK now and just raced in the Speed Energy Super Trucks at the Detroit Grand Prix two weeks ago......He still instructs, BUT he will not ride with a student.

I learned from his injury that I will not step into a car with someone I don't know or have had a chance to speak with in depth and/or observe on the track. (After 17 years and the need for self preservation I have fined tuned my character judgment) I will provide rides, drive the students car to show them the line, lead follow and watch from the tower/stands, but if I do not trust you I will not sit shotgun. I typically line up a student before an event and speak with them prior to the event. It also helps that I have a Type A personality and am not afraid to control a situation before it escalates....

.........now with all of that being said, an accident can happen at anytime.

Thought and Prayers to the family of Ken Novinger.

Last time at TWS we had a couple guys go off the track after 125mph straights. I pointed them by and knew they would barely have the braking time to slow down but at least they were off my butt. There are always the over confident students that don't have a clue were 10/10ths is. I remember thinking, wow, glad I wasn't riding shot gun. Instructors please don't hold back on reigning these people in.

To keep some perspective we had a guy from our neighborhood go off the road on the way home. He hit a tree and was killed. This can happen anywhere and the track is usually very safe if the student is operating withing his/her limits just as on the road.

From what I've been reading on other sites regarding this accident is that the way the GTO hit the tree, a roll cage probably wouldn't have done much to help. Looking at the picture of the wrecked car, I'm inclined to believe that. What WOULD have helped is if the tree wasn't there to begin with, or there was a barrier in front of the trees. It seems like the accident was kind of a perfect storm of events.

If I do continue to go to track events, there's no way I'm going to convert my daily driver into a car with a full roll cage and harness. What I will do, IF I decide to do more track days, is have brake cooling ducts installed. I'd recommend this to anyone that's going to track a Camaro. The car is just too heavy and because of that the brakes get way too hot. The thought of going down the main straight at Summit Point Circuit and having no brakes at 125 mph scares the crap out of me. It would be awesome if the 6th gen Camaro had ducts built in or at least had a cooling system like the ZL1 has.

Thanks, i would love nothing more, but not in my 1LE. Man it would be cool to get a ride though :))

Someone on Jalopnik has more of the story. See attached pic.

Someone else said the driver didn't even own the GTO, he was taking it on a "test drive".

No idea if these are factual, but would explain a lot. Someone decides to try to drift without knowing what he is doing and kills his instructor as a result.

Sad to hear, hopefully this will result in change for the better for the rest of you and not over reaction to the point where they drive tracks out of business.