Joey Hands wild ride...

lateapex911

lateapex911

Super Moderator
I'm sure you've all seen the aerobatics performed by the BMW M3 of Joey Hand when he was "turned" on the straight at Mid Ohio, and got launched as he traversed teh infield grass. Here's a comment he made:

When it was all said and done, I came to a stop upside down. I was still in the seat, and the first thing I noticed was my right shoe was off. I blew my right shoe off and my right glove somehow. I unbuckled myself and fell down out of the car onto the roof. There was fuel running down my back and into the roof of the car, and oil and stuff. The corner workers were yelling to get out of the car because it was going to catch fire, and I couldn't get out because my HANS device was stuck in the window net, and the window was smaller than normal.[/b]
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heres the video:

http://www.speedtv.com/video_player/index.php?video=110482

Obviously the upside is that he would have been in much more trouble had he been less protected. But...the standout issue, in my book, is what was the launching ramp Mid Ohio has going there???
 
I'm sure you've all seen the aerobatics performed by the BMW M3 of Joey Hand when he was "turned" on the straight at Mid Ohio, and got launched as he traversed teh infield grass. Here's a comment he made:
heres the video:

http://www.speedtv.com/video_player/index.php?video=110482
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John Weisberg called me while I was driving back from Summit Point to tell me about this. He was out there for the Pro Miata race, and said they were standing ~100 yds from the incident. It was ugly to say the least. Really glad Joey Hand wasn't seriously injured. Not even going to get into the other 'spin' on this one.
 
It's never been an issue with me that safety devices can go towards the dark side of safety. There are countless stories of people that were trapped in there seat belts or messed up by air bags, etc. The only way to prevent things from going wrong is to prevent accidents. Seeing that as an extremely doubtful solution...safety devices aren't perfect, but the alternative is usually way more severe. Think what would've happened to his head and neck if the HANS hadn't been in place! That was one of the most violent rollovers/flips I've ever witnessed...particularly to see him "walk away".

Anyone who's ever seen pictures of Jim Hall being dragged from his car, driver's suit soaked in fuel, two broken legs, car bursting into flames and following the path to Hall's suit knows that fire is our greatest fear in racing. Not being able to get out of your car due to the interference of safety devices is frightening. I haven't been convinced that the HANS is perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.

As to why the earthen ramp was there...I can't imagine the oversite that allowed it remain. An accident might not have been avoided, but it's severity would've certainly been reduced with the application of a grader blade.
 
Thats where the new crossover road is. I agree that grade has no use being there, but I wonder if it passed oversight since that isnt a typical impact zone for the corner. But aparently once your bumped and make an inside excusion your in great danger.

I have a feeling that mid-ohio might change that now.
 
I've meet Joey when I was Karting. He was running a yamaha pipe class and was a class driver. I'm really glad he came through that with out any major injuries.

James
 
"I got out of the hospital at about 1:00 in the morning and went straight to Steak 'n Shake and got myself a chocolate shake and a double Steak 'n Shake burger with fries and chili."

My kinda guy.
 
Oh, the sweet joy of youth! They bend and frequently don't break...they get sick and get well almost within the same moment...they get scrambled, folded, bent, and mutilated, and they order a steak burger and a shake. I can still remember those moments, but the memory fades.

Seriously...glad he's okay after such a horrible crash.
 
"I got out of the hospital at about 1:00 in the morning and went straight to Steak 'n Shake and got myself a chocolate shake and a double Steak 'n Shake burger with fries and chili."

My kinda guy.
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Damn, that's one of the things I miss about living in Ohio. I haven't had a Steak 'n Shake burger in years. They had the skinniest fries I ever saw!
 
I did the end-over-end thing a few years back at RA (5 rolls front to back)...everyone who saw it thought I should be dead...the wierd thing was I was not hurt at all...when a car goes over like that it seems to take away alot of the hard impacts and turns them into small ones...its the hard impacts into immovable objects that hurt...like they say its not the fall that kills ya its the fast stop that does it!
 
"I got out of the hospital at about 1:00 in the morning and went straight to Steak 'n Shake and got myself a chocolate shake and a double Steak 'n Shake burger with fries and chili."

My kinda guy.
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He should have ordered the chili-spugetti :)

Oh, the sweet joy of youth! They bend and frequently don't break...they get sick and get well almost within the same moment...they get scrambled, folded, bent, and mutilated, and they order a steak burger and a shake. I can still remember those moments, but the memory fades.

Seriously...glad he's okay after such a horrible crash.
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This was also the first weekend back for Memo since his crash at Long Beach. I first meet Memo at Argyle park out side of Dixon. He'd just graduated from Jim Russell's mechanic's program and had won the staff race. He's only a couple years younger than I am. Maybe you consider all of us under 40's as youth!

James
 
***They had the skinniest fries I ever saw!***

The fries are never grease soaked while they taste like freshly cut potatos. & with the burger & fries ya all need a :birra:
 
Your quote was cut off short. "they finally got me out" What good is a supposed single release that an awake and aware driver soaked in gas and oil can not get himself out of the car? There are other options that would protect as well and not have caused the egress issue.

Joey Hand on his Rolex wreck...

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/grandam/27471/

When it was all said and done, I came to a stop upside down. I was still in the seat, and the first thing I noticed was my right shoe was off. I blew my right shoe off and my right glove somehow. I unbuckled myself and fell down out of the car onto the roof. There was fuel running down my back and into the roof of the car, and oil and stuff. The corner workers were yelling to get out of the car because it was going to catch fire, and I couldn’t get out because my HANS device was stuck in the window net, and the window was smaller than normal.

I went back in and tried to get my helmet off and then they called me back out again, and then they finally got me out with my HANS and everything on. I just climbed out and laid against the wall. We were too close to the car, still, so they dragged me up the way and worked on me from there.
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Everytime I see someone get out of something that bad OK I am thankful for all the safety requirements - and then there is always that part that regrets that we are likely going to be mandated to use a product that has serious egress issues in production bodied cars.

Video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LAtIE2ORCs...2Joey%20Hand%22

For an awake and aware driver it took way to long for him to be out of a car leaking fluids.
 
New letter to the CRB:

I support a head and neck restraint requirement but object to the
limiting of the restraint choices to SFI 38.1 products, to the exclusion of those
which are not permitted certification due to single point release requirements.

After this weekend's Joey Hand crash I am writing again to object to
the limiting of head and neck restraints to SFI 38.1 products in
production bodied cars.

All these products represent a serious egress issue with production
bodied cars. The exclusion of products like Isaac from 38.1
certification due to an arbitrary and politically contrived single
release rule makes restricting the restraints to this standard an
undue safety issue to drivers. Drivers should have a choice to
utilize effective head and neck restraints which do not pose problems
with full egress from the car. A single point release requirement
when a driver can not egress from the car after release is dangerous
and drivers should have a broader choise of products to choose from to
meet the requirement for head and neck protection.


Ed Haney.
323520[/b]
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What does the guy who was actually stuck in the car covered in fuel have to say about the HANS?

Q: What about the HANS Device?

HAND: That’s number two for me and the HANS Device. That’s the second time the HANS Device saved me. They said there’s no way I could have survived the impacts without the HANS Device. It saved me again. In (a Toyota Atlantic car at) Milwaukee it saved me and here it saved me. I won’t drive without it if I have a chance. Not many people can say that they hit hard enough to have a HANS Device save them twice. [/b]
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What does the guy who was actually stuck in the car covered in fuel have to say about the HANS?
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Ahhh...but what would he say if he was fighting for his life in the burn center? THATs the point here. He dodged a bullet.

Anyway, what do I (or most of us) know about what "saves" or doesn't "save" me? Really! Of COURSE I think my gear saves me...but honestly...how the hell do I know? Sure, it's obvious that safety devices save us from worse injuries, but "Saved" is a strong term. Was I instrumented? Did I do a back to back identical crash?? Tons of Sprint car guys have gone for rides just as wild and raced in the backup car the next day. I'm not be-littleing the wreck, but it's not accurate for us to draw conclusions from what the driver said.

That's not to say I'm not a huge proponent of H & NR systems.

Listen, I understand that we can't get OUT of a fire if we are unconscious, or worse, but by the same token, having a device with a known issue mandated leaves me angry at the hush- hush mutually beneficial "standards setting" procedure/ racket that got me in the mess, and the lawyers that are deciding my fate to protect the "greater interests".
 
Wow what a ride! I am glad to hear that he did eventually make it out OK.

As far as our own head/neck restraint debate, despite numerous calls to 'be patient' and 'just wait' regarding my ISAAC system, the rumors I hear point more and more towards re-investing in anti-neck breaking equipment in a year or two. The one positive is that at least it is the one that I viewed to be in the same performance league as what I determined to be the best product.

After a big hit at Mid Ohio 2 years ago, my buddy Chuck picked up a Hans before his first race the next year, and he seems to like it OK. We don't encounter any issues getting him into and out of the car under normal conditions, but have not battle tested it yet. Of course he can't look at the car next to him on the grid with it on either....
 
Your quote was cut off short. "they finally got me out" What good is a supposed single release that an awake and aware driver soaked in gas and oil can not get himself out of the car? There are other options that would protect as well and not have caused the egress issue.

Joey Hand on his Rolex wreck...

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/grandam/27471/
Everytime I see someone get out of something that bad OK I am thankful for all the safety requirements - and then there is always that part that regrets that we are likely going to be mandated to use a product that has serious egress issues in production bodied cars.

Video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LAtIE2ORCs...2Joey%20Hand%22

For an awake and aware driver it took way to long for him to be out of a car leaking fluids.
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And you are cutting it off too...
From the same article:
________________________
Q: What about the HANS Device?

HAND: That’s number two for me and the HANS Device. That’s the second time the HANS Device saved me. They said there’s no way I could have survived the impacts without the HANS Device. It saved me again. In (a Toyota Atlantic car at) Milwaukee it saved me and here it saved me. I won’t drive without it if I have a chance. Not many people can say that they hit hard enough to have a HANS Device save them twice. Whatever, we’ll go on.
_____________________________________


I don't find it hard to remove my HANS at all with the quick release tethers. I can exit my car in about 8 seconds, door closed...the bottom line is that I don't think any of us practice egress often enough. You'd be amazed at how good you can get at it.

E
 
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