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Saturday, May 10, 2008

The Risk of Racing

It doesn't matter if your car is worth $500,000 or $500, there is a risk involved every time you pull out of the pit on to the track.
At my frist 24 hours of LeMons experience, I saw that risk first hand.
It was around lap 207, or 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon when car number 39, a volvo sedan crashed head on into a wall. The driver had apparently accelerated without making the effort to turn. It was in the fraction of time when he hit the gas without turning the wheel that he risked his own life. A yellow flag went up before anyone realized the severity of the accident. A red flag soon followed. After the rest of the cars had been sitting still on the track, they were ushered to the pits to make way for the rescue crew. The Altamont Motorsports Park safey and rescue truck was first on the scene. The team began working but it wasn't enough. An ambulance showed up later, followed by 3 full-size fire trucks, another ambulance, a smaller fire truck and a fire department SUV.
One photographer was scolded for taking pictures and in an effort to block what was going on, the security guards put up a tarp.
Speculations of what actually happened could be heard by spectators in the stands. Some say the driver may have had a heart attack, or lost conciousness while driving and that's what caused him to challenge the concrete wall. Regardless of how it happened, the outcome left a pall over the grandstands. Though no official anouncements have been made, death is on everyone's minds. The rescue crew did not make a speedy getaway to the nearest hospital.
Events were postponed until Sunday. There was serious damage to the wall, but it seems as though the driver suffered the most crucial damage.
As always, when I get more official information, you will too.
Hopefully tomorrow will end on a happier note.

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