With the excitement of the upcoming holiday of Halloween, I’m reminiscing about some of my spookiest moments on track!
We all know motorsports is inherently dangerous, but, with all the latest and greatest safety equipment, I’m thankful that both driving gear and car development have made things safer for us.
Stranded and Scared
One of my most vivid memories is from Watkins Glen, where I was racing in the GrandAm Street Tuner class in a Mazda MX-5. It was early in my pro career, and in the closing laps, I was competing for a top position.
There was contact between me and a car I was battling in the middle of turn six, and if you’ve ever been to Watkins Glen, you know turn six can be a daunting corner. It sweeps downhill, and it’s quite blind from the center to the exit of the corner.
As fate would have it, the contact resulted in me spinning and hitting the outside wall, which then carried me back to center track, where I was broadside to the entire field of oncoming cars. I can remember, in that moment, closing my eyes and bringing my arms to my chest in a braced position, just waiting for an oncoming car to collect me. I was blocking most of the track, including debris that had been thrown across from the contact with the wall.
Somehow, I was lucky enough to only get clipped on the front nose, which did not create a severe impact, and I walked away unscathed. I was truly disappointed since I was going after a strong result for the championship that season, but nonetheless, I was grateful to walk away.
Turn One Terror
Daytona is absolutely the highest speed track we go to, with its long straightaways and high banks. Approaching turn one, depending on the type of car, you can see upwards of 190mph.
This time, I was racing a GT car side-by-side with a competitor. As we went under the tri-oval, a yellow flag had just been pulled at the starter stand, indicating that something ahead had just happened, and maybe the cars involved hadn’t even stopped moving yet.
As my attention shifted focus from battling a car to the braking zone, I quickly realized there was a car broadside on the entry to turn one, and we were rapidly approaching it. The car to my left went to the inside, and I managed to go outside. We avoided the spinning car and continued on. After a close call like that, it took me about half a lap to refocus: it created a real adrenaline rush!
The Monster Under the Car
We’re going back to Watkins Glen for this story. I was racing in the GT class, during the years of developing Mazda’s diesel Mazda6, and the amount of vibration that the diesel engine produced was very hard on the drivetrain components.
During the race, as things were running smoothly, I entered the bottom of the famed uphill esses (turns two and three), and the driveshaft broke. With all its momentum, the driveshaft started to fling around and actually punctured the top of the transition tunnel, where my arm was positioned for shifting.
My arm wasn’t injured, but the sound of the drivetrain breaking through and the clunk against my elbow by a rapidly vibrating piece of metal tubing was a real scare!
Unfortunately, our day was done, but I was grateful not to have any injuries from that near-miss!
Looking back at some of my scariest moments, I’m so thankful they didn’t result in worse outcomes! I’m also always thankful for the safety equipment and technology that goes into our industry.
I hope everyone has an enjoyable Halloween, and that all your frights are the fun kind!