Sad, Sad News
 

In case you haven't heard, there was a fatality during a PCA DE at Carolina Motosports Park this past weekend. Here is a link to some of the news on the NASA Forum

From the many reports I've read it appears that AntiFreeze dropped by a blown hose on a lead car caused a following car to go off track, striking a tree.

Last year I started using water in my track car, no AF other than what little was left after flushing the system. I also started putting proper worm gear clamps on hoses rather than the factory spring clips.

I'd encourage all who track their cars to do the same. We need to take care of each other out there as much as possible.

My heart and prayers go out to the family. Thousands of auto related deaths occur each year on public highways but its very rare on track and even rarer in a DE, even so, this news is a bitter reminder of life's fragility.

Sad indeed. It's never easy to read about these incidents, but they do tend to remind us of the danger of this sport. And also remind us to prioritize safety gear over other go-fast parts...

I will point out that the factory spring clamps for the hoses are usually better functioning than worm style hose clamps if you system is still at stock or near stock pressures. The factory pieces were designed to provide proper clamping force evenly around the circumference of the hose in a wide temperature range (i.e. well below zero to well above 100). Worm style hose clamps (even the good ones with a liner band) by their design can't and don't.

wow, that sucks :(

I don't understand why there is a tree anywhere near a road course.

Luckily the DE I will be attending in 7 weeks is on a track that is basically in the middle of a field. The worse thing that could happen is rolling the car, but you won't hit anything but wheat.

That is very sad! but you are right they should make ita rule for every track day and should be checked to make sure you are running water and no coolant in your car!

Definitely sad to hear. These things are all too common in the sportbike race/trackday world that I'm used too. Somewhat surprising to see it happen in a car trackday, but I guess it is a good reminder of how unsafe our hobbies can be.

I know when i race my zx6r or do track days they always tech every bike if there is coolant in it your not going out on the track

What does "DE" stand for?

Driver Education

Well, I think economics would come into play here for most HPDE clubs. If they made that a requirement, they would lose a fair number of participants and therefore the cost of the typical track day would increase dramaticallly. Running straight water is not at all good for lubrication of a water pump and even additives such as Watter Wetter are not necessarily as good at maintaing lubrication. My point is, limiting cars to straight water would rule out pretty much all cars but those dedicated to track use. That's a deal breaker for most HPDE clubs.

I'm not arguing the safety aspects here, because I agree, antifreeze is bad for tire grip. But I just don't see how any of the HPDE clubs that exist today would survive if the no antifreeze rule were enforced.

I'm more in favor of killing all trees that are anywhere near a road course. After all, isn't this why we go to a track in the first place, so we don't have the possibility of wrapping the car around a tree??