Most of you have seen the posts about the tube-frame Miata that my friend John has been building for the last two years. After a very successful debut at Nelson Ledges, we moved on to Mid-Ohio last weekend. John had just made the pass for 2nd place when he spun and went into the concrete wall between turns 7 and 8. He hit head hard enough to crack the helmet, and was taken unconscious to the hospital. He's been making a lot of progress since then, but it's going to be a long recovery.

 

Man that is bad news but glad he is getting better, could have been much worse......

 

ouch that bites :/

 

So sorry, Dan. Prayers to him and his family and friends!

 

Best of luck to John for a speedy recovery.

For the rest of us, this is a good lesson in getting the best safety equipment we can for ourselves. If John had cheaped out on his safety gear, even just his helmet, this could have been a very different and far sadder thread.

 

There are lots of little things that might have made a difference. A Hans wouldn't have helped in this case, because it was a side impact. But a Halo on the seat probably would have, or even some padding on the roll cage. All stuff that will be addressed if and when we rebuild the car.

Another thing that would have helped would have been a tire wall in front of the concrete. I've seen more than one car go off in the same place, and it's just stupid not to have tires there. If they don't have tires from the break in the wall right after 7 all the way to the end of the wall after 8 when you guys get there in a couple weeks for Grand Am, do me a favor and ***** at someone. There are shloads of tires back behind the tech shed.

 

Good news! John gets out of the hospital tomorrow. It'll still be a while before he's back to 100%, but this is a big step. He may even make it down to Mid-O this weekend for the Rolex.

 

Fantastic!!! Great news!

 

Super!!