USAC Racing Forum

A very troubling wreck happened in Circleville, OH at the Circleville Raceway Park.  A six year old was killed while practicing karts with motorcycles.  There is plenty of coverage people can view by The Circleville Herald, NBC 4, ABC 6, 10TV, and the Columbus Dispatch.  It may be of some use to read the stories and use the tragedy to stress safety and the preciseness of life, so a similar situation doesn’t happen in our sport.

tragic the one thing i dont understand is why we let kids hang out the side of the car

I used to think hanging out was a bad practice.  The more I've learned about .25 midgets the more accepting of the practice I've become.  From a physics aspect .25 midget drivers probably experience a greater amount of G's in the corner than most of the other open wheel cars.  The leaning certainly helps stabilize the car.  Some cars are built to accommodate the driver hanging out the left side by a wider roll cage and padding on the right side.  In the last two years I've noticed less people using seats that keep the driver in the center of the car.  I know it has happened but, at the Winter Nationals it's a very rare occurrence for a driver to even graze their helmet against the columns.  It's driver preference.  If you feel it's a bad practice don't let your driver do it.  One of the best drivers I've seen hangs farther out than most.  His helmet doesn't have a scratch on it.

he doesnt have a mark on it yet! i know why they hang out its for performance more left side weight this was a safety comment and it only takes one wrong hit to change a kids life forever and my driver will always be in a seat strapped inside the roll cage when he becomes to big to fit in the car we'll run something else by the way this is training ground for midgets and sprint cars right? how many of those guys hang out of the car?

Look at some midgets seats sometime. You will find many of them leaned to the left....but inside the cage. I guess that they lean to some degree also.

The point of the post is to learn so hopefully it won’t happen to us.  The parents of the child that died felt a helmet and chest protector were adequate.  The track felt its safety procedures were adequate.  If the parents and the drivers are comfortable with the conditions I have no right to say they are wrong.  I too keep my son within the greenhouse of the car.  We purchased a new car based on safety and engineering.  One of the most attractable aspects was the wider greenhouse area of the car.  He’s able to lean farther to the left and still be within the roll cage.  As long as the parents and the driver are comfortable with their driving techniques and they are within the rules no one can object.  We may or may not agree but, it’s their decision not ours.  Having fun safely is the main objective.  Getting along with each other and looking out for each other is a good thing.  Forcing our opinions upon others will only lead to division.  You’re entitled to do what you feel in best for your child within the rules.  Other families are entitled to do the same even though their modus operandi may be different.  We’re all here to learn.  I can’t defend leaning but,  I can think of 3 sprintcar drivers, 2 midgets drivers, 2 late model drivers, and a modified driver who all leaned too far out of their car for my liking but, all moved on to the upper levels.  We need to look out for each other and cooperate with each other.  No one is always correct nor is anyone always wrong.  E Pluribus Unum applies to racing too.

Apples and oranges- it is a very sad accident however it was with a Kart and not a Qtr Midget, Karts don't have the same safety as Qtr Midgets (not even close). Plus they had the track open to motorcycles, which would never happen in a USAC or QMA event.

R Fan

Thanks Racerfan5 for pointing out the differnece between karting and .25 chassis's. I would bet that the unfortunate death of a 6 year old was based on no seatbelts and maybe no roll cage on the kart. They do run some "Caged Karts" but there are still no seat belts. The reason karting(road, oval, dirt or asphalt) do not wear fire protection is becuase the goal is to be thrown from the kart in case of a fire during a wreck, hence no seat belts.

FYI, 9 yrs of racing QM's and seen lots of wrecks and the worst accident ever witnessed was a shattered left upper arm and that was due to not running a mommy or jersey bar(BTW driver was back next season in a car). QM's are the safest form or motorsports on the planet! My prayers & heart go out to the family who lost their child in this accident.