Formula First Racing Arizona

2008_fst_rules1

1. 
   darren roberts said...
   9:11 pm - June 20th, 2010

   I am making a call to all that have run into this common problem, our spouses view of racing. Mine is having trouble with my desire to start racing. So I am asking for help to gather all the info I can to convince her that formula first is safer than driving to the corner store. I have a car lined up, and the mechanical ability ( Helicopter Mechanic) to complete and compete. Tim and Terry have been very helpful. Looking forward to the assistance. Email at drobertsone@yahoo.com.

2. 
   JKFitz said...
   6:42 pm - June 21st, 2010

   Hi Darren, thanks for the post.

   Ahh the wives, while they have legitimate concerns, the truth is racing is far less dangerous than driving to the corner store.

   Every year on average we kill 50,000 people in their cars on our streets, it is the leading cause of death for people under 35. With all the airbags and anti lock brakes we haven’t seen a decrease in deaths for the past 20 years. There is only one cause of traffic crashes, no such thing as an accident, unless let’s say lighting strikes a huge tree and it falls on your car on the way by, yeah that would be an accident, every thing else is a crash caused by human error, without it there would be no crashing and no one would get hurt. But the government insists on lowering the standards to get people out on the roads, and therefore we have an overabundance of stupid people out there just waiting to kill us. The law of averages says: every one of us will be involved in at least 3 car crashes in our lifetimes (providing we survive the first 2). I could go on forever about how to make safer drivers, but that’s not the real issue here.

   So why is racing safer than driving on the streets….. 1st off the circuit is closed, there are no intersections and everyone is traveling in the same direction and at approx. the same speed, there no cell phones or texting, in fact no distractions of any kind. Formula first is a very basic race car, not allot of controls to deal with, it is one of the purest forms of auto racing there is.

   Years ago, racing was the most dangerous sport of all time, almost every race weekend a Formula 1 driver would die in a race, but then they didn’t have the safety equipment we have today, (you can thank Sir Jackie Stewart for that). In fact, seat belts were not used until the late 50’s and with the invention of the HANS device in the early 80’s, racing deaths and serious spinal injuries are now almost non-existent. However it did not become popular or mandatory in most race groups until shortly after Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001, since then the HANS device has become mandatory in every major racing league: F1, IRL, Champ car, Nascar, etc. and subsequently the number of racers dying on the track from basilar skull fractures has dropped to almost zero.

   The Hans Device pretty much eliminates basilar skull fractures, which has always been the leading cause of death for race car drivers. Even just a small foam neck brace can reduce the chance of a basilar skull fracture in slower speed crashes, but the Hans is the safety device of choice, and probably the most important safety feature in your car.

   Now , having said all that, the fact is FST racing is still a dangerous sport (a big part of the thrill). Anything can happen, you are traveling wheel to wheel at speeds of up to 105 mph, but if you follow the rules, have all the proper safety gear, take care of your car and use common sense , it is still way safer than driving your family car around town.

   While your wife’s concerns are valid, the chances of you sustaining even a minor injury are pretty slim. My suggestion is to get her out on the track in the street group and let her see for herself that is safer than she thinks, she might even like it so much you may have to build 2 race cars.

   The bottom line: No one can convince me that racing on a track is more dangerous than driving on our city streets. For me , the scariest part of racing is driving to the track!

3. 
   NickFitz said...
   3:59 am - June 30th, 2010

   Wow Dad, I’ve just read your entire post! very interesting I’ve never looked at it like that. I would think that an air bag would be safer than a race car but yet again your only wearing seat belts in cars where as a racer wears a helmet and a fire resistant suit with gloves and boots. AND you all have a fire extinguisher in reaching distance of your arms(in case something should happen that is). Now I understand where your coming from in that point of view of, racing on a circuit is safer than driving to your local convience store.