Dave, I assume from the pictures posted some time ago and the frame was hardly shortened at all that you hit your knee on something in the cockpit on impact. Have you figured out what that was?
I ask not so much to be nosy but to potentially find something I have missed on my car.
The fracture was the result of excessive load on the knee joint (tibial plateau), likely due to my foot being hard on the brake pedal at the time of impact. This type of fracture often occurs in automobile and skiing accidents when the leg gets "jammed."Originally Posted by Steve Demeter
The car was shortened at the top of the front bulkhead by ~1/2 to 3/4 inch, but it was the high load on the bottom of my feet (the bottom of both feet were severely bruised) that caused this. The front swaybar just above the middle of my tibia likely prevented my leg from bending enough to cushion the impact. There was a nasty bruise/abrasion at the front middle of my tibia attesting to that.
In the new construction, the swaybar will no longer be in the leg area, since it will be moved forward of the front bulkhead similar to the newer Citations. That will help in impacts and aid ingress/egress since I won't have to twist my feet to get under the swaybar.
Dave Weitzenhof
Roberto Guerrro wasn't exactly a rookie.
Caldwell D9B - Sold
Crossle' 30/32/45 Mongrel - Sold
RF94 Monoshock - here goes nothin'
Nor was Sneva.
Mark, **** happens sure.... but have you happened to see any videos of the incident yet? This wasn't a hiccup or a check up which caused the kid to punt Dave. He drove right into the back of him and performed a PIT maneuver. Sorry, we need to cut making defense for what he did and call a duck a duck for once.
-Nick
Go back and read Dave's comments about the incident. According to Dave himself, there WAS a "check up" by by the car in front of him which caused Dave to "check up" and the kid hit him. So it's not like they were all just accelerating fine and the kid ran into the back of him.
That being said, I wasn't even referring to this situation in my post. I was referring to the comment that basically said "just racing" incidents should never happen on pace laps. I stand by my statement that indeed they can and do. As far as boneheaded things in general I've done my share and Dave is not exempt from that either.
I wouldn't say I "checked up," but I somewhat reduced my acceleration rate to match the car in front of me. Mr. Roe's error was not leaving enough gap to allow for this sort of occurrence. When he called me to apologize, I emphasized that point and told him that I leave about a 10-ft gap to avoid that sort of thing. Hopefully he learns from this and leaves more room in the future.
Dave Weitzenhof
I am not passing judgement on this incident, as I was not there, and it is none of my business.
Clearly, the act of racing starts before the green has actually fallen, as any competitive racer knows. Sometimes, people even race when there is no green flag shown. I remember a FRP race at VIR in 2015 where some F2000 racers raced for 1.5 laps with no green flag and waving yellows. That day, the duck shrugged it off as an innocent misunderstanding, and the race officials were very understanding.Both were mistakes, both probably deserved penalties, but for a split second error to be considered far more egregious than 4 minutes of racing while ignoring yellow flags ...... seems like quite the stretch. We racers have such short and selective memories.
BTW, I have run into people on starts when the green was late being displayed ..... it was never my fault.
Greg Rice, RICERACEPREP.com
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oh you mean the one where the whole field raced for 1/2 lap, not just one person and zero yellow flags until the esses or so? Got it.I am not passing judgement on this incident, as I was not there, and it is none of my business.
Clearly, the act of racing starts before the green has actually fallen, as any competitive racer knows. Sometimes, people even race when there is no green flag shown. I remember a FRP race at VIR in 2015 where some F2000 racers raced for 1.5 laps with no green flag and waving yellows. That day, the duck shrugged it off as an innocent misunderstanding, and the race officials were very understanding.
BTW, I have run into people on starts when the green was late being displayed ..... it was never my fault.We have hashed that one out before and happy to post the video AGAIN if you like.
Here we have a guy running into the back of someone turning them around at the start. Whatever, I have no beef with the kid personally but like Dave an awful lot and sucks that of all people, it happened to him.
Whatever.... water under the bridge.
Last edited by NPalacioM3; 06.01.18 at 10:00 AM.
-Nick
How do you spell R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
I've enjoyed this thread quite a lot.
Oh, the answer - Weitzenhof
Drink one for me this weekend, DW!
JG
PS: You too, Steve L. See you in a couple weeks, I hope.
I will! Thanks!
Dave Weitzenhof
So the front sway bar kept your knees from bending enough to allow your feet to pull back.. Makes perfect sense to me. I have to twit one foot at a time to get them under it and prop myself up with the first one through.
So the front sway bar kept your knees from bending enough to allow your feet to pull back.. Makes perfect sense to me. I have to twist one foot at a time to get them under it and prop myself up with the first one through.
I guess a little more banging at VIR today? Same cast or different?
Steve Bamford
Little of column A, little of column B.
The same kid tried to execute a pass in the climbing esses that worked out exactly as well as everyone with a functioning brain knew it would.
Other people caused other crashes.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So who rear-ended Brandon at the start?
It was Reece that popped on Roe under the bridge to the esses. When they turned into the first part of the esses, from where I was they looked dead even. From there it was a game of chicken and I would call it racing. It seemed to me neither had the advantage after the pop, but Reece did have a big run on him when he popped, I'm not sure why he stalled out next to him. It looked on the initial pop like he would have a pretty clear advantage by the time we reached the esses, but I don't think he did. It was an impossible situation if both guys are ready and willing to pursue it either on attack or defense, to the bitter end. Reece could have just as easily called off the attack as Roe could have called off the defense, being (again as what it LOOKED like from where I was) that they were pretty much stalemated from entry to the scene of the crash, it looked pretty 50/50 to me. The problem, in the end, is when you have someone who has garnered a reputation, actual racing incidents are going to look like more of the same.
Both had the right to keep their foot to the floor, and both had the opportunity to let discretion be the better part of valor. They both chose and in that moment, chose wrong.
I will say in the left hander just before the last part, Reece hooked the curb and got a decent little wiggle himself but was able to keep it off Roe. Roe's wiggle when he then hooked the very next curb looked quite a bit bigger and the correction shot him hard left straight into Reece. If Reece wasn't next to him, he was going off anyway but probably wouldn't have hooked the curb by himself.
As I said in the paddock after, they made it a LOT further than i expected. Again, I was about 2 car lengths off of Steve when they fired off and I had a pretty clear view of it and they LOOKED pretty much dead even on turn in at the bottom of the esses, or close enough.
I'm not making any defense for anybody. Just putting what I saw out there and everyone can decide for themselves. Being that i wasn't in a helicopter looking straight down it might be slightly inaccurate, but I am basing all this off of a pretty front row seat. If Jenks has a differing opinion on what he saw since he was slightly ahead of me I would defer to his assessment.
Race 2 Jenks locked up into 1 and turned Dixon.
Speaking of which, Dixon was just a bystander in both of his turn 1 incidents. I can't believe, in BOTH races we didn't come back to a pile up. I thought for sure we would, but especially in race 1 he kept his head as did the field and nearly everyone was able to continue.
Washed up never-was
More good news...
At my 3-week exam today, the orthopedist says my tibial plateau fracture is healing very well, and I can start doing light weight-bearing exercises as of now. He also says that because my knee's range of motion and everything else looks so good, I won't need any physical therapy. His only warning was to not overdo things and screw it up.
Dave Weitzenhof
Excellent News!
At my 3-week exam today, the orthopedist says my tibial plateau fracture is healing very well, and I can start doing light weight-bearing exercises as of now. He also says that because my knee's range of motion and everything else looks so good, I won't need any physical therapy. His only warning was to not overdo things and screw it up.
At my 3-week exam today, the orthopedist says my tibial plateau fracture is healing very well, and I can start doing light weight-bearing exercises as of now. He also says that because my knee's range of motion and everything else looks so good, I won't need any physical therapy. His only warning was to not overdo things and screw it up.
So glad to hear that news, Dave. That's big!
Washed up never-was
6-weeks-since-the-accident update
I've been off the crutches and not using the knee brace for about 2 weeks. I've been using the home exercise bike since then and working out (mostly upper body) at the health center where Sherrie and I normally go since the beginning of last week.
Today Sherrie and I walked around our block (~6/10 of a mile) for the first time since the accident.
July 2nd I'll get another evaluation from the orthopedist, which I expect to be positive.
So far so good!
Dave Weitzenhof
Hi Dave and Sherrie,
Hope you both will pay Mid Ohio a visit at some point this weekend, I know the paddock would love to see you both.
We can share tibial plateau fracture tales !
Mike
Great News Dave!!!!!
3-month update
Sherrie and I vacationed in Algonquin Park in Ontario for a week. We were able to do several hikes, one with a lot of inclination. The exertion improved my knee condition such that I'm back to almost normal on what I can do. The knee still hurts a bit sometimes, but the improvement is noticeable almost every day.
On the car repair, the frame is at Citation, so the winter project is beginning.
Dave Weitzenhof
Can't keep a good man down!!!!
GREAT news. i have been off Apex for about a year lol
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