[trackbird]

Article:

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4562562/detail.html

Pics:

http://nbc4.tv/slideshow/news/4562709/detail.html

More info at corner carvers:

http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthrea...ead.php?t=23616

Emergency Crews Respond To Fatal Crash At California Speedway
Second Person Hospitalized After Crash

POSTED: 3:23 pm PDT June 2, 2005
UPDATED: 5:16 pm PDT June 2, 2005

(IMG:http://images.ibsys.com/2005/0602/4562735_200X150.jpg)

LOS ANGELES -- Two people were killed Thursday in a crash at California Speedway in Fontana.

A private car club was renting the speedway at the time of the crash.

A Porsche Carrera GT crashed into a retaining wall and came to rest on the track's infield. Authorities said two people were in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second person in the car was transported by Mercy Air to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. That person later died.

The track is home to the California 500, Nextel Cup 500, the Toyota Indy 400 and other motorsport events. The 2-mile D-shaped oval surrounds an infield portion used for road courses and a 13-turn interior test circuit.

Private parties can rent the track to turn laps.

Be safe out there guys.

[trackbird]

After wading through pages and pages of posts on about a half dozen boards (that corner carvers thread had a link to a board, that linked to a board, etc) it appears that he was an experienced enthusiast with several very nice cars and was not a novice driver (though I don't know his actual level of experience, it appears that he was not new at this). I'm going to guess that there are very few people on this planet who would not potentially be "in over their head" in that car or have the ability to wind up there. I don't mean this as a negative reflection on the driver, but more as a statement that it is a tremendous amount of car. However, the same thing could have easily happened in a Corvette, 911, Camaro, Cobra, etc (though possibly at a lower speed due to the HP differences). As Randy said, it should cause us to reflect upon our safety prep, both car and driver.

Be safe out there.

I can't imagine the great loss to both families involved and wish them the best in a very difficult time. The ability to learn from this and possibly save another life is likely the only positive we can take away from this tragic event.