Peter Jank - Sprints crash

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:28 am
Thanks again for all the well wishes. My recovery continues to progress and I should get the go ahead to start putting weight on my legs when I visit my doctor on July 31. I have started talking with Beau about plans for racing next year. I'm looking forward to coming back, but will likely not run at Road America.

I like the various ideas for changing the kink. Moving the walls back to create clearer sight lines would have definitely helped me. I'm not sure I would have avoided contact, but I would have been able to see enough to have known I needed to slow the car down.

In my case I was about 20 car lengths behind a group of cars approaching the kink. That group of cars became involved in an accident shortly after entering the kink and leaving my line of sight. All the cars involved in that incident continued to slide down the track, eventually coming to rest beyond the apex of the blind left-hander that follows the kink. By the time I rounded the kink, there were no readily apparent signs that an accident had occurred a few seconds before. The road was clear and I proceeded through the kink at full speed. Unfortunately, when I began the turn into the blind left after the kink I found the road blocked and was unable to take effective evasive action. I ended up sliding into a car that had come to rest on line.

In addition to moving walls back, one thing that might have helped was to have a series of yellow lights hung in the catch fencing from the entry to the kink through the blind corner that follows. They could be wired to pulse after being triggered by buttons at corner stations in the area. They installed a similar system at Turn 4 at Sears Point/Infineon after Will Power hit a disabled car at the corner and broke his back a few years ago. The workers at Road America do a great job of keeping us safe, but I think they need better tools for the kink.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:49 pm
Peter, you make good points, it's bad enough that the walls are so close, but the blind nature of the turn has taken it's toll many times. I am not sure how to get the tracks attention.

I would hope that the club could put some pressure on them, but in reality I don't think it would make a difference. I have talked to several drivers outside our division about the problem but it seems like the concern isn't there and until something happens to them or a friend I don't see that changing. I keep thinking about that day when the Skip Barber driver was killed there and seeing the wife and her twin girls in shock. If you ever experience this, it will have a profound affect that will never go away.

Last year in March, when they published the tentative schedule with Srf running together with S2000 I wrote to club racing as many others did indicating it was a bad idea. I told them of my concern with something happening in the kink. In part they finally just had us qualify with s2000 and my prediction came true. A good friend of mine was the victim this time during a qualifying session. After the race weekend was over, I reminded club racing of my early concern to them and their response was that everyone wants their own race and qualifying and the schedule just doesn't warrant it.

This concerned me even more and I again went back to them and said that schedules should never be a priority over safety. I reminded them that this does not only affect the driver but also the workers and crew. They basically blew me off again. I kept at it and finally they said one other S200 driver voiced opposition and they would consider it for the 2012 Schedule. So it does pay off to voice your concerns to club racing but I am not sure the club has enough clout to get anything done with the track.

I am not sure if any on you were crewing for the qualifying sessions in last years runoffs. I did and during one session I was timing between the barricades and the track just past start finish, when 3 srf's came up the hill side by side. A few 2nds later an S2000 appeared and had to take to the grass on drivers left to try and pass the SRF's. Several crew members including myself thought this was going to be a very bad crash and luckily nothing happened. I also brought this situation up to club racing and never received a credible response. That continues to bother me to this day. I know they have to be careful in how they word things in their responses, but I have never been a fan of form letters nor such responses.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:21 pm
Does the SCCA, or Road America, keep track of accidents and the data surrounding those accidents?

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:11 pm
Peter, and all others. I am an out of division driver who has never raced at RA, and I do have concerns. I watched many videos prior to your incident. Read about several other incidents and have quite a bit of concern about the kink. Supposedly on theSprints weekend there were two other airlifts out of RA, again as a result of the Kink.

I am planning racing there next month, and again a the Runoffs. I will decide after my initial outing next month if I will risk the Runoffs. I would be more than glad to support you and anyone else I efforts to have RA recognize and attempt a solution(s) to the situation

Rod S
San Francisco Region
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 7:02 am
Thanks Rod. If you decide to race the Run Offs, please stop be the Elite Autosport trailer and say hi. I hope to be there watching my brother Paul race.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:19 pm
Well it's off to Road America for the weekend. Test day tomorrow, qualifying on Saturday, and race on Sunday. Hope to do Peter proud. First time a "J" will be back on the track since Peter's accident at the Sprints last month. I am sure that my first pass through the "kink" will be a little tough, but I am confident that we will have a safe and successful weekend. I will be offline for most of the next three days, so I just wanted to let my friends and family know. Even left my iPhone behind with Peter so he could monitor my progress over the next few days using my "Race Monitor" App. May sell him on getting an iPhone. :)

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:44 am
Peter,

So glad to hear that you are getting better each day! I will try to come up and visit you later this summer!

Also, glad to hear you are talking about staying in the game! You have gotten fast over the last several years (The real reason I stopped racing this year? I couldn't keep up with you anymore!) and I can't wait to hear that you are back at the track again!

God's speed!

Lance
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:49 am
Thanks Lance! I look forward to seeing you later this Summer.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:31 pm
Well Peter got to see his Orthopedic Doctor today. Good news is that he is healing quite well and bones in his legs are growing nicely around the hardware that was installed during his surgery. The Dr says that he is cleared for 50% weight bearing and will begin exercises involving his standing several times a day for set intervals. Those intervals will continue to be increased each week until he is deemed ready to start walking exercises. The bad news is that means Peter will be staying in the rehab facility longer than August 20th. He was really looking forward to getting home sooner, but is happy none the less. Almost forgot to mention, his wrist / finger on his right hand have mended enough that he no longer requires a brace.

All Good! Thanks for all the continued support and prayers.

Peter will be making his first visit back to the race track at Blackhawk Farms this Sunday to watch me run in the Goodrich Super Tour National. Cannot wait to see him back in the pits. Watch out though, he is wicked fast in that wheel chair of his.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:12 pm
I know Peter was hoping for better news, but keep focusing on the positive! Has he "pimped" his wheelchair yet? ;)

Joelle Pence
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