Žetta er frį manninum sem ók bķlnum,nokkuš įhugavert.
First I want to thank everyone for the nice support and remarks.
I appreciate it alot........the car IS GONE and I am still here....I can deal with that.....I am very lucky to have a bunch of friends.
I also want to thank the guys at JMS for building a HELL of a car......and also thank the guys at SCT for letting me take the time to work on the car.
On to the hard part:
After watching the wreck I know that I made several mistakes and I am lucky to be here to watch my new child come into this world.
I remember the run itself very clearly.
I always watch the guardrail so I know when to let out of it......on this run I was watching everything was fine....I clicked the shifter into high gear looked back and thought......OH SHIT.
From that point it was just alot of trauma.....I grabbed the roll cage with my left hand and remember it getting crushed by the pillar and then I remember pulling my left hand out between the bar with my right hand while the car was sliding thinking.......this can be fixed...no big deal.......then it started rolling....and kept rolling....each hit hurt...at that point I wanted it to STOP.....I did NOT like the rolls at all.....maybe 1, two or FIVE I could deal with.....but not 8-15 or whatever it did....at that point I thought FOR SURE something was going to come thru the car and kill me......or I was going to die of some kinda brain trauma.
After the car stopped the worst part was I had no vision for about 5 minutes (my vision in both eyese went WHITE....like static on a TV).
I kicked my way out of the vehicle and Monty Johnson (of JMS) pulled me out feet first from the top up because I was screaming at him to DO WHATEVER he had to do to get me out of the car.......
I also remember the shock I had when I released my belts. When I turned the clasp, I fell from the top of the car into the passenger area (the car had rolled thru a fence and was sitting with the front end tword the starting line and the drivers side door facing up and I didn't know what was up down or sideways).
My ONLY reason for wanting to get out of the vehicle as fast as possible(and not worry about other injurys) was the threat of fire.
I figured I survived this terrible crash and I DID NOT want to burn up in the car. When I had the top end wreck last year the car was on fire and that memory was clearly in my mind. I wear a 5 layer fire suit (pants/jacket), neckbrace, nomex shoes, gloves, etc....but that equipment is NOT MEANT TO BURN long.....I wanted out.
Right after the crash my vitals were not too bad....BP was 150/80 and heart rate was in the 70's....I don't think I was in shock....I remember most of the wreck....my eyes were what concerned me the most.
After my vision cleared up I asked to see the video.....I walked around the car and then I was taken by my wife to the ER and they ran a ton of tests, etc.
I was released about 3am and I went to waffle house to grab some food.
I want to thank Wilson Bryant and his wife for letting me stay at their house the night of the wreck (I slept in their daughters bed).
There are several reasons the wreck happened.
1) No wheelie bars....with bars the car would have been fine.
2) Narrow Track........the track is 6' narrower than most tracks
3) Driver Error.......I should have lifted way sooner instead of going into high gear but I did not because I thought that I was in control of my wheelstands.
I have done hundreds of wheelstands.
You know what.....it is my error to think I was ever in control.
There is another version of the video somewhere that is near eye level and zoomed in where you could see the front wheels come down a bit right after I went into high gear......next it went back on the bumper and literally a half second later right into the wall.......If anyone knows the guy that has the video I would love to have it (it is a way better view than this version).
I honestly think it was caused because a tire unloaded and that is what did it.
The only two things that could have prevented it are:
Wheelie Bars
Getting out of the throttle earlier
I have been fighting (down track) wheelstands for several years.
Last year the vehicle on several occasions went on the bumper near the finish line....which is really really bad.
Two runs before the crash the car went onto the back bumper the same way and came crashing down around 100' when I let out of it.
I added 100# in front of the rear axle centerline and the car left at a lower angle but still had this wreck.
Two wrecks in 5 pass'......with no wheelie bars is a bad deal.
The wreck last year was caused when a tire blew out(I did not know it) after the car came down from a wheelstand......when I hit the brakes on the top end the vehicle went into a slide sideways, I had ZERO control and I hit the wall head on at 130mph.
BTW: The car ran 5.17@129mph best on this track.....all motor....no poweradder.
Safety, Safety and more Safety.
Everyone would laugh at me for the amount of gear I wore......but it should not be a laughing matter.
Also I would tighten my straps past comfort once I was staged at the tree.....this had to help.
JMS tied the seat down with 1/8" angle directly to the subframe.
The back of the seat was tied to the cross bar.
Also reinforcement tabs were used for all belt attachments
JMS did lots of cage.....I also had cross braces UNDER the front and back of the car which I know helped.
If I ever get back in a car the three items I would add are:
Hans Device (less head movement in a rollover)
Arm Restraints (keep myself from hitting myself in the head in a rollover)
Mouthpiece ( I have knocked out fillings with tire shake).
Thanks for listening....and keep it safe!
Chris Johnson
www.jmschip.com and
www.sctflash.com PS - Now the class is allows wheelie bars and they also removed the rule that forced me to add several hundred pounds......maybe it will keep someone else from getting killed in the future.
