Chipperman, if it'll make you feel better, the deer died almost instantly. After pitting the car and finishing the session, I went back to the flag station at Turn 9 to check. Apparently, it hit the grass, got up, took two steps and died. The flag crew (good West Virginia boys) would have known what to do if it had still been alive, I'm sure. I felt bad for the deer. Summit Point really should invest in better fencing.

 

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I just did a track event at Moroso in West Palm Beach. It's in the everglades, more or less. They have standing yellows for endangered sandhill cranes. These are very big birds and are no longer afraid of race cars. They aparently wander across the track from pond to pond. If you hit/kill one, I believe they said it's $5000 and a ton of paperwork.

VMB, your damage looks like what I often saw in WI. Clip the legs and the body crashes into the windshield. If your car is big, or the deer is short, you end up with the front end smashed in.

 

damn dude that sucks.....however, I think it is not uncommon for deer to take a few practice laps at Summit (correct me if I am wrong locals).

When I visited my brother in VA earlier this year, we went to Summit and I had 3 deer cross the road in front of me. I freaked!!! They were probably good 50 feet but it still raised the hair in my back (well, the 3 hairs I have).

I have to figure out how to load up the video as you can clearly see these bastards hopping lively in front of us. My instructor said he has seen this many times

Glad you are ok...sorry about the car

 

Thanks, guys. The car's going into the shop later this week. Fortunately NONE of the damage is structural. I guess I'm very lucky, even if it doesn't seem so.

 

Get this!
During Kevin Schwanz' school at road atlanta, one of the instructors hit a deer on a GSXR750 doing about 110! The deer got cut in half and the motorcycle was totalled, but the instructor landed safely in the grass right next to the back half of the deer soaked in blood. Luckily he walked away.

 

I'm told that in that part of Georgia, the deer are bred with a "severance zone" somewhere between the 8th and 10th vertebra for precisely this reason. :-)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cbender
[B]I'm told that in that part of Georgia, the deer are bred with a "severance zone" somewhere between the 8th and 10th vertebra for precisely this reason.