I figured I would start my own thread here for this one. Partially as a PSA to anyone that is pushing harder on track and the importance of safety gear, and also to document the new build

How did we get here?
Was participating in a TT event in OK this past weekend. Last day of the event and finally had a dry session (it had rained off an on all weekend other than the practice day). Things were going well, was putting down good times, smooth lap, etc. Dropped a tire off the pavement coming out of the last corner into the front straight. Race tires in grass as we know are not fun. Car snapped around, spun across track and hit a tire wall backwards. Up until that point I was mainly just bummed that I knew I was going to hit the tire wall. But... car bit into the wall, front snapped around but dug into the soft ground and ....


The car did not really "roll" but instead after hitting the tire wall, sort of bit in and flipped over and slammed down onto the top. Most all the damage to the doors happened when they flipped it back over with the tow truck. So the impact was first from the back, then about twice as hard as it slammed onto its top. I believe the tire wall sort of lifted the back of the car up a bit there as it happened.

So lets get the safety stuff out of the way here
First, I am fine. Hardest thing was getting out of the car while upside down But this shows that you just do not know what can happen. Even during the incident, ending upside down did not seem like a probability.
Now to some preachy stuff.....
Yes, many orgs allow an S2k on track with no rollbar. Very common actually. But, my car made about a 3-4 inch depression in the ground where my roll bar sits. The factory roll hoops not only sit lower but are narrow, making them more prone to sinking into the ground. This means without rollbar there was a much higher chance of my head contacting the ground/roof. Now I get it, people just getting into track days are not going to run out and start installing every single piece of safety gear. But as you progress up through DE2, 3, 4 etc you REALLY need to make this a priority. And if doing anything like TT where you are pushing harder towards the limit, IMO it should be a requirement to put in proper safety gear.

I have a race seat, roll bar, harness and HANS (mine is actually a Schroth SHR Flex HANS style device) and all of that perfectly did its job. I walked away from this and the only pain I felt was a bruised up shin from having to get my leg out from between the seat and steering wheel, while twisted around on my back upside down while getting out. Things are tight enough when sitting right side up Two things I learned that will go into the next build (and yeah, already planning that): 1) Fire supression system. While the track crew was amazing and right there to help, I can imagine the time taken to get out of there if there was an actual fire. 2) Quick release hub for the steering wheel. Would have made getting out a lot easier.

Now the damage
Pretty shocked at how the car handled it. There is zero sign so far of any damage to anything structural beyond the windshield frame (and thank you Honda for making that an actual structural element). Hood, fenders, windshield and frame, a few dents in the doors from flipping the car back over and reary bumper and trunk took most of it. Wing did not even get damaged. Broke a motor mount due to the hood being pressed down onto the motor. After making sure it did not have too much oil in the cylinders from being upside down. I drove it onto the trailer and then back off when I got it home. Crop dusted the paddock but it started right up Oh and the door is open in this pic, not all bent outwards. The hinges did get a little tweaked (likely from the fender and windshield hoop being pushed down into that area which sort of put pressure on the door)



The Plan
I always purchase track insurance so I am covered. So good there. In terms of the next plan it will be one of the following depending on how it shakes out. I expect it to be totaled and I will get my agreed upon amount.

Option 1: Buy it back (Friend went through this with an almost identical S2k so I know what he paid and it is very reasonable) and work with a shop to fix it and rebuild it.

Option 2: Buy it back, spend the rest on finding a suitable s2k, swap over my good parts and keep my drivetrain and many other parts as spares

Option 3: I have a bare shell behind my shop that my friend purchased but did not end up using. So possibly buy it from him and we just move everything I can from mine over (itis even yellow! ) and find any other parts I am missing to finish it.

I will keep this thread updated with the progress. I hope to be back in an S2k on track before the end of this season, but it depends on claim process, and how fast I can get something together.

I will give a HUGE shout out to NASA and Hallett for how well everything was handled. Great org and excellent track I actually think Hallett may be my new favorite track and cant wait to get back there again. Very fun track in the s2k!

Stay safe out there!!

 

Holy shit man! I'm glad you were alright. Sad to see what happened to the car but more importantly you came out of this basically unscathed! If you want any help in the future with moving things over to the new (whatever you end up going with)car, just let me know. I have about 33 years experience working on everything car related. And I only live like 10 to 15 min from you.

 

Yeah I figure this will make for some fun hanging out and wrenching with you and Tony for sure Just waiting on the claim stuff right now and will for sure keep you in the loop!

 

Whoa. Glad you're ok. That is a testament to how well the car is built. GL on the project.

 

Crazy. Glad to hear that you're alright and happy to also hear that you had track insurance.

Good luck with the rebuild. I'll be following and watching.

 

Very happy to hear you weren't hurt! Glad that you had all the proper safety gear. I've been in a number of incidents over the years and having proper safety equipment saved my neck multiple times.
I can't echo it enough but a rollbar/cage, hans, seat, etc. saves lives.

Buy the car back and find a shell. Good time to have a cage welded up for added safety!

 

Thanks everyone! Yeah I cannot say enough how thankful I was for the safety gear and the track workers. Insurance guy contacted me today and I sent him the info so we are working on the claim. I did say I was interested in buyback so just waiting on them to get someone out to look at it.

I generally feel that if I cannot afford insurance, I just wont go out. Once you go race group (W2W) you really do not have that option but for HPDE and TT its out there.

 

Yep, and your example a while back shows that even if everything goes perfect on your end, someone else can always ruin your track day and car too! I think people forget that a lot. A random mechanical failure, someone else hitting you, etc are all things that can go wrong on track.

 

You'd think that with everyone going in the same direction an auto-x, lapping day or Time Trial would be safe. My last time trial (was in my Audi, not the S2000) almost nailed a GTi that got crossed up and completely sideways right in front of me. That was scary.

Luckily my offs have basically ended up making my car dirty.

Think I'm pretty much done with that except for the occasional auto-x. Too old to change pads, bleed brakes etc. frequently and I don't feel like putting in a roll bar in the S2000.

Buyback might end up being a net positive - fingers crossed!

 

My friend with a nearly identical one to mine just went through it last year and his buyout was very reasonable. Will see what they come back with!

We had another guy at the track this weekend that was in his new Integra S. Crashed it pretty hard (most likely totaled) and did not have the insurance. He said that discussion with his wife was going to be rough! I did offer him a couch for a few nights if he needed to hide lol