Somewhere between the 2 and 3 mile markers something let go at the back of the motor of Greg Everitt's A/GCC Studebaker. Whatever it was (flywheel?) blew shrapnel-like holes in the 14-gauge belly pan. It also blew chunks off of the transmission case and started a fire that blistered the paint on the outside of the fender (on the other side of the inner fender) and generally caused a lotta mayhem and destruction. Besides the fire, the parts and pieces blew the rear tires as the car ran over them.
Greg knew that things were ablaze and could feel the heat and see smoke and flame coming thru the transmission tunnel. He got the car stopped safely and the rescue crews were on the scene before could even get my camera up to shoot the incident from the pit area.
When I talked with him afterward, he had nothing but praise for SCTA's strict safety regulations. He said, "everything worked just as it should have." He had a little problem with the lateral head supports, but he plans to take that up with the rules committee. Nonetheless, he kept repeating how well the safety regs worked. The fire suppression system went off and helped some, but the intensity of the fire was such that it (according to Greg's estimate) would have taken at least 5 times the amount of suppressant to completely control it.
In the first photo there's a view of the fuel cell. It appears deformed and I thought that had happened because of the heat. Greg told me that it had been that way for a long time; it wasn't the result of the fire. He expressed surprise that the cell didn't burn, given the intensity of the fire. Even the fiberglass hood was unblistered.
An odd twist to the story. On the way to the salt, he and his crew stopped at Wells, Nv for gas and a biological break, (That's what they called potty breaks in the hospital company I used to work for) even though they didn't really need to. He sensed something wrong with the trailer when he walked by the left rear wheel. It was so hot he couldn't touch it. A bad bearing was just about to turn into a tire fire. It cost them some cash and some time to repair it, but nothing serious took place. They'd stopped in time to catch the bearing before the problem got out of hand.
It makes me wonder (I think Greg is wondering, too) if he didn't dodge not one, but two bullets on this trip. I told him that I was happy to write this up because it had what could be considered a very happy ending, all factors considered. I like covering that kind of story...and Danny Thompson's...much better than those where there's serious injury or worse. I had one just recently with a motorcycle racer recently that was very disturbing. I told Greg how happy I was that he was uninjured and I could cover the story with photos and words.
Addendum: Just after I posted this a friend called me. He's an OTR truck driver and was calling from the Tooele Valley Hospital. A gust of wind caught his semi on I-80 between Lakepoint and Grantsville and put it on its head before he knew what was happening. He's ok, just bumps and bruises. All of his safety equipment functioned as it should have and spared him serious injury. This is frikkin spooky. I think I'm gonna say a few prayers of gratitude for all the stuff that DIDN'T happen today.
