At El Mirage this weekend I was the about the ninth or tenth person to run. I ran against a 15 mile an hour head wind across the finish line, got off the track as fast as I could because I walked the course earlier and seen a very rough area in the infield(the area between the track and the return road), I got to the return road and took off my helmet and gloves and started to check out my bike. A few minutes later my wife arrived. I was doing something to my bike and I heard a loud pop. I turned around and realized it was the chute opening on a nice little roadster that had just run. I went back to what I was doing and heard a horrendous crash. I spun around to see what I thought was a van on its side what later turned out to be an international scout, I think, on it's side with a person lying on the ground in front of it,and the roadster that I had seen with its chute out and the front end smashed. My wife grabbed the CB and said that we needed an ambulance at the finish line. We started to run towards the accident my wife being a medical assistant. We had to run about halfway from the return road to the track and with me being 62 a few people beat us there,one with the sense enough to bring a fire extinguisher,although there was no fire. By the time we got there everything was pretty much under control.Anyway we decided to go back and continue with our business so that we would not be in the way, Unlike about 50 other idiots,mostly spectators. When I went to rookie orientation in May,Greg Waters said always pull off to the left side of the track unless you have an emergency. In the El Mirage procedures there is a rule that says if you are having trouble with your vehicle to abort your run by turning off to the left side of the track and go to the return road so as not to waste everybodys time waiting in line to race. Where the roadster got into the accident with the international was the exact same place where I had turned off. When I leave the track I'm probably traveling 70 mph. It was my understanding that the area between the track and the return road was to be absolutely clear of all vehicles. If that had been a motorcycle instead of a vehicle with a full roll cage, I guarantee someone would have been killed. The only reason I'm telling everyone this is so that I could ask one question...What in the hell was someone doing in an international scout driving around in the area between the track and the return road where any racer could be turning off the track anywhere from the startline to a half a mile past the finish line doing any speed from 10mph to 200mph.
Willie Buchta