No photos of the Nash on it's roof? Pity.
They say if you race a car, you have to be willing to walk away from it when it winds up in a wrinkled heap. We didn’t expect to exemplify this philosophy so soon.
A week ago our project Miata received a new livery and was set to go racing at Barber Motorsports Park with the 24 Hours of LeMons. After a long trip from Florida to Alabama, we just barely made it to tech inspection on time. We would be racing in “A class”—the fastest of the three classes at LeMons races—with zero penalty laps. We were confident that with efficient pit stops we would have a top-5 car this year.
Sure enough, as our first driver finished his 2-hour stint we were pleased to be perched in fourth place. After a quick stop for fuel and a fresh body behind the wheel, we jumped to second place. Another fuel stop and driver change pushed us back down to fourth, but we were still in the thick of it. We were trying new consumables at this event, running Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R tires, new König Dial-In wheels, and Winmax W4 brake pads. We were especially impressed by the new tires—in fact, we don’t think there’s a better track tire over the 200 treadwear-rating line. And the Winmax pads were performing exceptionally as well. We really had a great setup.
Unfortunately, that’s when it all went wrong. In the thick of a three-car battle with a Porsche 944 and another car, our third driver crested the hill just after turn 12, only to be met by a terrifying sight: Team NSF’s Corvette-powered Nash was sitting dead in the middle of the track. We plowed about 4 feet into the trunk of the Nash—we actually speared far enough in to break their differential and bend their rear suspension—while simultaneously being rear-ended by the 944. The combined impact of the two sports cars managed to flip the Nash onto its roof. Think for a minute about the force required to do that.
The carnage suffered by our car was some of the worst we’ve seen at any event, but thankfully we hadn’t skimped on safety equipment. The whole drivetrain may have been moved 4 inches backward, and the car may have been significantly shortened, but our driver escaped with only some residual soreness. Let’s all stop here and appreciate the effectiveness of head-and-neck restraint systems. Praise be to safety equipment.
After a flatbed trip back to the paddock, we jokingly asked the crowd of shocked competitors surrounding the car if anyone needed some Miata parts. To our surprise, three of our paddock neighbors sheepishly raised their hands. Their Miata had also been knocked out of the race, but all they needed to mend was a bent control arm. We told them that if they could pull one out of ours, they could have it—after all, we weren’t going to be using it anytime soon. After some sawing and hammering, they managed to remove a straight control arm from our car and graft it into their own Miata. So our car did not die in vain!
So what to do now? Well, there’s no way we can use this particular roadster again for racing, but we’ll salvage what we can. As for our next LeMons car, we have something more interesting planned—but we’ll keep you in suspense until we begin the project.
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No photos of the Nash on it's roof? Pity.
We couldn't see the wreck from our vantage point, but apparently someone else could. Behold the inverted Nash.
The Nash looks repairable in pictures I've seen. The driver gets a one year ban for getting punted on her roof. Such is racing.
Very glad all the safety equipment was present and functional.
That Nash finally fits the bathtub moniker.
I have read the LeMon's rules regarding the inverted car suspension. I think it is a good rule for what it is intended.
And while I could wonder about the Nash being in the middle of the track and stopped scenario, I have to ask if the roll-over rule should it really apply in this case? Technically the driver had no input into the roll-over since the car was stationary.
This was more of a flagging glitch.
This is a testament to the safety inspections and prep work for these races. Folks mock Lemons, but really, it's real racing and real incidents can and do happen. I am super glad, but not amazed, that everyone walked away from what could be a fatal accident if cars had PVC cages and cruddy belts.
Neat that the Miata got to live on! Good work, guys. It sucks, but it makes for a good article featuring the safety features and the aftermath of the three cars. Don't skimp on safety!
NOHOME wrote: I have read the LeMon's rules regarding the inverted car suspension. I think it is a good rule for what it is intended. And while I could wonder about the Nash being in the middle of the track and stopped scenario, I have to ask if the roll-over rule should it really apply in this case? Technically the driver had no input into the roll-over since the car was stationary. This was more of a flagging glitch.
I don't believe that rule has ever been overturned (ha!) for any reason. I think it is trying to speak to the seriousness of the accident, giving such a severe punishment makes people think about what to do to avoid it.
So, uh, this showed up in our parking lot this morning.
NSF racing–you're awesome. You really didn't have to give us a Miata. We tried to pay for it, but the team wouldn't take any money. Heck, it was all we could do to get him to take a T-Shirt.
Let the build commence!
tuna55 wrote: I don't believe that rule has ever been overturned (ha!) for any reason. I think it is trying to speak to the seriousness of the accident, giving such a severe punishment makes people think about what to do to avoid it.
I have always thought that was a very good rule. No ifs, ands or buts. If you are upside down, you're done for a year. Not forever, just for a year. So don't end up upside down. And in this case, ya know what, choosing the runoff area to the left or right rather than letting the car die on the track surface would have resulted in not-being-upside-down.
RedGT wrote:tuna55 wrote: I don't believe that rule has ever been overturned (ha!) for any reason. I think it is trying to speak to the seriousness of the accident, giving such a severe punishment makes people think about what to do to avoid it.I have always thought that was a very good rule. No ifs, ands or buts. If you are upside down, you're done for a year. Not forever, just for a year. So don't end up upside down. And in this case, ya know what, choosing the runoff area to the left or right rather than letting the car die on the track surface would have resulted in not-being-upside-down.
I've never raced Lemons, so this isn't a sarcastic or rhetorical question. Does the upside down rule apply if a car is taken out by a competitor? For instance, I'm racing and take the proper line into a corner. Another competitor dive bombs me on the inside, hits my rear passenger side wheel, spins me off track where my wheels, now sideways, dig into the dirt and my car flips. I'm the one who gets banned for a year?
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