Bad accident at the Mitty

Anyone see this or know the status of the driver? Said to be grave. Shadow Can Am head on down the hill. I heard all limbs where fractured and they cut the car in half to get him out. Possible stuck throttle was mentioned. Dreadful. Prayers are needed.

 

I did not hear about that. Was it a Shadow DN-1? I might know the owner/driver if it hasn't changed hands.

I was in the group before Bob Akin died there a few years ago. I hope this is a better outcome...

 

Update 16 hrs ago from https://www.facebook.com/UOPShadowTribute2016/

"Today Craig Bennett had a racing accident while driving The Shadow. It was a serious in nature and Craig sustained numerous injuries. The most significant was to his spine. He was operated on at Northeast Medical Center in Gainesville. The surgery was successful and he is now being treated for the numerous fractures to his arms, legs and feet. We expect full recovery but his path back will be long. Thanks for the support and prayers. We will keep you updated on his progress"

 

it was Craig Bennett. non-life threatening apparently, but going to be a long recovery.

https://www.facebook.com/UOPShadowTribute2016/?pnref=story

 

DN4. One of the ultimate Can-Am cars.

Craig is an accomplished driver and the RM crew that put the car together is top notch.

It was a bad accident.

Off a the exit of the Bridge turn. Two wheels, parallel and outside the green/white curb, going down the hill and straight through the tire wall at the base of the hill in Turn 12.

Craig was conscious throughout, they took him by helicopter to a Level 1 trauma center, where he went into surgery immediately.

Craig drives relatively contemporary F1 cars, GTP prototypes and large Can-Am cars with commitment and great skill.

Here is a video I made of him in the DN4 at Road America: https://www.facebook.com/peter.krause/videos/10151578307028790/?l=4004100170560075630

And at Mont Tremblant: https://www.facebook.com/peter.krause/videos/10151569245393790/?l=7742360212829104627

Make sure you click the "HD" under options... $#!t happens FAST in these cars... Prayers to Craig, Leah, his family and crew.

 

A DN4, one of several owned by Jim Bartel.

I was there, too. Yes, this has a better outcome already...

 

did he get two wheels off between the track surface and where the outside pit lane entrance begins? or at the top of the hill right under the bridge?

either way, not a good place to go off in anything, let alone a monster like that.

 

I don't know. I saw a set of photographs taken immediately after the car left the track, with the right wheels on the track surface and the left wheels in the dirt but the car parallel and splitting the entire length of the curb coming down the hill. The car did not leave the track at an angle before the straight curb. Right now, total speculation exists (I did not witness the accident), but I have great faith that Craig did not make a mistake...

 

As I sit here, recuperating from yet another serious skiing injury, when I read this, I can't help but to think that racing old(er) iron has some serious risks. Our older car probably won't hold up as well as the newer one will, in the event of a bad off. It makes me wonder where the limit should be.

We've got old(er) cars that are going around as fast as (or faster than) in-period due to better tires, brakes, suspension and so forth. At what point is the safety of these cars inadequate?

Don't get me wrong...it can happen in anything, if you're going fast enough. But, given the same circumstances, would a modern car have sacrificed itself better for the driver?

I LOVE driving the older car. It's raw and rewarding when done right. But, I also know that it may not provide the same protections the modern one does.

Anyway, just food for thought. I don't know the driver, but I wish a speedy and full recovery. I've seen some bad offs and lost some friends over the years, too. But, if you're doing what you like, we can justify taking these risks. And, as competency and speeds go up, so do the consequences for getting something wrong. Pay to play, so to speak.

Sorry to hear the news.

CW

 

That is exactly why a fair number of LMP-C cars (Oreca-Chevrolet FLM09's) are beginning to be campaigned in historic racing. Because they're fast and they're darned safe.

 

PC cars shouldn't be eligible for historic racing, I remember when they debuted

 

Some people think "historic" is racing last year's race car!

 

Just got back from the Mitty. I've been praying for him. Was a horrible accident, I think something in his steering broke. Friend saw the accident said he saw him coming down hill then brakes locked up & he went straight in, Ugh.

I believe he will survive, it was so bad we thought he was dead.

This is all hearsay I heard that he broke ankle, both legs, both arms, wrist, shoulder but no injuries.

Road Atlanta is a challenging track w at least 4 fast blind spots. I was going through the blind kink on back straight @ 160+ in my DP hoping nothing was on other side.

The top of downhill is blind too. Eric does it flat out. Was my 1st time so I was a lot slower.

The poor driver has a lot of recovery ahead. I wish him the best.

 

There were two DN4s there; this is the other one, taken later in the paddock.

I had seen the two Shadows going around on the track earlier while up on the hill, but I was not witness to the accident. The first I realized what might have happened was when all on-track activity stopped, and then I saw the helicopter leave.
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Yep, both are owned by Jim Bartel, the driver's father in law.

William, the relatively slow exit of 10B allows most cars to approach the underside of the Bridge at WOT. It's after that's really hard. Often, and Eric will tell you this, a confidence lift going down the hill, even for a moment, will help plant the nose and get the car turning through T12.

Something went wrong, for sure. Craig has hundred, if not thousands of laps in these cars and has done under 1:20 in one at Road Atlanta in a forty year old car...

 

complete tangent, but do you know which shop runs the Flying Lizard 997 RSR that was at the Mitty this weekend?

 

Thank you for the link. I cannot think of a more wicked looking machine than the Shadow. I am thinking that someone lost their life at a vintage race at Mosport a few years ago when a wing failed on the Wolf Dallara? The picture below shows the type of protection the driver has. Glad to hear he is expected to recover.
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I'm glad this is a better day than that one.

I've "only" cracked ribs and bruised innards at that track due to a driving error and briefly forgetting what type of car I was driving. Its a fast punishing place.

 

I wanted to buy a McLaren CAN AM until I looked at the tub & TOTAL lack of protection.

You get a crappy little 4 point roll bar & a harness, that IT....

It's like attaching a jet engine to a hang glider.

My Crew Chief & Eric both told me I'd probably kill myself in it so I'm very happy in my nice safe, heavy DP.

Still love CAN AM but I'm not strapping into one.

 

It is my understanding that Craig Bennett suffered eleven fractures to his extremities and damage to his spine but that following the first of many surgeries his spine is in tact. Time will tell. Apparently a horrific shunt. If you pray, please remember Craig in your prayers.

 

Anything that goes better than 45 mph can kill you if get it wrong just right. That is why it's not Golf. The older it is the more lethal it is and no matter how much experience you have or how much you magnaflux, crack check, replace components and obsessively prepare etc. things will still break and go wrong. Still a major bummer. Praying for a quick and full recovery.

 

The Flying Lizard GT/LM car that was there used to be owned by Juan Gonzalez, owner of Mission Foods (I support his effort, in a small way, when I go to the grocery store! ). He has a small, very competent full time crew that looks after that car as well as his many, many cars. His son was driving an Oreca LMP-C car (one of four here this weekend).

There are a few out there, mostly 997 RSR's, but Darren Law looks after Andy Wilzoch's 991 GT3R that is painted up the same colors and runs in PCA Club Racing.

Lotus man, your info is correct...

Like I said, the RM crew is one of a handful in the paddock that has extensive, successful and decades long experience preparing and running these cars. But there is a reason why WILLIAM and many others that have done that risk/benefit analysis do not choose to run that type of car.

Theo Bean drove his dad's 1991 Chevrolet-Intrepid GTP car to a 1:15.XX, IN THE DAMP, this weekend, which was FTW for all cars. And we know what happened to Tommy Kendall... This is not a game.

Prayers to Craig and his family.

 

So sorry to read about this.

We never want to see anyone getting hurt in racing, especially at this level.

But, as has been pointed out, the march forward from early 70's CanAm cars to today
is like night and day from a safety perspective. From the aluminum construction, lack of
roll cage and the fact that most of their fuel cells literally encompassed the cockpit, things
that today's drivers would run from.

Hopes for a quick recovery. Injuries read similar to those suffered by Jason Workman
a few years ago. He was kept in a coma for brain swelling and his broken (well) everything
healed well during that process and he's back racing again.

BHW

 

I remember Jason's crazy accident (a windstorm lifted an awning and sailed a water barrel that hit him in the head, landing on him as he was sitting on the wall at PBIR coaching a client), and thankfully he has recovered from his head injury, by far the most serious aspect of that accident.

Craig's is a little different in the fact that he did remain conscious throughout and did not suffer a closed head injury (that is known at this time). His accident was much more similar to Memo Gidley's incident at Daytona, hopefully with fewer neck and spine complications.

The key takeaway is that every outing, in any car, should be as safe as you can make it. Because you just can't know when something, either in or out of your control, will go wrong.