June 1, 2005 – From the President
First off MARFC would like to send out Speedy recoveries to MARFC members Mic Laskey and Ron Allen. Mic was injured at the Flat Rock Speedway in the pit area while working on a race car and Ron was in a very bad fiery crash at the Toledo Speedway. Both are ok but will need a little time to heal. Get better Guys and hurry back!
Let me talk a little about the safety of track officials, crew members & drivers. In the last few weeks we have several people injured at the tracks either in the pit area or driving the race car. We as race fans don’t always know the dangers that are on the other side of the fence that we sit on. Crew members work on hot or damage race cars and are always at risk of getting hurt trying to get the cars back into action. Just walking through the pit area can be dangerous if you are not paying attention to cars coming and going. Track workers are always in close contact with cars during a race as well as after. We need to give them all a great round of applause for what they do to let us enjoy a great night of racing.
As for drivers it is in your best interest as well as your family and crews to make sure that all your safety equipment is in working order. Check the dates on your belts, helmet, fire suit and gloves. Make sure that are not worn out or too torn up to wear. Fire is the worst thing for a driver just take a look at Ron Allen’s fire at Toledo and also Tom McGhee at the Galesburg Speedway who crashed his car and it caught fire. Both men were very lucky the God was watching out for them. I am not saying that racing should be stopped because it is dangerous but, I am saying that we all can avoid problems if we look ahead and maintain all the safety that we can do to protect us all.
Remember we are currently working with the Brain Injury Association of Michigan and M.I.S. on a fund-raiser walk in August. Ernie Irvan sustained life- threatening injuries in a horrific crash at MIS. Ernie Irvin and others will be on hand at this event. If you might be interested in this event as a volunteer or as a walker please feel free to contact me for more information at president@marfc.org.
As Always Keep Racing,
Bill Barnhart
President MARFC