S**t happens. Now what?

We all know that motorsports is a high risk activity. Being given the opportunity to push multiple thousands of pounds of metal around you to positions and levels of grip that you simply don't see on public streets can take its toll on the machine, as well as the person, in the best of circumstances. But what do you do when something less than 'great' happens, and how do you process and recover from that incident? In this post, i'll cover a true situation that happened to me at Carolina Motorsports Park early in the 2021 season as I was doing a post-winter shakedown of the car and driver at a MaxSpeed driving event. While I won't cover exactly what or why, I will link to the video which covers the physics behind what actually went wrong and how I'm correcting it. 

Video link: https://youtu.be/Q-If3ns7-yw

The Total Weekend Package

The weekend started off similar to that of most 'first events' of the season - I forgot about half of my tools, the heat barely worked in the trailer the night before, and naturally, I got a late start leaving the house. Once the drivers meeting came around Saturday morning, I was somewhat sleep deprived, but overall excited to get another season kicked off. Saturday was largely uneventful - chasing a few electrical and sensor gremlins, looking for some time based on modifications from the prior off season, and generally getting the feel for the car. There were some seriously fast cars on track, and I was keeping up with the majority of advanced drivers on course. Saturday looked and felt pretty good!

Sunday started out similarly: drivers meeting, tire pressure/wheel nut torque checks, fluid checks - quick bleed of the brakes, even. With my new brake setup I was leaning in with even more confidence from the day prior and felt great. I was only a few tenths from my personal best, and with the cooler temperatures allowing my Audi RS3 to produce ever so slightly more boost, and on fresh tires, I knew I'd nail it in the first or second session. 

Traffic Management 

As with any HPDE, traffic management for the first few laps is the name of the game to get a good, clean run. About lap 6 of session one, I had been pushing relatively hard to keep everything warm on a cool February morning, but not so hard that I didn't have anything left to nail the one killer lap that I wanted. The AIM Solo2DL race computer ticked off lap 6 and showed "green lights'' (indicating that I was ahead of pace from the lap prior). No traffic ahead. This was "the one"... I kicked off the final turn onto the front straight, still with lights green - I had my best of the weekend - not quite my best ever, but I'd take it. I kept on the throttle a bit longer across start finish to sacrifice T1 to get that extra 'umph'. I had finally caught a Cayman and knew the next lap would be a cool down.  

Was that brake pedal soft...? nah... 

As I was crossing start finish, I immediately transitioned to the brakes... which simply weren't there. The pedal went to the floor. Based on the logging data that I pulled afterward, I was doing 126mph when I stopped accelerating and hit the brake pedal. At this point, my world simply slowed down. 

Slow Motion 

If you've ever taken slow motion video, you know that you have to take *more* frames per second in order to get a smooth image. The human mind will do the same thing when in a stressful/desperate situation, and the same happened to me. The entire event transpired in just over 3 seconds. For me, it felt like 30. I saw the Cayman in front of me in the braking zone and knew that I couldn't hit him. I also knew that going off to drivers right may put me dangerously close to a corner worker station, with minimal aides to slow the car, so that was out. I decided, in a split second, to curve to drivers left, cross pit lane exit, enter the grass, and hope that i didn't roll the car as i entered the sand in hopes that i'd slow enough to prevent injury and at least *some* damage when i hit the tire wall. In this span of decision making, I also found time to cinch down my Schroth Quickfit Pro harness, close my face shield on my helmet, and brace my legs to the outside of the seat while holding my hands at 9 and 3 in case of an airbag deployment. 

Luck of the draw

I'll be the first to admit that I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Here's the run down of how this played out: 

- I went off drivers left. 

- Grid wasn't releasing drivers due to two cars coming in hot. 

- I crossed pit exit and the blend lines into the grass

- Porsche Cayman heard my tires and came off pace, which prevented him from hitting me as I was avoiding hitting him

- I transitioned from the pavement, to the grass, to the pavement, to the grass, to the sand in a slow 180 degree spin and *didn't flip the car* (credit to my brand new UP shocks on this one for keeping me level!) 

- The sand slowed me all the way down to 30mph before the tirewall

- Due to the angle of my rear diffuser + the brand new sand for the season, I slid across the top of the tire wall and parked between two saplings

Before the corner workers, who were sprinting, even had a chance to get to me, I had already texted my wife to tell her that I had an incident and that I was okay. 

Next Steps 

I was towed out, minimal damage to the car, pretty hurt pride, but a tremendous applause from everybody at the fence line as I drove the car, under it's own power and my own cognitive abilities, back to the trailer. At that point, I knew I made the right decision. There was nothing more I could do given the cards I had been dealt. Nobody was hurt. I was terrified and shaking. I probably *still* owe the Cayman owner a dry cleaning bill! Several close friends came by to check on me, who became all that much closer after this happened. The event director did the paperwork and then did the craziest thing I've ever heard of - he said these words to me "If you're good, you're clear back on track"... I'm sorry, WHAT?! He indicated that this was a situation that proved to him that I was truly an advanced driver making good decisions based on the scenario, and that I was welcome back on track either that day, or any other day that I wanted to join his team, at any track they ran events at. So... I screwed up... but in the least bad way? 

Back on the horse! 

I was in zero condition, nor was the car (although light damage) to get back on track. I packed up and headed home. I had several calls to make before anybody saw the youtube videos that were starting to circulate. The next event was only two weeks away at VIR for a Time Trial where the entire goal *is* to push the car and driver! After a long hug from my wife, she asked the question: How do we make this safer so that you're ready to go in two weeks? So that's exactly what we did. I worked with my sponsors from TireStreets, 529innovations, Ultimate Performance, and Carbotech to come up with a plan to figure out how to make the car safer, not only from a braking stand point, but also from a driver containment standpoint. We discovered the ultimate root cause which I discuss in my youtube video review, and we know how to prevent it - not only for myself, but for every other driver who's ever encountered boiling brake fluid (or hopes not to!). 

VIR was different. My Personal best there was a 2:14.3 - My first lap, which was terrifying to me since my last time on track was the CMP incident, was a 2:24... Clearly, some work and confidence building had to take place - and it did. The braking upgrades worked. The safety precautions held me in place better. by the end of the event, I found almost a full second off of my old personal best, clocking in at a 2:13.68. 

Moral of the story?

Get back on track. Rebuild your confidence. Do it safer. Follow those who have come before because they've done it before. I tell my current coaching clients, colleagues, and friends that I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two... and in this case, i've screwed up a thing (or 12). If you're crazy enough to go hurling down a straight at 140+mph into a turn that shouldn't be taken more than 35mph, then you already have the crazy determination that it takes to get back in the car after something happens. So do it.