car fire

[962porsche]

so my friend Steve's car went up in flames at the NJ event .
there is a good reason as to why i never call him STEVE and only call him BALLER .
if some one can BALL it all up he can .
there is a reason why i airbrushed his helmet the way i did .
Baller told me he was very pleased with Fred as his instructor and he learned alot from him after his spin in the 1st run session that fred was good about getting him to under stand he was just pushing to hard and over driving the car and by backing off a little you will go faster .

[chaos4NH]

He sat in the pits bouncing the motor off the rev limiter a good portion of the 2 days. Maybe he will explain what that was about?

[962porsche]

i will have to ask baller about that .
baller did send me some photos of the damage from the fire it's bad real bad !

what is the rule for having a car teched again after it's crash and repaired at that same event ?
and what is the rule if some one gets a mechanical black flaged ?
does the person have to get there cars teched again before they are let out on the track again ?

[djsteviec]

I was revving it at different times. I was revving to make sure there was no more oil leak, but then to bring the pressure up to fill the Accusump.

After I cleaned it, or attempted to- I found the culprit!

Hole in the block at cylinder 1. I found a piece of the rod cap and another half of a sheared rod bolt. The melted to the splash shield on contact.

There was absolutely NO leaks after I made my repairs! I repeatedly checked it before I went out, then checked it a lap or 2 before it blew- no leaks! It all happened in one shot. The only thing I did wrong is, I should have pulled over when it exploded and not coasted in.

It was the 1st time I ever had something like that happen. I was coming out of the bulb, power felt a little lacking- gave it gas and BOOM! Smoke started pouring in from the hood, windows, vents and firewalls. I was right at pit out and figured I would coast in. I didn't know I was on fire.

Again, I should have pulled over and gotten out of the car!

Sorry to anyone that lost track time due to my mess! I will do my best to remember in the situation, if it ever happens again.

[Chrispy]

I was very sorry to see that after seeing you spend so much time chasing the oil leak and missing track time. At least at that point most everyone was spent anyway so there wasn't many complaints that I saw.

If the car is on fire you have a couple of very quick choices to make. Personal safety comes first of course, if you see flames stop the car quickly and get the hell out in a safe place. It would suck to jump out of a burning car only to get run over. If you happen to be near a flagging station that would be a great place to stop as they have a fire extinguisher.

[WillM]

Man, that was a surprise and uncomfortable to watch. Sorry Steven.

The fire rescue team did a great job - text book approach. The car did not look like it was on fire when I first saw you pushing in across the paddock, but the amount of smoke was building.

4 fire marshalls ran over and got you the hell away from the car, then went to work. In textbook fashion, I did not see any flames until they opened the hood, which they did very carefully. One worker slowly edged the hood up an inch or two while the other 3 stood by with extinguishers. As soon as the flames were visible, they went to town with the extinguishers.

Things to keep in mind:
1. If things go boom, shut it off and come to a stop off line, off track, as soon as safely possible.
2. Stop near a flagging station if at all possible - they are all equipped with fire extinguishers and training on using them.
3. If you see or suspect an engine fire, and need to open the hood, BE VERY CAREFUL. Opening the hood floods the engine compartment with an inrush of fresh oxygen. If there any flames, they can and will go sky high.

Sorry to hear the damage was extensive. I give you credit for being so determined to stay for day 2 and working on the car to get it done. That was a bad way to finish 2 weather-challenged days at the track, but you got out just fine and nobody was hurt.

- Will

[djsteviec]

Thanks guys. I am pretty sure Will, Chris, Fred and maybe a couple others know how much I was working to fix the leak. Anyone that thought I took it out with a leak is sorely mistaken, and would never knowingly risk my engine!

I didn't know I was on fire either, until they popped the hood. I thought it was oil smoking on the exhaust.

The crew at NJMP did a great job of getting me out and saving the entire car from burning!

After talking to Dave, I may just put my spare engine in and run probably T30 or T40 ?

I will pull over off track or off line next time!

[962porsche]

Baller i have to get your helmet back !
i did the tribute to you running into carls rx7 now i have to do one for the fire .
i'm thinking of a melting toyota badge with flames coming off it ?

[962porsche]

name change from just Baller to now FIRE baller

[djsteviec]

Here are the pics from the fire!

http://s662.photobucket.com/user/Djstev ... re-6-19-13