If I remember correctly 7yr are about 40mph. I have my thoughts on what happened but I'll keep it to myself, for now at least. I'm not blaming anyone BTW, just a tragic accident
Did this happen to occur in Michigan?
That's bullshit, those parents did the best they could, wish I could give them a hug right now
Such a tragedy. RIP young one. This raceway is literally in my daughter’s backyard. About 1 1/2 miles away.
Don't 2nd guess it, please. I will tell you what I think contributed to her death. Look at the pic of her in the car, she is swimming in there (if thats the car she was driving), it's common practice to get a car that they can grow into, some can afford a new/different car every year or 2, it's not cheap and why most get a car that they can run for more than a year. I figure she moved around in there a lot during the crash and sustained injuries as a result.
Understood my kids ride dirt bikes Stacyc etc. I don’t want my son going through what I did with motocross and the broken bones. So I want them in a cage. Drag racing has always held an interest to me and something my wife has agreed too. I would build a car for my son let him run it for 1-2 years then pass that to my daughter when she turned 5 and upgrade him.
Please do some more research. The junior dragster program has an excellent safety record and has strict protocols about age appropriate speeds and ETs.
I know there have been crashes but I do believe this is the first fatality
Right there with you. My boys 5&7 do all the same and want to race moto but after my career in it with all my injuries and all my friends paralyzed and dead from it I’m like hell no. I know the reality of racing. We will continue to trail ride for fun and camp at the desert. I’m building two rzr 200’s to go racing. I love the idea of a cage
First one I have heard of, can't imagine what could have possibly happened. Good friends Sons (X3) all raced Jr. Dragster and all went to Indy every year, one of them races Pro Stock now, even the crashes are super rare.
They make smaller cars but it's not a requirement to build a car to the kid that way parents can buy/build a car that they can run for a few years as the kid grows otherwise it can make an expensive sport even more expensive. I'm not saying that's what happened here but the pic of her in the car shows a lot of room for her.
I've seen some that they did an "insert" type deal in the cockpit. Don't know how common that was though. Harness mounting and applications were pretty stringent too, but that may also depend on tracks and such.
We ran Jrs for 12 years, both kids from 8 to 18. Their first car was for the 8-9 class and was the same length and height but the interior was for a smaller kid. I then had chassis made that took them from 10 all the way to 18. Until they hit their "growth spurt" we used a sit up style seat that kept them tight in the belts. As they grew we switched to a lay down seat. The only kid I ever saw hurt was the fault of loose belts. I always belted my kids in personally and gave the "frog" in the center a tug before I started the engine. Even at 18, they would put the belts on but I ALWAYS checked. I am not saying that is what happened in this case but, I do recall seeing kids who loosened their own belts so that they could look over into the other lane to work the top end. I told my kids if I ever saw that, I would sell their car instantly. Given the age of the girl, I doubt she loosened her own belts. It is tragic but unfortunately almost always preventable. RIP little one.
Get them into desert racing then. Its more about them versus the terrain instead of them versus the other riders and jumps. FAR fewer injuries desert racing than on a Moto track.Right there with you. My boys 5&7 do all the same and want to race moto but after my career in it with all my injuries and all my friends paralyzed and dead from it I’m like hell no. I know the reality of racing. We will continue to trail ride for fun and camp at the desert. I’m building two rzr 200’s to go racing. I love the idea of a cage
I know a ton of desert racers and plenty of motocross racers. Definitely fewer substantial injuries in the desert than the track. Other bikes hitting you or falling out of the sky from 20 to 30 feet up is what does the most damage. Seen soo many people crash at high speed in the desert but walk away just fine cause there was nobody else that was too close to add to the damage.
The only injuries I ever saw at a Jr event were due to loose belts or not all 5 points being connected at the latch.
I’ve done that too. The last Worcs race I did was at Hollister and the podium picture I have is myself, Kurt Kaselli and Nathan Woods. I’m the only one still standing sadly.
