DaveW is OK

[Purple Frog]

I've been getting a few calls since this afternoon's incident.

On the pace lap at WGI Dave ran head-on into the end of the pit wall.
He was transported.

I just talked to both Sherrie and Dave.
Dave was in his usual high spirits. This isn't his first rodeo after all.
They are on the way back to Bath Ohio.
He has a diagonal break in the head of his tibia that will require surgery.
As we talked he was already calculating when he would be able to start rebuilding the Citation.

[EricP]

I've been getting a few calls since this afternoon's incident.

On the pace lap at WGI Dave ran head-on into the end of the pit wall.
He was transported.

I just talked to both Sherrie and Dave.
Dave was in his usual high spirits. This isn't his first rodeo after all.
They are on the way back to Bath Ohio.
He has a diagonal break in the head of his tibia that will require surgery.
As we talked he was already calculating when he would be able to start rebuilding the Citation.

Holy Crap! Thx for posting. Godspeed Dave!

[dc]

Geebus, how did that happen? Glad to hear Dave is (mostly) fine. That's horrendous.

[TimH]

Godspeed Greg.

Thanks Sherrie for not vetoing anything further.

[Wren]

Geebus, how did that happen? Glad to hear Dave is (mostly) fine. That's horrendous.

He got absolutely mugged on the pace lap by a kid trying to jump the start. Way before the green.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[John LaRue]

Thanks for the update. Damn.

[racerdad2]

Here's to a fast and full recovery for man and machine !!!

[dc]

Godspeed Greg.

Thanks Sherrie for not vetoing anything further.

Care to elaborate, TIm? Greg who?

[Bob Wright]

The incident occurred on the front straight just before the start; the starter was going to go green momentarily. It was thoroughly investigated with interviews and video, so lets not speculate what happened until the stewards report is finished.

I'm very relieved he is (mostly) ok. There hadn't been a diagnosis when I talked to Sherrie late yesterday afternoon.

I suspect he will be on here at some point with his own update....

From my standpoint behind him, everything looked good for a start- everybody in line, no one peeking or jumping out. He went sideways pretty quickly into the Fitch barrier at the end of the pit lane.

[Jnovak]

Get well soon Dave!

[marshall9]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Dave

[MotorCade]

Aw man! Cars can be rebuilt - glad you're ok. Best wishes - get well soon!

[hdsporty1988]

Get well soon. Sorry it happened, glad it wasn't worse.

[chrisw52]

don't care so much about the car, good to hear that Dave is ok.

[DanW]

Get well Dave! Glad to hear you'll be ok.

Dan Wise

[R. Pare]

Heal quickly, Dave!

[Michael Rand]

Dave,
This is lousy way to start your 50th year in open wheel road racing man...
We both started in 1968 and I had my own little shunt to start my 50th at Summit a few weeks ago, but you go and hurt yourself, really hate to see this happened.
He'll be back nd faster than before !

[romoman]

Glad he is ok. Hitting the end of a pit wall is always the scariest thought on a track for me.

Get well soon!

[Tim Minor]

WOW,Really sorry to here this news.I wish Dave a speedy recovery and after a top 5 finish on Saturday.
Get Well Soon.
Tim Minor Fc88

[JEREMY HILL]

I am glad you are ok Dave. I hope you have a speedy recovery. Jeremy

[Pi_guy]

Good luck Dave
It was nice to chat with you at the Glen.

Get it fixed fast I had to wait a bit before they did mine and it healed and they have to rebreak it again to get it to fit correct.
Also if they put a plate in make sure your not allergic I am allergic to nickel and they put a stainless steel plate in. It was 6 months of blame and antibiotics before the doctor realized I was not causing the infection.

Bobby Brown sends good luck too.

[Beartrax]

Dave had performed some secret engineering improvements to the rear suspension over the winter. He was faster (well, he said to me, "The car's faster, now we have to get the driver up to speed." with a twinkle in his eye.)
As the tow truck went buy, I saw both corners gone from the front, but the rear appeared to be in tact.

I saw the incident in my peripheral as I was at the entry end of the pit. It happened so quickly. Dave began extricating himself, but I think the safety people told him to sit tight and wait for help.

[butch deer]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Can't believe I've known you 50 years.

Butch & Barb

[Wren]

I got back recently after driving all night and I guess I'm the right combination of tired and angry to say what I think.

Yes, I was watching the starter and only saw the aftermath.

It's not speculation to say that they were behind us in line at the tech shed and one of the crew members was messing with the back of his camera (maybe pulling the power cable?), laughing and saying "sometimes this camera just doesn't capture video." One of our crew watched and heard them do it. No confusion.
I'm sure they didn't know how badly Dave was hurt then, but...

[Bryon Prokopf]

Very glad to hear that Dave is in good spirits and is going to be ok. It definitely wasn't pretty to watch. Can't wait until he is back at the track!

[TimH]

Care to elaborate, TIm? Greg who?

Godspeed DAVE. I don't even know who I was thinking about...

Wow.

[dc]

Godspeed DAVE. I don't even know who I was thinking about...

Wow.

Ok good, I thought someone else might have been injured, too. It's tough getting news in small chunks.

[SMRacing]

I got back recently after driving all night and I guess I'm the right combination of tired and angry to say what I think.

Yes, I was watching the starter and only saw the aftermath.

It's not speculation to say that they were behind us in line at the tech shed and one of the crew members was messing with the back of his camera (maybe pulling the power cable?), laughing and saying "sometimes this camera just doesn't capture video." One of our crew watched and heard them do it. No confusion.
I'm sure they didn't know how badly Dave was hurt then, but...

I was directly behind and my camera DOES work. The series already has the footage, I let them know during the delay. I will wait for their official ruling per Bob's post earlier before saying anything. I know what I saw.

I'm just glad Dave is (mostly) ok. When we came back around and it looked like he was still in the car, i had to consciously shove away any bad thoughts. It was a pretty brutal hit in a pretty bad place.

[DaveW]

On the accident, just before the green flag I got hit in the rear (nose to rear wing mount/quickjack point) and knocked sideways just enough to head me directly into the "Fitch Barriers" at the entrance to the pit lane.

I didn't lose consciousness, but that was definitely the most painful accident I've ever had. I had to sit there for a minute or 2 to take deep breaths and assess whether my feet and legs were seriously damaged. The only semi-serious injury was to my right knee area.

The car needs major repair, and I have a broken tibial plateau. So I'm likely out for the season, plus I am hobbling around on one leg with crutches waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon and get into surgery, so I can't even get anything done around home that needs doing. I'll likely be out of commission for the better part of 2 months. On the bright side, no loss of consciousness, etc., so other than being depressed, mentally I'm fine.

It's obviously a major bummer, since the car was working well, and I am not used to not being self-sufficient.

Hope to be back next season or sooner if all the stars align.

And thanks to all of you for your well-wishes!

[B Reid]

Glad you are already on the mend Dave. When we loaded your car in the trailer I kept thinking this is going to be a lot of work to fix. After such an excellent race 1 I was looking forward to another one in R2. Get well soon!

[DaveW]

Glad you are already on the mend Dave. When we loaded your car in the trailer I kept thinking this is going to be a lot of work to fix. After such an excellent race 1 I was looking forward to another one in R2. Get well soon!

Thanks, Bob. I was really looking forward to race 2.

[Pi_guy]

The car needs major repair, and I have a broken tibial plateau. So I'm likely out for the season, plus I am hobbling around on one leg with crutches waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon and get into surgery, so I can't even get anything done around home that needs doing. I'll likely be out of commission for the better part of 2 months.

Get ready to meet your new friend the CPM machine and an exercise bike when doctor approves.

If ice is recommended after surgery there is a ice & pressure machine that is fitted about the knee this helps with healing but check with doctor.

Also it is about 2 months for bone to heal and support weight then you must build leg strength back up. I found that on crutches I went through the walking motion on the disabled leg to help keep the muscle strength up.

I am sure you like your independence like me, by the second day I had violated over 1/2 of the things the sign out papers said not to do. One of my biggest issues was I always have a cup of tea in my hand, it is pretty difficult to do that with crutches. But a boat style cup holder worked attached to the crutch, keep the lid on so I would not get coins tossed in.

[Matt M.]

Dave

Sorry to hear about this
Best wishes for a quick recovery

Matt

[Chris Livengood]

Hopefully you have a speedy recovery, Dave!

[JEREMY HILL]

Dave,

I feel your pain since I sheared off my right tibial plateau in a skiing accident a few years ago. The plateau had to be jacked back into place then the surgeon installed a plate and several screws. It took a few months of therapy and will require more surgery in a few years but its ok for now. The worst thing I did was hop on my good knee so now it is in worse shape than the broken one!!

Good luck!! Jeremy

[cooleyjb]

]The ice machine he is talking about is called Game Ready and it is worth every penny in my opinion. If you can find the local rep for the company they often have rentals.

[SMRacing]

On the accident, just before the green flag I got hit in the rear (nose to rear wing mount/quickjack point) and knocked sideways just enough to head me directly into the "Fitch Barriers" at the entrance to the pit lane.

I didn't lose consciousness, but that was definitely the most painful accident I've ever had. I had to sit there for a minute or 2 to take deep breaths and assess whether my feet and legs were seriously damaged. The only semi-serious injury was to my right knee area.

The car needs major repair, and I have a broken tibial plateau. So I'm likely out for the season, plus I am hobbling around on one leg with crutches waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon and get into surgery, so I can't even get anything done around home that needs doing. I'll likely be out of commission for the better part of 2 months. On the bright side, no loss of consciousness, etc., so other than being depressed, mentally I'm fine.

It's obviously a major bummer, since the car was working well, and I am not used to not being self-sufficient.

Hope to be back next season or sooner if all the stars align.

And thanks to all of you for your well-wishes!

Dave I am seriously happy to see you post. Im really glad you're basically ok. It's going to be a tough month or 2 but listen to the doc and push when you can. I've got a titanium left arm, a left lung hung with 60 staples and about half a left kidney left and the important part of every one was to let it have time to heal and then to push HARD in therapy.

Hope your healing process is as smooth as possible.

[Keith Carter]

Glad you're ok, Dave!

[Rick Kirchner]

I used a game ready when I had some torn cartilage repaired about 10 years back. I didn't realize that my insurance didn't cover it when it was prescribed and "rented" from a supply company.

considering I'll probably need to use one again in a few months I should have just bought one, as buying it on ebay would have been half the cost of renting it. The sleeves are pretty cheap, and if you have a cool suit system all you would need to add is a blood pressure bulb to air the sleeve up.

What's great about it is you can have ice therapy without cold burn, towels, and a wet couch, and it lasts a lot longer than gel packs. then the air sleeve supplies massage. It's really boss.

[dc]

The ice machine he is talking about is called Game Ready and it is worth every penny in my opinion. If you can find the local rep for the company they often have rentals.

I have one from my broken knee cap from 2011. I should put it in a box and send it to Dave for all he's done for the ApexSpeed community over the years. It was almost as good as narcotics when I was recovering.