The Mitty 2016- Road Atlanta 4/21-4/24

[fieldodreams79]

The annual spring historic race meeting at Road Atlanta starts later this week. I've been for the past 8 or so and it's one of my earliest memories of the track growing up.

Little Al is the GM. Ford is the featured marque.

50 year anniversary of Can Am is what I am stoked about. Decent number of Can Am cars to include a rare, only raced once Ford Can Am; 1969 Alan Mann Can Am, with Holman Moody backing, I believe. Ground pounding 429 ci V8 should sound good. There's two Shadow DN4s, McLerans, Lolas, Marches per usual, as well as all the other fabulous vintage motors I've come to love. Can't wait.

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.



Event Page

HSR Home Page

ENTRY LIST

SCHEDULE

[canamman]

What day are you going up Fieldo (and anyone else) ? I put Friday
on my schedule. Might be damp but not a wash out.
Still worth it to see what ever makes it on track
albeit for just one day for me. I am still heading
to Barber at 6 a.m. Saturday.

[fieldodreams79]

I'm going up Friday night. JHamilton and broadrun will be there during the day Friday in the usual spot under the oak at T4. I'd be there too but started a new gig and have limited vacation days.

[JHamilton]

I opened the camper tonight to clean it only to find that I cleaned it when I put it away. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I opened the camper tonight to clean it only to find that I cleaned it when I put it away. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Good work! I am sure it was a little nasty after it's last use.

[HJJ]

Saturday for sure. Maybe Sunday as well.

[Mike Bell]

Hope you have a good event, guys!

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Hope you have a good event, guys!

Thanks!

A day at your favorite track is better than ___________ .

Weather sketchy Friday; should be superb Saturday and Sunday.

[Mike Bell]

Glad not just us that has 'sketchy' weather then!

Any pics or reports very much appreciated.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Glad not just us that has 'sketchy' weather then!

Any pics or reports very much appreciated.

A decent amount of rain and possible storms today should push through today to yield a fabulous weekend.

No promises, but JHamilton tends to take some great photos with his "real" camera. I've a got phone and will share any that are worthy.

[canamman]

I am going to wait for the big rain band to go through
before heading up.

[canamman]

My goodness this rain line is slow moving.
Probably going to scrub. Ya'll enjoy the weekend!

[fieldodreams79]

I scrubbed the day from the onset and hope the real nasty weather stays away; the next round later this evening is the one I'm concerned about.

Oh well. The track is drying and the rain looks like it's stopped up there for now. Hope the lads have it all settled in by the time I get there tonight!

[JHamilton]

We lived!

[JHamilton]

Powered parachute!

[fieldodreams79]

Quick recap of the weekend. Some great cars were around (I'll share some of my terrible pics when I get a chance). Friday night was touch and go with the weather for sure, but as JHamilton said, we did pull through. The weekend weather was perfect!

Unfortunately, there was a damper on the proceedings as one of the Shadows went off during qualifying Saturday at T12, one of the worst places to have an incident and the driver was injured bad enough to be airlifted to a local hospital. The DN4 was likely totaled and there's still misleading info on the condition of the driver, but sounds like he's stable, with some fairly serious injuries.

Here's a decent recap of the event.
http://valdostatoday.com/2016/04/the...ing-tradition/

I still can't believe how many people camped this weekend! The event is certainly growing and I wish I was able to get around a little more but certainly enjoyed it! Camped with good friends, had my father and brother roll up for Saturday in Pop's MGTD and my wife brought my boys up Saturday as well. First trip for the little man! Was more interested in "camp" than cars, but they all seemed to have a good time.

[photohsr]

Here is a note on the condition of the Driver "UOP Shadow Tribute 2016
·
Today Craig Bennett had a racing accident while driving The Shadow. It was a serious in nature and Craig sustained numerous injuries. The most significant was to his spine. He was operated on at Northeast Medical Center in Gainesville. The surgery was successful and he is now being treated for the numerous fractures to his arms, legs and feet. We expect full recovery but his path back will be long. Thanks for the support and prayers. We will keep you updated on his progress

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by photohsr

Here is a note on the condition of the Driver "UOP Shadow Tribute 2016
·
Today Craig Bennett had a racing accident while driving The Shadow. It was a serious in nature and Craig sustained numerous injuries. The most significant was to his spine. He was operated on at Northeast Medical Center in Gainesville. The surgery was successful and he is now being treated for the numerous fractures to his arms, legs and feet. We expect full recovery but his path back will be long. Thanks for the support and prayers. We will keep you updated on his progress

Thanks for that clarification. It was hard to follow and hear the news over the track PA system, but Craig was mentioned several times by drivers in a manner that seemed concerning, but optimistic.

Here's hoping and praying for a quick as possible recovery and comfort to his family during this time.

[JHamilton]

Thanks for the update, although that is not what I was hoping to hear. Best wishes to Craig for a speedy and painless recovery.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

We lived!
Attachment 47072

Lightning is striking



Certainly touch and go for about 10 mins!

[photohsr]

Craig's Road to Recovery - April 26 2016
Craig's right shoulder was successfully repaired on Monday. The current schedule is to do one surgery every other day. If this schedule is kept, all surgeries should be completed by Tuesday May 3rd. Our next update will likely be Wednesday after his next surgery is complete. We want to thank everybody for the outpouring of concern and care for Craig and the family

[fieldodreams79]

Progress! Sounds like a long road for Craig. Continued well wishes to him and his fam!

[photohsr]

UOP Shadow Tribute 2016
Craig's Road to Recovery April 27 2016
Sorry for the late posting. Craig underwent surgery for his left lower fore arm. It had 2 breaks and both were addressed. This marks the halfway point in the number of surgeries planned and completes the surgeries on his upper body. The remaining surgeries are for his left knee and both ankles. These have all been fixated or stabilized and do not need to be treated immediately. Although for us this seems like a long process, we must realize that this it has just been 4 days since the accident. He is still sedated and concern arose today because he has developed signs of pneumonia. The medical team is assessing the best next step and will determine that in the next day. This is considered a small bump in the road to recovery but is not unusual with patients suffering this degree of trauma. . There is progress but it comes in small steps.

[Mike Bell]

Thanks for the updates, and I'm sure we all Craig our best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

CanAm cars = big speed = chance of a big accident if anything goes wrong. We had a Tenths contributor injured at Phillip Island very recently when driving a McLaren, and the worst racing incident I've witnessed (from just behind) was another McLaren hitting a tyre wall at Brands several years ago. And for regulars on this forum, there has been much debate recently about their suitability to race at Goodwood. (74th Members Meeting thread.)

I love to see the beasts being used on track, so fingers crossed this latest accident doesn't change that.

On a positive note about the meeting, I spoke to one of the Masters F1 drivers at Silverstone yesterday, James Hagan. He said the event was fantastic and made a very enjoyable weekend. So keep it up, Guys!

[morninggents]

Where should we go for results from this meeting?