Page 25 - KCRPCA March-April

of years by your local re extinguisher shop. I also highly recommend having a re bottle sitting with your mechanics tools or in your trailer if you use one. We have seen cars start on re in the pad- dock whether due to a mechanical fault, or owner is working on it and something goes wrong, etc. A little extra safety is always best!
doesn’t pay to pull the re system if the fuel pump is sitting there actively pump- ing fuel onto the re. Even in your street HPDE car, this is a good thing to prac- tice. It is amazing how many seasoned drivers I see fail this test during tech because they get ustered. I’ve seen guys struggle and can’t gure out why they can’t get out of their cars quickly; then they realize they hadn’t undone their seatbelt. Practice practice practice! Now try it with your eyes closed to sim- ulate smoke, etc. that you can’t see in.
7. (Race) Driver
Emergency Exit
Time:
This is more of a NASA and SCCA rule and I do not believe they check this in PCA racing, but I feel it is very important. You HAVE to practice this at home....in your full race gear (or as you would be driving your car in HPDE with your helmet, etc). Last year at the various events across the country, I saw local tech check drivers coming off the track numerous times, and many failed. You should be able to get out of the car in 10 seconds (through the door) or 15 seconds (through the window) or less, or you will not race until you can prove that you are able to do so. I don’t sug- gest practicing climbing out of your window in your beautiful daily driver Porsche, but rather entertain the thought that if something were to happen, you might have to exit out that little window. It sounds easy...but when you are in a hurry it isn’t so easy. It is very impor- tant to have a routine of the things you have to do in order to get out and prac- tice them in the same order every time: For example: Kill switch, simulate re pull, cool shirt connections, window net, steering wheel, harnesses, and out. Just reading that sentence took me 5 seconds, but I am a little slow. Or do whatever order you feel is necessary. IMHO, Kill switch or key off is always number 1. It
8. (Race) Coolant in the Engine:
One of the downsides of being in the Midwest is that a lot of people don’t have climate controlled storage for their race car in the winters and have to use anti- freeze in the winter for storage. Make sure it gets ushed out before the rst race of the season! If you can keep the car in a warm environment in the winter and keep the water in there that is always best! HPDE event cars are still allowed to run their coolant as is normal.
Mar / Apr 2018
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