imagine having your dream car almost burn to the ground with you in it and you’re only concerned about making sure everyone knows about track safety. dope video
Thanks for reminding us that safety gear is more important than power. I had a buddy that bitched about how much a helmet cost. I asked him "how much is your head worth?" I hope you can salvage the car.
As a 8 year former firefighter, I thank you for this video. I love watching this educational material and I cringe when I see Cleetus running with his visor up. Reach out to him and tell him to always close that sucker before a pass! I’m glad you are injury free and can’t wait to see the damage to the inside of the engine! God bless!
It's probably fogging up, which is a problem too (vision). Maybe some additional design work is needed from the helmet manufacturers to eliminate that problem.
A blink to put that visor down. Personally I hate visors down as they fog easily and distort vision. Even in an open car I have to have the visor up a notch or two to stop fogging. But push it down if there ever has been a fire. My only motorsport burns [in over 50 years] was a top radiator hose exploding soon after I removed the bonnet and if anything the suit prolonged the burn as it held the heat in.
I’ve noticed that recently he’s changing the bad visor habit..which I believe is because of the young man who was burned (I think that’s what Garrett said). Now...if we could get James to follow suit....
2 of them now. I says its the jogging pants guys. lol polyester will melt to your skin and burn.... when I was refueling airplanes we couldn't wear anything poly, and had to wear all FR rated(unsure of the rating but CSA approved fire rated work wear has a big FR on it) people just love to take short cuts and dont think of the ramifications of their actions
@@ShadowDragon246 anything poly has a much larger propensity to cause static electricity discharges, and that's probably a larger reason why you need to avoid it. If I recall, when refueling, there is a ground strap between the plane and the pump. Is that correct?
@@IceBergGeo yes the truck(we dont have inground tanks here, all truck tankers) are grounded to the plane, and we held a deadman switch hard wired to the truck, but it was the static properties, but also when it melts it will make a plastic that will melt into your skin
@@ShadowDragon246 yes, poly is nasty for that. I wasn't discounting that property of it, but pointing out that it can not only hurt when there's a fire, but it can help start it too.
Fire safety and safety gear can't be stressed enough...In the summer of 2000, My father was burned working on his car in the pits with 60% of his body getting 3rd degree burns. Even being prepared for something like that in the car, you should also be prepared in the pits too. Thank you Tom for taking the time to stress the importance of the safety gear and how it can really save your life!
I’m hoping between yours and coopers videos about why wearing your safety gear is important and what to do, kinda hope some people start taking fire safety seriously.
Thank you for taking the time to go over the safety aspect of racing. I watch SO many people race in jeans, with only an Sfi jacket on, regular shoes, no gloves, visor up etc... Hopefully people LISTEN and they SAFETY UP! Sorry you had this happen.
It’s not about what has happened. Safety is about being prepared for the worst. Don’t skimp on safety. Get a cage before you “need” one. Get a fire system before you are told you need one. Wear all of your safety gear all the time.
Good points on the visor down, always, mind set - I've been seeing far too many RUclips clips of guys with full face lids and visors, doing runs with the visor up lately.
When the SCCA ran the Denver Grand Prix I was a pit firefighter for Rick Mears every year. This was in the early ‘90s. Mears was pretty cool to talk to when he had a couple minutes, and he thanked me for being there every year. SCCA had firefighters from metro area fire departments volunteer to work the races and I jumped at the chance! Having a totally unrestricted pass was a bonus (even walking onto the track😳)! We did not watch for fire but for melting of parts on the car and for heat waves where they didn’t belong. In those days Purple-K was the extinguishing agent of choice, which is incredible in its effectiveness. Thanks for sharing this Tom!
Tom, I truly appreciate your time you spend on this. I will be sharing it. I see so many racing friends shortcut the system. I wear all 20 stuff for the same reason i wear leather/padding on my Harley. "Dress for the slide, not the ride" Very glad you are here to make this video. Hopefully Sick 6 is back on the track asap
When I started going to the races back in the 1960s, death was a constant in motor racing. Phil Hill, the first American World Champion told me that he did not have children until he retired because he knew so many men who had been killed in F1 and Endurance Racing, many of them burned to death. There were no safety belts in his early days and drivers were often thrown free, out of their flimsy cars. When Hill won the World Championship in 1961 at Monza, his Ferrari teammate was killed in that very race, going over the banking, an incident recreated in the great Frankenheimer film "Grand Prix." Hill could count on both hands all the friends he lost. While the danger factor adds to the excitement of motor sports, seeing a driver being injured or killed is an awful experience, a sobering experience. Seeing Methanol fires at Indy events was horrific, everyone dancing around, having no idea they were on fire. Three time World Champion Jackie Stewart is almost entirely responsible for the safety revolution in motor sports, professionalizing equipment, traveling medical support and fire safety at the track. He had to fight and battle everyone for safety standards to be mandated. Every driver who has survived a bad accident or fire owes Jackie Stewart his thanks. Stewart won his third and last world championship in 1973, skipping his 100th and last race when his teammate Francois Cevert was killed. Rindt won his World Championship in 1970, but could not celebrate because he was dead, killed at Monza too. Both of the drivers who were nicest to me as a snot-nosed kid, Mark Donohue and Peter Revson, were killed, Revson burning to death in South Africa, Mark dying after he lost a tire on a wide-open curve and hit a pole between catch fences. A lot of good men had to die to make all this equipment smart drivers like Tom Bailey wears possible and for the response teams to be professionalized at the tracks, like the Safety Safari. Each accident should be analyzed in order to keep the progress going, so kudos for drivers like Tom who relate their experiences for the rest of the participants! The life you save by investing in the best safety gear for even the least consequential events will be your own and in fact, it is at the most minor events that you need to go all out because they will not have the level of professional medical and safety support that you see at a NHRA or NASCAR or IMSA sanctioned event. Thanks Tom for taking the time to share. Cars can be replaced, drivers are each unique individuals who are loved and they cannot be.
Tom made it out in some 30 seconds, Grosjean was inside a ball of fire in his F1 car for more than 2 minutes and only sustained some burns in his hands. Safety gear is truly incredible nowadays.
@Tom Bailey In college I took an ocean survival course, one of the tasks/ tests was getting out of a seat and surrounding cage (simulated car) while blindfolded, disoriented, and under water. I don't drag race, but I would recommend to your viewers practicing vehicle evacuation blindfolded. If your car has flipped and is on fire you need to know without looking how to get out. It was clear from the video that you know your car and how to evacuate. Well done, thank you for sharing.
Great information brother! I think a lot of people NEEDED THIS!!! I’m glad your alright thank you for your time and caring enough to teach people. Much respect!
Thank you Tom. I see too many times people try to cut corners on safety. It's not for the tracks safety, it's for the driver. The tracks techs are just trying to make sure the drivers are kept as safe as possible.
Very smart Mr. Bailey. I wear full gear riding my motorcycle in the heat of the summer. I can wipe sweat off, scars not so much. ATGATT All The Gear All The Time.
Good video Tom . spoken like the Pro you are . Like they say , Safety is no Accident . If you cant afford the gear , then you cant afford to race . Come on people this video deserves a lot more thumbs up . Also a big thumbs up for the safety safari crew .
This hits home for me , as a previous stock car driver ( build an old nugget and go racing with it at the local track level , not nascar level ) i've raced time attack for the last couple years and haven't even thought about dawning the race suit since i was in an essentially a street driven car on a race track . A little while ago I was having a conversation with a long time racing guru and a few fellow drivers in a buddies pit at a track day and the subject of race suits came up , even though some of use were driving " regular old cars " we should still be putting the suits on . That was the first time in a long time that i kinda sat back and though about it . and yea that fella is right . fast forward to last week or so and i was watching some of Garrett's vids of the Cleetus and Cars stuff with TX2k and i see the caption " fire destroys worlds quickests street car" pop up in the you tube feed and seen Tom's name ... my heart honestly sunk and i felt like i turned white as a sheet. so i clicked the vid , watched it and watched this one today and the conversation i had last season in the back of my buddies car trailer about fire suits came thundering home . definitely glad to see you're ok Tom , I'll be re evaluating my safety gear for this season . I'll be eagerly awaiting the following vids of this series. Thank you for taking the time to share all of this with us to by the way. when ever his covid crap goes away and the boarders open up again i'd love to come down toa couple events to watch you run and hopefully get a chance to meet you and the crew :)
Excellent vid. All enthusiasts and especially crews and drivers need to know this information. Glad you're okay Tom. Cars can be rebuilt; people- not so easily.
The first thing a person should so if the think or know there is a fire is Kill The Fuel Pump! If the car has a mechanical pump like Tom's then pull the cut off lever and then Turn Off the Main Power followed by Pulling the Lever on the Fire Bottles. If the car has a electric pump Then either Turn Off the Pump or a Turn Off Main Power and then Pull the Lever on the Fire Bottles. One piece of gear that Tom did not mention is a fresh air supply to his helmet. The fresh air supply does a couple things the first in case of a fire you have fresh air to breathe while in the car, the second is it provides positive pressure inside the helmet which keeps exhaust fumes out and anyone who races with Methanol or Nitromethane mixed fuel knows how quickly it can cause your eyes to tear and your throat to burn and who wants or needs that distraction while try to cut a good light and drive a car. One other thing Tom did not mention is don't walk around the pits all day in your fire suit. There are three good reasons to only wear your fire suit when your are actually racing the car the first is any grease or oil that gets on the suit potentially will burn or become a hot spot when you need your fire suit the most to protect you. The second is regardless of the rating fire suits are hot and if you are hot you are going to sweat and if you are in a bad situation and need your fire suit to protect you from a fire you don't want it to boil you either. Think about it a Methanol peak flam temperature is 3,398 F (1870 C) and Ethanol peak flame temperature is 3,488 F (1,920 C) and water aka sweat boils at 212 F (100 C) so it's not going to take a Alcohol fire very long to convert that moisture you have been trapping in your fire suit by being cool and walking around the pits in it to convert to steam and boil you like a Lobster and just a fyi water boils at 212 F but steam can obtain much higher temperatures and the human body begins to feel a burning pain at 111 F and at 118F First Degree Burns develop and 131 F Second Degree Burns develop on exposed skin and at 160 F Human Skin is Destroyed on Contract. The third reason if the first two reasons were not enough to convince you not to treat your Fire Suit like a set of clothes is the more you wear them the quicker they wear and less likely it will protect you when you need it and the sooner you will have to replace it. The best thing you do as a racer to make sure your fire suit will protect you is only wear when you are about to make a pass and once you finish you run and get back to your pit area take it off and hang it up until you are going to make your next pass. If you were a two piece suit put your pants on in the pits and your jacket on and your fire boots on right before you strap in. additionally rig up a little fan (computer case fans work great for this) and set your helmet on it with the visor open in the pits to help dry it out between runs and if you are fortunate enough to have A/C in your trailer hang your fire suit in front of a vent or next to the A/C discharge vent because a cool fire suit will keep you from sweating as quickly.
I LOVE your view point on safety gear. All of what you had to say SHOULD be common sense..... Glad your safe and I look forward to seeing you back at it soon.
Great video. John Doc did a good one on safety as well after that no prep crash a few weeks ago. He wears all 20 stuff as well, even in his slow cars. Can't be too safe, this is your life - there is no price on your life...
I'm a long ways away from racing yet but with all these videos I've learned that my safety gear will all be in place even if it takes away from my engine budget initially.
Thanks Tom for the safety check. Alcool fire is not one to take lightly, you just don't see it burning and the faster you go, the shorter the time to extract yourself.
Great video Tom and me coming from the dirt racing side you can never have enough safety equipment that you need regardless, don’t slack off on your safety gear because it’s their for one reason and one reason only to save your life.!! If you look at my reply about your wreck video, at the end of it I said that you driver’s all fear one thing in racing and coming from my background in dirt racing, I said that we (driver’s) have one thing in common and that is 🔥 and I’ve been burned working in the shop before and fire doesn’t care what you are doing, driving,working on the car just being a fan even always have the right equipment needed. Thanks for sharing Tom and great break down video of your fire.!!
Love it, personal gear safety is not talked about enough and insane that guys still run fast with visor up after lyle barnett crash and video explaining it
Good video! Too many people don't take safety serious in general, at least not until it is too late. You are a respected driver in this sport and hopefully some of those people will take your advice more seriously then they would coming from someone else. Keep up the good work Tom and crew!
This is great that you are taking this experience to help learn/teach from. Most drivers never encounter an accident/crash/fire until it actually happens to them, so there isn't any experience to learn from except from others. Anytime something like this happens, it's important to learn from and adjust the safety plan for future. I'm so glad you were safe and able to move forward from it.
Thanks for making this video. Everyone who races at any level should watch and pay attention to this information. Many novice/recreational racers my feel stupid for wearing a race suit in there "slow" 13 second street car, but fire doesn't care how slow/fast your car is.
Well you taught me something new. I have been around Top Fuel Racing my whole life. I always thought it was layers also. SFI 20 as you said. I did not know it was basically the amount of time you have. I was told by Dale Creasy Jr. that you don't really get burned by the fire, But the sweat on your body will turn to steam from the heat and fire and burn you. That is why you see all the drivers use baby powder right before the put on the gloves. When I raced in Super Street I used jacket, pants and gloves even though not required. It was my choice for my safety. Thanks for doing this video, glad your ok.
Thanks for sharing that, Tom! My son is doing a go-kart camp later this summer.. This has prompted me to step things up in terms of safety gear.. You just never know...
Thanks for the rundown. Again, glad you made it out okay! Other thing a lot of people don’t think about is, being trapped in the car... luckily you were able to stop without hitting anything, but a door trapped against the barrier, or another car would increase the time you’d be in there. Just some thoughts.
Man thanks for putting the vid out. Back school a friend raced go carts with that crazy fuel. While working on it, it backed fired and burned his arm severly.
Thanks for the vid Tom. This is the best info coming from a guy that just went through the situation. Real experience and not some suit trying to sell you gear based on what he read from a document his team prepared.. Thanks man, and I'm glad you were not injured. Cannot put a price on your life/safety.
Great video! I was racing ChampCar (chumpcar) and I passed a Miata on fire and the young man had quite bad burns all over his body. I complied with the minimum (plus a balaclava) and seeing that car on fire and hearing of that man burns makes you think twice. If I race again I’ll include more fire protection. (Now our car had fire suppression which was mandatory). Be safe our there friends, fire gear isn’t cheap I know I race on a shoe string budget. But looking less “cool” or being a little more “uncomfortable” is worth it when the alternate is weeks in a burn unit. 😢
Young and dumb we raced for years,no cage ,no fire suit,not even a fire extinguisher,can't sleep at night sometimes just thinking of what could have happened.Thinking about Racing again.Saftey Will Be First .Thanks for the video and info
Any driver or person for that matter that takes the time to break all this stuff down is a awesome lover of motorsports and deserve the upmost respect! I`ve never been so sure that I need to hit that sub button!! What a class act Tom!!
Im so happy you are okey. It suck about the car but it can be rebuilt. I have worked as a rescue on drag racing in the past so i know how bad things can get. Again im so happy for that you did not get hurt and thank you for the safty video.
Tom, thanks for the great vid, you sound like the engineer type. What many don't realize ( or don't want to realize ) is that a fire is a fire no matter how fast the car goes. A vid to watch is " Track Safety: Questions You Need To Ask " on the channel " Tim McAmis Performance Parts " There was recently a crash at Wilkesboro Dragway. The track is horribly unsafe for the cars that run there and the car that crashed wasn't that great either. ( RE no back stay bars from the main hoop to the rear , unsure if there was a halo from main hoop to front of roof. )
Having been in car fire myself and having a driver that has been in more than a few (AA/FC) insane not to run fire system... few bucks can save a life and a car.. I kind of humped cleetus about this but I am betting you got through to him lol
You are a SAINT I hope people listen and take your experience/advice to heart DMART MAN thank you for putting this out so many videos of it no grant people who fail to use proper equipment may you have a speedy and low cost rebuild to your car GLAD YOU ARE OK NOT INJURED (DID YOU DO AS THE DOC TOLD YOU ON THE COUGH ??)
Yup all good points. After Lyle Barnett’s fire I always make sure I run 20 every thing. I have always ran 20 gear because we are a family run team and that’s what my step dad always wore and that’s what my parents bought me when I got my advanced ET license. And when I went to get new gloves and boots I was tempted to get 5’s because that’s all our class requires. But it was right around the time of Lyle’s fire and he made a video similar to yours about the dangers of being under protected. He had a 20 jacket and pants, but only 5 shoes and gloves. He sustained 3rd degree burns to his hands, feet, and face because he was running a door car with his visor up. All the gear is there to keep you safe. Don’t skimp on $60 because you don’t want to spend the difference on 15’s or 20’s compared to 5’s. It’s not worth it.
If you want a good example of safety gear ratings, look at the F1 accident of Grosjean in Bahrain. They upped the required rating of the suit before the season, but not the gloves or boots. The result: He had 3 degree burns on his hands and ankles, but none anywhere else. The saying is that everything between you and the floor is worth investing in (shoes, matress etc.) but everything between you and fire is worth investing in more when you race anything that can burn!
We have two burn victims in my family. My uncle and my brother-in-law. Best people I know. No shadow on them, but I'd rather have them unburnt if you get my meaning. Please use safety gear. The expense is well spent during those frantic seconds you need to get out. And if you can't get out by yourself, there's a buffer that might still save your life until help arrives.
Super glad you’re okay and sharing your mindset and tips about fire safety. An experience to learn from applicable to all aspects of the motorsports community.
I've always been impressed by Cleetus wearing a 20 layer suit and has been for several years I believe..Gotta put safety first..I hate seeing people with high dollar parts and sub par safety gear...
A second note to clothing and fire, cotton will burn but nylon will melt so whether under a suit or if you're without one, cotton always. As a firefighter its something I consider and you can see the horror stories in the firefighting community of nylon burns.
Fire has got to be my biggest fear, I can only imagine what was going through your head when your belt's caught. Glad to see you didn't panic and got out all right. You can build a new car hell you built that one, but nobody has a crew good enough to rebuild yourself.
much respect for this video. so many cheap out of sneak by with safety gear. it's awesome that you show that yes, you should be wearing this stuff. car is replaceable but you are not. thanks so much for this video, i'm sharing it.
Great video Tom, there are a TON of young RUclips personalities that act like safety isn't a concern for them. Great to have OGs like you telling it straight.
Regarding the run itself - Tom why didnt you pull the fire suppression system handle next to your head? Was it just that at first you didnt think the fire was bad enough to necessitate it? And by the time you realized it was your sole priority was getting out first? Or was it something different? edit: and THANK YOU for making these videos. They are so vitally important to safety, something we have all skimped on when we shouldnt have at some point. a very sobering reminder to always take safety as top priority, and first thought
Can't wait for the next video on the fire systems for the car. I have none other than a manual fire extinguisher. Although I only run 8's I should probably think about adding something.
At the time, Tom was running slower than an 8. Doesn't matter how fast you're going. If the fuel system blows then a manual extinguisher isn't going to do much good. Think about how much time it'll take you to get out of the car and then grab the extinguisher and go to work. A fire system isn't that expensive and it's a LOT cheaper than buying a bunch of extra parts. I haven't heard of Tom had one installed but I know Cooper had one and it saved his car from burning to the ground.
@@brians48now Yup it definitely got me thinking about putting a system in. I've done zero research into it so that's why I'm definitely going to watch the next video and make a move on buying a system or making it myself if possible.
Great informative video, the importance of fire safety gear is proven in F1 driver Romain Grosjean wreck in Bahrain last year stuck in a fireball for 2 minutes and only had burns on his hands and foot I believe.
so sorry about the car, glad your ok ,, i always bought the bare minimum in sfi ratings, my car runs mid 8's in the quarter bot as fast as yours, but after watching this video im gonna by all 20 gears the more time i have the better,, stay safe
imagine having your dream car almost burn to the ground with you in it and you’re only concerned about making sure everyone knows about track safety. dope video
This man is a legend 🙌 👏
And he's cooler than his ice-cream-truck.
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for reminding us that safety gear is more important than power. I had a buddy that bitched about how much a helmet cost. I asked him "how much is your head worth?" I hope you can salvage the car.
#legend
This man needs a huge SPONSOR ON BOARD!!! Best safety vid in awhile ive seen... SAFETY IS KEY FELLAS!! Stay safe race smart!
If you haven't seen the one Lyle Barnett did after his fire a few years ago it's f worth checking out!
As a 8 year former firefighter, I thank you for this video. I love watching this educational material and I cringe when I see Cleetus running with his visor up. Reach out to him and tell him to always close that sucker before a pass! I’m glad you are injury free and can’t wait to see the damage to the inside of the engine! God bless!
It's probably fogging up, which is a problem too (vision). Maybe some additional design work is needed from the helmet manufacturers to eliminate that problem.
It's crazy, they all wear loose fitting jackets with skin exposed. Also no eye protection and visors up.
A blink to put that visor down. Personally I hate visors down as they fog easily and distort vision.
Even in an open car I have to have the visor up a notch or two to stop fogging. But push it down if there ever has been a fire.
My only motorsport burns [in over 50 years] was a top radiator hose exploding soon after I removed the bonnet and if anything the suit prolonged the burn as it held the heat in.
I’ve noticed that recently he’s changing the bad visor habit..which I believe is because of the young man who was burned (I think that’s what Garrett said). Now...if we could get James to follow suit....
@@txpacket Why do we need to impress safety on them? It's their lives.
What kind of tool would give give vid a thumbs down , this is excellent real world safety testimony, thanks Tom .
2 of them now. I says its the jogging pants guys. lol polyester will melt to your skin and burn.... when I was refueling airplanes we couldn't wear anything poly, and had to wear all FR rated(unsure of the rating but CSA approved fire rated work wear has a big FR on it) people just love to take short cuts and dont think of the ramifications of their actions
Agreed
@@ShadowDragon246 anything poly has a much larger propensity to cause static electricity discharges, and that's probably a larger reason why you need to avoid it.
If I recall, when refueling, there is a ground strap between the plane and the pump. Is that correct?
@@IceBergGeo yes the truck(we dont have inground tanks here, all truck tankers) are grounded to the plane, and we held a deadman switch hard wired to the truck, but it was the static properties, but also when it melts it will make a plastic that will melt into your skin
@@ShadowDragon246 yes, poly is nasty for that. I wasn't discounting that property of it, but pointing out that it can not only hurt when there's a fire, but it can help start it too.
Fire safety and safety gear can't be stressed enough...In the summer of 2000, My father was burned working on his car in the pits with 60% of his body getting 3rd degree burns. Even being prepared for something like that in the car, you should also be prepared in the pits too. Thank you Tom for taking the time to stress the importance of the safety gear and how it can really save your life!
I’m hoping between yours and coopers videos about why wearing your safety gear is important and what to do, kinda hope some people start taking fire safety seriously.
Thank you for taking the time to go over the safety aspect of racing. I watch SO many people race in jeans, with only an Sfi jacket on, regular shoes, no gloves, visor up etc... Hopefully people LISTEN and they SAFETY UP! Sorry you had this happen.
It’s not about what has happened. Safety is about being prepared for the worst. Don’t skimp on safety. Get a cage before you “need” one. Get a fire system before you are told you need one. Wear all of your safety gear all the time.
Good points on the visor down, always, mind set - I've been seeing far too many RUclips clips of guys with full face lids and visors, doing runs with the visor up lately.
Yeah. I was guilty til I learned the reason for keeping it down.
Exactly!
When the SCCA ran the Denver Grand Prix I was a pit firefighter for Rick Mears every year. This was in the early ‘90s. Mears was pretty cool to talk to when he had a couple minutes, and he thanked me for being there every year. SCCA had firefighters from metro area fire departments volunteer to work the races and I jumped at the chance! Having a totally unrestricted pass was a bonus (even walking onto the track😳)! We did not watch for fire but for melting of parts on the car and for heat waves where they didn’t belong. In those days Purple-K was the extinguishing agent of choice, which is incredible in its effectiveness.
Thanks for sharing this Tom!
Tom thanks for being honest about the safety, that could have been so much worse without the proper setup and procedure. Methanol is no joke!
Glad you made it out brother! Thanks for the informative video. It’s a real eye opener!
Glad it was helpful!
Tom, I truly appreciate your time you spend on this. I will be sharing it. I see so many racing friends shortcut the system. I wear all 20 stuff for the same reason i wear leather/padding on my Harley. "Dress for the slide, not the ride"
Very glad you are here to make this video. Hopefully Sick 6 is back on the track asap
When I started going to the races back in the 1960s, death was a constant in motor racing. Phil Hill, the first American World Champion told me that he did not have children until he retired because he knew so many men who had been killed in F1 and Endurance Racing, many of them burned to death. There were no safety belts in his early days and drivers were often thrown free, out of their flimsy cars. When Hill won the World Championship in 1961 at Monza, his Ferrari teammate was killed in that very race, going over the banking, an incident recreated in the great Frankenheimer film "Grand Prix." Hill could count on both hands all the friends he lost. While the danger factor adds to the excitement of motor sports, seeing a driver being injured or killed is an awful experience, a sobering experience. Seeing Methanol fires at Indy events was horrific, everyone dancing around, having no idea they were on fire. Three time World Champion Jackie Stewart is almost entirely responsible for the safety revolution in motor sports, professionalizing equipment, traveling medical support and fire safety at the track. He had to fight and battle everyone for safety standards to be mandated. Every driver who has survived a bad accident or fire owes Jackie Stewart his thanks. Stewart won his third and last world championship in 1973, skipping his 100th and last race when his teammate Francois Cevert was killed. Rindt won his World Championship in 1970, but could not celebrate because he was dead, killed at Monza too. Both of the drivers who were nicest to me as a snot-nosed kid, Mark Donohue and Peter Revson, were killed, Revson burning to death in South Africa, Mark dying after he lost a tire on a wide-open curve and hit a pole between catch fences. A lot of good men had to die to make all this equipment smart drivers like Tom Bailey wears possible and for the response teams to be professionalized at the tracks, like the Safety Safari. Each accident should be analyzed in order to keep the progress going, so kudos for drivers like Tom who relate their experiences for the rest of the participants! The life you save by investing in the best safety gear for even the least consequential events will be your own and in fact, it is at the most minor events that you need to go all out because they will not have the level of professional medical and safety support that you see at a NHRA or NASCAR or IMSA sanctioned event. Thanks Tom for taking the time to share. Cars can be replaced, drivers are each unique individuals who are loved and they cannot be.
Tom made it out in some 30 seconds, Grosjean was inside a ball of fire in his F1 car for more than 2 minutes and only sustained some burns in his hands. Safety gear is truly incredible nowadays.
@Tom Bailey In college I took an ocean survival course, one of the tasks/ tests was getting out of a seat and surrounding cage (simulated car) while blindfolded, disoriented, and under water. I don't drag race, but I would recommend to your viewers practicing vehicle evacuation blindfolded. If your car has flipped and is on fire you need to know without looking how to get out. It was clear from the video that you know your car and how to evacuate. Well done, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for going over the safety gear, I see too many people running the wrong stuff or nothing.
Great information brother! I think a lot of people NEEDED THIS!!! I’m glad your alright thank you for your time and caring enough to teach people. Much respect!
Huge respect to you. Safety is more important to me than going fast. I have seen plenty people who skimp on safety just to go faster.
Thank you Tom. I see too many times people try to cut corners on safety. It's not for the tracks safety, it's for the driver. The tracks techs are just trying to make sure the drivers are kept as safe as possible.
Man I’m glad Tom is ok, he’s a legend of the sport. Cars can be replaced, your life can’t!
Very smart Mr. Bailey. I wear full gear riding my motorcycle in the heat of the summer. I can wipe sweat off, scars not so much. ATGATT All The Gear All The Time.
Thanks for doing this. People need to hear this warning and know the information.
Glad to hear you use the best . Greater to hear you talk about the visor issue that too many people ignore
You are a brave man Tom !
I would say a lot of safety videos are boring but definitely not this one. Riveted to the screen. Excellent.
Good video Tom . spoken like the Pro you are . Like they say , Safety is no Accident . If you cant afford the gear , then you cant afford to race . Come on people this video deserves a lot more thumbs up . Also a big thumbs up for the safety safari crew .
Great video. It’s always good to remind people of safety.
It sure is
This hits home for me , as a previous stock car driver ( build an old nugget and go racing with it at the local track level , not nascar level ) i've raced time attack for the last couple years and haven't even thought about dawning the race suit since i was in an essentially a street driven car on a race track . A little while ago I was having a conversation with a long time racing guru and a few fellow drivers in a buddies pit at a track day and the subject of race suits came up , even though some of use were driving " regular old cars " we should still be putting the suits on . That was the first time in a long time that i kinda sat back and though about it . and yea that fella is right . fast forward to last week or so and i was watching some of Garrett's vids of the Cleetus and Cars stuff with TX2k and i see the caption " fire destroys worlds quickests street car" pop up in the you tube feed and seen Tom's name ... my heart honestly sunk and i felt like i turned white as a sheet. so i clicked the vid , watched it and watched this one today and the conversation i had last season in the back of my buddies car trailer about fire suits came thundering home .
definitely glad to see you're ok Tom , I'll be re evaluating my safety gear for this season . I'll be eagerly awaiting the following vids of this series.
Thank you for taking the time to share all of this with us to by the way.
when ever his covid crap goes away and the boarders open up again i'd love to come down toa couple events to watch you run and hopefully get a chance to meet you and the crew :)
Excellent vid. All enthusiasts and especially crews and drivers need to know this information. Glad you're okay Tom. Cars can be rebuilt; people- not so easily.
He should probably put reaching for the fire handle into his “procedures”
Not all vehicles have fire suppression systems, but I bet he will put one in when he rebuilds it!
@@jonkeau5155 it has one and the safety pin was still in it!
The first thing a person should so if the think or know there is a fire is Kill The Fuel Pump! If the car has a mechanical pump like Tom's then pull the cut off lever and then Turn Off the Main Power followed by Pulling the Lever on the Fire Bottles. If the car has a electric pump Then either Turn Off the Pump or a Turn Off Main Power and then Pull the Lever on the Fire Bottles. One piece of gear that Tom did not mention is a fresh air supply to his helmet. The fresh air supply does a couple things the first in case of a fire you have fresh air to breathe while in the car, the second is it provides positive pressure inside the helmet which keeps exhaust fumes out and anyone who races with Methanol or Nitromethane mixed fuel knows how quickly it can cause your eyes to tear and your throat to burn and who wants or needs that distraction while try to cut a good light and drive a car. One other thing Tom did not mention is don't walk around the pits all day in your fire suit. There are three good reasons to only wear your fire suit when your are actually racing the car the first is any grease or oil that gets on the suit potentially will burn or become a hot spot when you need your fire suit the most to protect you. The second is regardless of the rating fire suits are hot and if you are hot you are going to sweat and if you are in a bad situation and need your fire suit to protect you from a fire you don't want it to boil you either. Think about it a Methanol peak flam temperature is 3,398 F (1870 C) and Ethanol peak flame temperature is 3,488 F (1,920 C) and water aka sweat boils at 212 F (100 C) so it's not going to take a Alcohol fire very long to convert that moisture you have been trapping in your fire suit by being cool and walking around the pits in it to convert to steam and boil you like a Lobster and just a fyi water boils at 212 F but steam can obtain much higher temperatures and the human body begins to feel a burning pain at 111 F and at 118F First Degree Burns develop and 131 F Second Degree Burns develop on exposed skin and at 160 F Human Skin is Destroyed on Contract. The third reason if the first two reasons were not enough to convince you not to treat your Fire Suit like a set of clothes is the more you wear them the quicker they wear and less likely it will protect you when you need it and the sooner you will have to replace it. The best thing you do as a racer to make sure your fire suit will protect you is only wear when you are about to make a pass and once you finish you run and get back to your pit area take it off and hang it up until you are going to make your next pass. If you were a two piece suit put your pants on in the pits and your jacket on and your fire boots on right before you strap in. additionally rig up a little fan (computer case fans work great for this) and set your helmet on it with the visor open in the pits to help dry it out between runs and if you are fortunate enough to have A/C in your trailer hang your fire suit in front of a vent or next to the A/C discharge vent because a cool fire suit will keep you from sweating as quickly.
I LOVE your view point on safety gear. All of what you had to say SHOULD be common sense..... Glad your safe and I look forward to seeing you back at it soon.
Great video. John Doc did a good one on safety as well after that no prep crash a few weeks ago. He wears all 20 stuff as well, even in his slow cars.
Can't be too safe, this is your life - there is no price on your life...
I'm a long ways away from racing yet but with all these videos I've learned that my safety gear will all be in place even if it takes away from my engine budget initially.
Thanks Tom for the safety check. Alcool fire is not one to take lightly, you just don't see it burning and the faster you go, the shorter the time to extract yourself.
Great video Tom and me coming from the dirt racing side you can never have enough safety equipment that you need regardless, don’t slack off on your safety gear because it’s their for one reason and one reason only to save your life.!! If you look at my reply about your wreck video, at the end of it I said that you driver’s all fear one thing in racing and coming from my background in dirt racing, I said that we (driver’s) have one thing in common and that is 🔥 and I’ve been burned working in the shop before and fire doesn’t care what you are doing, driving,working on the car just being a fan even always have the right equipment needed. Thanks for sharing Tom and great break down video of your fire.!!
Love it, personal gear safety is not talked about enough and insane that guys still run fast with visor up after lyle barnett crash and video explaining it
Good video! Too many people don't take safety serious in general, at least not until it is too late. You are a respected driver in this sport and hopefully some of those people will take your advice more seriously then they would coming from someone else. Keep up the good work Tom and crew!
Just glad you’re safe Tom! That’s all that matters, I have watched you race so many times, glad I get to see many more
Every new racer should watch this before there first pass. Great coverage and reasoning.
This is great that you are taking this experience to help learn/teach from. Most drivers never encounter an accident/crash/fire until it actually happens to them, so there isn't any experience to learn from except from others. Anytime something like this happens, it's important to learn from and adjust the safety plan for future. I'm so glad you were safe and able to move forward from it.
Thanks for making this video. Everyone who races at any level should watch and pay attention to this information. Many novice/recreational racers my feel stupid for wearing a race suit in there "slow" 13 second street car, but fire doesn't care how slow/fast your car is.
Well you taught me something new. I have been around Top Fuel Racing my whole life. I always thought it was layers also. SFI 20 as you said. I did not know it was basically the amount of time you have. I was told by Dale Creasy Jr. that you don't really get burned by the fire, But the sweat on your body will turn to steam from the heat and fire and burn you. That is why you see all the drivers use baby powder right before the put on the gloves. When I raced in Super Street I used jacket, pants and gloves even though not required. It was my choice for my safety.
Thanks for doing this video, glad your ok.
thanks for covering this. glad you are safe, cars can be replaced, people cant.
Thanks for sharing that, Tom! My son is doing a go-kart camp later this summer.. This has prompted me to step things up in terms of safety gear.. You just never know...
Thanks for the rundown. Again, glad you made it out okay! Other thing a lot of people don’t think about is, being trapped in the car... luckily you were able to stop without hitting anything, but a door trapped against the barrier, or another car would increase the time you’d be in there. Just some thoughts.
Man thanks for putting the vid out.
Back school a friend raced go carts with that crazy fuel. While working on it, it backed fired and burned his arm severly.
Thanks for the vid Tom. This is the best info coming from a guy that just went through the situation. Real experience and not some suit trying to sell you gear based on what he read from a document his team prepared.. Thanks man, and I'm glad you were not injured. Cannot put a price on your life/safety.
Great video!
I was racing ChampCar (chumpcar) and I passed a Miata on fire and the young man had quite bad burns all over his body. I complied with the minimum (plus a balaclava) and seeing that car on fire and hearing of that man burns makes you think twice. If I race again I’ll include more fire protection. (Now our car had fire suppression which was mandatory).
Be safe our there friends, fire gear isn’t cheap I know I race on a shoe string budget. But looking less “cool” or being a little more “uncomfortable” is worth it when the alternate is weeks in a burn unit. 😢
Young and dumb we raced for years,no cage ,no fire suit,not even a fire extinguisher,can't sleep at night sometimes just thinking of what could have happened.Thinking about
Racing again.Saftey Will Be First .Thanks for the video and info
Any driver or person for that matter that takes the time to break all this stuff down is a awesome lover of motorsports and deserve the upmost respect! I`ve never been so sure that I need to hit that sub button!! What a class act Tom!!
Thanks man! Not enough people take safety seriously... Til theyre “airborne” or on fire
Im so happy you are okey. It suck about the car but it can be rebuilt. I have worked as a rescue on drag racing in the past so i know how bad things can get. Again im so happy for that you did not get hurt and thank you for the safty video.
Tom, thanks for the great vid, you sound like the engineer type.
What many don't realize ( or don't want to realize ) is that a fire is a fire no matter how fast the car goes. A vid to watch is " Track Safety: Questions You Need To Ask " on the channel " Tim McAmis Performance Parts " There was recently a crash at Wilkesboro Dragway. The track is horribly unsafe for the cars that run there and the car that crashed wasn't that great either. ( RE no back stay bars from the main hoop to the rear , unsure if there was a halo from main hoop to front of roof. )
Made me consider fire gear even for project car rips. Good stuff, you can never be too safe.
Having been in car fire myself and having a driver that has been in more than a few (AA/FC) insane not to run fire system... few bucks can save a life and a car..
I kind of humped cleetus about this but I am betting you got through to him lol
And Coopers mishap probably got to him aswell!
You are a SAINT I hope people listen and take your experience/advice to heart DMART MAN thank you for putting this out so many videos of it no grant people who fail to use proper equipment may you have a speedy and low cost rebuild to your car GLAD YOU ARE OK NOT INJURED (DID YOU DO AS THE DOC TOLD YOU ON THE COUGH ??)
Yup all good points. After Lyle Barnett’s fire I always make sure I run 20 every thing. I have always ran 20 gear because we are a family run team and that’s what my step dad always wore and that’s what my parents bought me when I got my advanced ET license. And when I went to get new gloves and boots I was tempted to get 5’s because that’s all our class requires. But it was right around the time of Lyle’s fire and he made a video similar to yours about the dangers of being under protected. He had a 20 jacket and pants, but only 5 shoes and gloves. He sustained 3rd degree burns to his hands, feet, and face because he was running a door car with his visor up.
All the gear is there to keep you safe. Don’t skimp on $60 because you don’t want to spend the difference on 15’s or 20’s compared to 5’s. It’s not worth it.
If you want a good example of safety gear ratings, look at the F1 accident of Grosjean in Bahrain. They upped the required rating of the suit before the season, but not the gloves or boots. The result: He had 3 degree burns on his hands and ankles, but none anywhere else. The saying is that everything between you and the floor is worth investing in (shoes, matress etc.) but everything between you and fire is worth investing in more when you race anything that can burn!
We have two burn victims in my family. My uncle and my brother-in-law.
Best people I know. No shadow on them, but I'd rather have them unburnt if you get my meaning.
Please use safety gear. The expense is well spent during those frantic seconds you need to get out. And if you can't get out by yourself, there's a buffer that might still save your life until help arrives.
Super glad you’re okay and sharing your mindset and tips about fire safety. An experience to learn from applicable to all aspects of the motorsports community.
I've always been impressed by Cleetus wearing a 20 layer suit and has been for several years I believe..Gotta put safety first..I hate seeing people with high dollar parts and sub par safety gear...
A second note to clothing and fire, cotton will burn but nylon will melt so whether under a suit or if you're without one, cotton always. As a firefighter its something I consider and you can see the horror stories in the firefighting community of nylon burns.
Great video. Thank you Tom for making it. Straight shooting advice!
LOT's POWER Think Safety First That Show's You Know What You Are Doing Well Done & Thank You Tom & The Tech. & Safety Teams
Fire has got to be my biggest fear, I can only imagine what was going through your head when your belt's caught. Glad to see you didn't panic and got out all right. You can build a new car hell you built that one, but nobody has a crew good enough to rebuild yourself.
Thanks for explaining the SFI numbers - we all now have a video to point people to, along with the vision of the run to show why.
much respect for this video. so many cheap out of sneak by with safety gear. it's awesome that you show that yes, you should be wearing this stuff. car is replaceable but you are not. thanks so much for this video, i'm sharing it.
Great point about the visor. I see so many with all the gear and their visors up
Exactly!
Glad you are ok mate.
Great to see you offering people some knowledge from your experience
So appreciate you sharing
Safety first❣️ amazing video
Stay Safe
Bless Up❣️❣️
Wow just wow!! So glad ya did this video,alot of useful information!! Love the weapon behind you to.. still glad you are ok after it all.
Great video Tom, there are a TON of young RUclips personalities that act like safety isn't a concern for them. Great to have OGs like you telling it straight.
I don’t even race and I watched the entire thing. Thanks for the message Tom!
Same story for those of us that ride motorcycles. What do you want to be wearing when you slide down the road? Denim lasts inches.
Regarding the run itself - Tom why didnt you pull the fire suppression system handle next to your head? Was it just that at first you didnt think the fire was bad enough to necessitate it? And by the time you realized it was your sole priority was getting out first? Or was it something different?
edit: and THANK YOU for making these videos. They are so vitally important to safety, something we have all skimped on when we shouldnt have at some point. a very sobering reminder to always take safety as top priority, and first thought
Tom is such a badass that even the fire knew not to f*ck with his beard! Glad to see you're OK and I can't wait to see what Sick 3.0 looks like.
glad your thoughtful gear paid out when you needed it! ive seen tractor pulls go bang with blue flame, but invisible fire is real bad news. thanks!
Very informative so many people are willing to spend a fortune on the car and none on themselves good advice!!
That ski ball table though!! Funnest game ever!!
Amazing job at turning a bad day into something useful! Happy to see all your safety steps worked hopefully next time it will not be needed.
Can't wait for the next video on the fire systems for the car. I have none other than a manual fire extinguisher. Although I only run 8's I should probably think about adding something.
At the time, Tom was running slower than an 8. Doesn't matter how fast you're going. If the fuel system blows then a manual extinguisher isn't going to do much good. Think about how much time it'll take you to get out of the car and then grab the extinguisher and go to work. A fire system isn't that expensive and it's a LOT cheaper than buying a bunch of extra parts. I haven't heard of Tom had one installed but I know Cooper had one and it saved his car from burning to the ground.
@@brians48now Yup it definitely got me thinking about putting a system in. I've done zero research into it so that's why I'm definitely going to watch the next video and make a move on buying a system or making it myself if possible.
@@charliegivilancz6412 I didn't mean to preach but seeing the fires lately kinda got me going. Good luck on the build.
These videos are great. Sad to see the car burn but glad you made it out and even better to see how you made it out.
Thanks for taking the time to make these videos after going through that. Linking to everyone I know that races!
Glad you like them!
Thank you Tom.
Thank you for detailing this experience! We can all learn from what happens in your car!!!!!
What were you thinking not removing the safety lockout on your fire system pull?
Seeing Lyle Barnetts fire is what prompted me to go above and beyond on fire safety. And to make sure visor is down
What activated your Suppression system since the pin was still in.
Great informative video, the importance of fire safety gear is proven in F1 driver Romain Grosjean wreck in Bahrain last year stuck in a fireball for 2 minutes and only had burns on his hands and foot I believe.
Siempre se aprende algo nuevo ! Que bueno que estas bien !
Really enjoying your vids Tom. Keep em coming. Can't wait for RMRW and DragWeek!
You and me both!
Yes we go crazy at work now with permits for hot work BUT it makes us very aware of needless risks
Thanks Tom, I am just getting into drag racing this year, and have learned a lot. Buy the best you can afford!
Best of luck!
Hate to see anybody go through it but I'm glad you get a chance to teach especially about methanol
Glad you're ok. Just curious if the on board fire suppression was pulled, or did its job?
so sorry about the car, glad your ok ,, i always bought the bare minimum in sfi ratings, my car runs mid 8's in the quarter bot as fast as yours, but after watching this video im gonna by all 20 gears the more time i have the better,, stay safe
Great advice, glad you're ok!
Great content for people that do what you do I don't but I still found it interesting
Great insight and very well put, thanks....
Good video glad you walked away in 1 piece!
Love this video, good content!! I hope people stop and watch, ESPECIALLY if they are involved in ANY type of MOTORSPORT