Topic: UFO @ Thunderhill

Did anyone see the UFO that smashed our windshield coming down the hill on the back track before the esses on Sunday afternoon?

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Also curious.  Pretty scary stuff:
http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t540/blinded5/image_zpsogy6lhu5.jpg

-Brian
Team Rotary Rooter

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

This picture should be made mandatory viewing by any team thinking of replacing their OE windshield with anything else. That was a massive in your face impact. Sorry it ended your racing early.

M45 Racing,
#45 '08 Subaru WRX,
#4  '63 Studebaker Avanti, IOE, The Ridge 2016
#19 '90 Thunderbird Super Coupe(retired) Organizers Choice Award, Sears 2015

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Holy shit! Any video by chance?

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Came to the forum this morning to see if there was any news on this.

What happened?

BTeam Racing
#72 "Pussy Wagën" E30
#74 "Llama" Lotus Elite, aka Chotus
http://www.facebook.com/bteamracing | http://chotus.org

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

I have a pretty good idea what it was. I will post info and photos later. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera on the car this time.

     Larry G.

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Sorry to see something like this end your day.

Here's my chance to put my preachy, finger wagging pedant hat on:

Many years ago in an earlier life in a different racing series, I saw an errant, airborne muffler penetrate a windshield right at driver eyeball level.  Open face helmets were not required at the time.  Fortunately, this driver had a full face helmet with his visor down.  Disaster averted. 

It occured to me at that moment that my visor was up.  Could have been me.  Lesson learned.

8 (edited by Head Black Bird 2017-05-25 12:12 PM)

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Hello everyone,

I'm going to share my story and thoughts on what happened to us at Thunderhill and what I think mighty have hit our car. Hopefully all of my photos appear with my post. If not try to copy and paste them to view them. I really suck on the computer so I'm not sure they will come up.

I was following a group of cars on Sunday afternoon, down the hill on the back track before the esses flat out going about 80 mph, with the Southworst Mustang right in front of me and then it happened, Kablamo, blown out windshield. I had about a 1/4 second to see something come from under the center of the Mustang before it impacted our car. My first thought was, Freak (not my exact word), that was not a small piece of debris, more like a brick.

After I pulled into the pits, I asked the guys on the Southworst team, who happened to be pitted next to us, if their driver noticed running over anything. At the time they were having communication problems so they could not talk to their driver. After the race was over I had a change to talk with their driver, I think his name was Mark, and asked if he saw, heard, or felt anything he might have ran over, but he said he didn't notice anything.

So here I am left thinking what the Freak was this UFO that hit our car and where did it come from?

The next day, while driving home from the race, it hit me, no put intended, well maybe, there is this part that Ford put on late 1980's to early 2000's Mustangs called a differential dampener. Could this be what hit our car? I know this part because we removed one from my son's 1997 Mustang. It looks kind of like a dog bone or a dumbbell and is bolted below under the Pinion on the rear axle with 2 really crappy small bolts and frame clips for nuts.

  http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/images/thumb/1/1c/Ford_8.8_w_damper_weight.jpg/380px-Ford_8.8_w_damper_weight.jpg

So when we get to our shop Tuesday morning, I go looking for this part, which we never threw out, and there it is. Could this be what hit our car? So I hold it up to our windshield, which took a double impact, and the damage to our windshield looks like a perfect match.

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q436/BlackBirdLG/Camaro%20Window%202_zpsqbxgv8yk.jpg

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q436/BlackBirdLG/Camaro%20Window%201_zpsfxyulprj.jpg

  Now my intention of sharing my story is not to point fingers, lay blame, or to have any ill will towards anyone. As I mentioned before we were pitted next to next to these guys and like 99% of the Lemons racers that we have met over the last 3 to 4 years, they were a friendly great group of guys just trying to have a good time like us. I don't know for sure that this part came off your car, but if you could please check and see if this part was on your car and is now missing then that would explain what happened.

My hope is by telling my story that word gets passed around that if you are on a Mustang team or know any Mustang teams that, if you haven't already, please remove this dog bone from your rear axle so that this can never happen to anyone else, possibly with worse results.

I consider myself very lucky. We only suffered a DNF and a smashed windsield, but it could have been sooo much worse.

Thanks for reading our story. Pass the word. I hope this solves the mystery of the UFO at Thunderhill. See you all at the races.

                Larry G.

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

not only Ford Mustangs but MN12 Ford Thunderbirds have a Diff damper. I removed the one on Thunderchicken prior to our first race.
Not because I imagined your situation occuring, but it seemed like unnecessary weight.  It will not be re-installed.

M45 Racing,
#45 '08 Subaru WRX,
#4  '63 Studebaker Avanti, IOE, The Ridge 2016
#19 '90 Thunderbird Super Coupe(retired) Organizers Choice Award, Sears 2015

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Don't see that Marc has chimed in yet... So I'll jump in quickly; we haven't had that [diff dampener] part on our car (intentionally) since we've been racing it. Thus, that bird-strike is NOT from the 737. wink tongue
Matt
https://www.facebook.com/pg/SouthworstRacing/

Matt
Pilot, er, um... driver on the Southworst Racing #737 1985/9 5.0L Mustang Coupe
https://www.facebook.com/pg/SouthworstRacing/
You are now free to move about the track! We beat the competition, not you!

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the response and clearing it up about not having this on your car. I'm just trying to make sense about what this was that hit our car. Hopefully you can understand why I thought this might have been what it was. You have to admit that the shape of this dampener is close to matching the damage. This was not something small or light like a piece of exhaust pipe.I guess I go back to the UFO theory. I still hope, that if nothing else comes from this, that other racers who might still have this on their car would make sure to remove it. See you at the races. We will be back.

        Larry G.

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Sure thing Larry! And, understand you wanting to share the dampener theory... Still suppose it may have been one off another Mustang (or T-bird?); though if so, we'd likely have some damage from running over one of those. tongue  Look forward to racing with you guys again soon!

Head Black Bird wrote:

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the response and clearing it up about not having this on your car. I'm just trying to make sense about what this was that hit our car. Hopefully you can understand why I thought this might have been what it was. You have to admit that the shape of this dampener is close to matching the damage. This was not something small or light like a piece of exhaust pipe.I guess I go back to the UFO theory. I still hope, that if nothing else comes from this, that other racers who might still have this on their car would make sure to remove it. See you at the races. We will be back.

        Larry G.

Matt
Pilot, er, um... driver on the Southworst Racing #737 1985/9 5.0L Mustang Coupe
https://www.facebook.com/pg/SouthworstRacing/
You are now free to move about the track! We beat the competition, not you!

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

I saw it on track.
There was a debris flag for two of my (3:40) laps, and a massive piece of something conical, maybe 4" diameter on one end, 2" the other, about a foot long - right at the west/east return corner... a third of the way across track from right at the apex.
The next time 'round it was gone, and I can only assume Southworst found it and pitched it to you.

It kind-of looked like a supertrapp - but it wasn't that long or roll-ee
http://pitstopusa.com/i-5056415-supertr … AlbL8P8HAQ

Sorry it took you out! I had thought maybe someone had punted it off track 'cause there was still a wee bit of metal debris like someone had flattened part of it.

Truth to the above having a fantastic anti-intrusion method like OEM windshield!

Hope this helps.
~Kimball~

14 (edited by crazymike 2017-05-27 11:31 PM)

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

Found it!
(Actually not exactly it, but pretty damn close to what it looked like, I'm pretty certain this was a very similar parts-exclusion - the one I saw was exactly at the apex of West-East apex as I said before)
Thanks to Phil:
http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LTH17a/806-_MG_6014.jpg
http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LTH17a/ … _6014.html

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

I have hit, I believe, three starter motors over the years. 

In the interest of safety electric starters should be banned from all Lemons cars.

Re: UFO @ Thunderhill

hoverducky wrote:

I have hit, I believe, three starter motors over the years. 

In the interest of safety electric starters should be banned from all Lemons cars.

Yes!   Hand-crank only, like the Super Snipe or Spank's Dacia!   smile

"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
IOE winner in the Super Snipe -- Buttonwillow 2012
IOE winner in Super Snipe v2.0 -- Buttonwillow 2016
"Every Super Snipe in Lemons has won an IOE!"