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Message
An invisible methanol fire in a racing pit
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:34 pm
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:34 pm
Mears pit fire
quote:
When Rick Mears pitted on lap 58, fuel began to gush from the refueling hose before it had been connected to the car. Fuel sprayed over the car, Mears and his mechanics, then ignited when it contacted the engine. Methanol burns with a transparent flame and no smoke, and panic gripped the pit as crew members and spectators fled from the invisible fire. Mears, on fire from the waist up, jumped out of his car and ran to the pit wall, where a safety worker, not seeing the fire, tried to remove Mears' helmet. Meanwhile, Mears' fueler, covered in burning fuel, waved his arms frantically to attract the attention of the fire crews already converging on the scene. By this time the safety worker attending to Mears had fled, and Mears, in near panic at being unable to breathe, leaped over the pit wall toward another crewman carrying a fire extinguisher, who dropped the extinguisher and also fled. Mears tried to turn the extinguisher on himself, but at this point his father, Bill Mears, having already pulled Rick's wife Deena to safety, grabbed the extinguisher and put out the fire. His mechanics had also been extinguished, and the pit fire crew arrived to thoroughly douse Mears' car.
Thanks to quick action by safety workers and the fact that methanol burns at a much lower temperature than gasoline, no one was seriously hurt in the incident. Mears and four of his mechanics (including Derrick Walker, a future crewchief on the Penske team) were sent to hospital, and Mears underwent plastic surgery on his face, particularly on his nose. The incident prompted a redesign to the fuel nozzle used on Indycars, adding a safety valve that would only open when the nozzle was connected to the car.
This post was edited on 7/8/15 at 4:44 pm
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:43 pm to hawgfaninc
So Ricky Bobby really could have been on fire....
Interesting.
Cal Naughton Jr doesn't need convincing... More than willing to put out the invisible fire on Ricky Bobby... Thats a hell of a teammate
Interesting.
quote:
And how do you convince others to put your fire out when they can't see it?
Cal Naughton Jr doesn't need convincing... More than willing to put out the invisible fire on Ricky Bobby... Thats a hell of a teammate
This post was edited on 7/8/15 at 4:51 pm
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:43 pm to hawgfaninc
quote:
And how do you convince others to put your fire out when they can't see it?
quote:
How do you know you're not rolling around in MORE FIRE ??
fuuuuuuck
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:46 pm to KG5989
quote:
So Ricky Bobby really could have been on fire....
Interesting.
Posted on 7/8/15 at 4:52 pm to hawgfaninc
Literally was the 1st thing I thought of when I say the gif
Posted on 7/8/15 at 10:03 pm to KG5989
first thing that popped into my head
Posted on 7/8/15 at 10:34 pm to KG5989
quote:
Cal Naughton Jr doesn't need convincing... More than willing to put out the invisible fire on Ricky Bobby... Thats a hell of a teammate
SHAKE AND BAKE FO LIFE
Posted on 7/9/15 at 1:42 pm to Bags of Milk
I immediately thought of SNL Superfans.
Riiiiccckkk Mearssss
Riiiiccckkk Mearssss
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