[pic] One of my club member's car at Tail of the Dragon

[Datawiz]

Thankfully Mike wasn't driving, or in the car. His wife just sprung for over $10K in upgrades in the past 12 months. I guess his friend was in pretty bad shape.

[ApexOversteer]

Thankfully Mike wasn't driving, or in the car. His wife just sprung for over $10K in upgrades in the past 12 months. I guess his friend was in pretty bad shape.

Was that today?

They're trying to set a Guinness World Record out there tomorrow, most Harley Davidsons on The Dragon at one time...

[Jeff '79]

Some friend..... Jeezus! :wtf:

[Datawiz]

Was that today?

They're trying to set a Guinness World Record out there tomorrow, most Harley Davidsons on The Dragon at one time...

Happened Monday or Tuesday. Not sure which. Mike didn't return my texts.

[Burro (He/Haw)]

How the fuk does anyone survive that? :faint:

[OddBall]

Holy shit! :eek:

[Chuck A]

Very painful , indeed

[SteelCityBlue]

Make sure you get the story behind that

[Milton Fox]

Make sure you get the story behind that

:iagree:

[Steve Austin]

Was that today?

They're trying to set a Guinness World Record out there tomorrow, most Harley Davidsons on The Dragon at one time...

Looks like rain today. Not a good day to go for that record.

[Datawiz]

Make sure you get the story behind that

I will, but probably not until our next race on June 4-5, but I'm sure I can guess pretty easily. Mike is an extremely talented autocrosser, has won on the National Tour, and trophied at the National Championships. He's been going to The Dragon annually since 2007 for ZDays (https://zdayz.com/). He's considered to be one of the fastest drivers on the mountain. His car is extremely capable, especially since the improvements. I raced this car on the National Tour a little over a year ago and did pretty well.

Fast forward to Mike's friend....friend gets a chance behind the wheel of one of the fastest cars there, Mike makes it look easy, friend runs out of talent, loses it, rolls it and gets trapped in it.

Here's Mike last year on his personal record setting run down the mountain:
Rm9vkl2E_j0

[GentleBen]

It appears that the road is closed except for the racers. If that is the case, why is he not using the full width of the road? It would make it easier to set up for the turns, thereby increasing speeds into and out of the turns.

[Datawiz]

It appears that the road is closed except for the racers. If that is the case, why is he not using the full width of the road? It would make it easier to set up for the turns, thereby increasing speeds into and out of the turns.

Road is NOT closed. If you watch the entire video, you'll see a few minivans pass going the other direction. :willy:

[Burro (He/Haw)]

Where's all the outrage for driving like this on a public road?

[SteelCityBlue]

this isn't legal is it? also, how do you know no one is in front around those turns?

[SteelCityBlue]

Where's all the outrage for driving like this on a public road?

:iagree:

[ApexOversteer]

Where's all the outrage for driving like this on a public road?

Oh there's plenty of it. The local paper rails on it, the TV newsholes usually do a week of stories about it each summer, locals bitch about it all the time...

We here in TN have to pay for LEOs to patrol it, for the rescue and fire equipment and personnel to cover it, and to keep up the whole road... NC just gets to make most of the money...

Someone is maimed or killed regularly, sometimes multiples daily at the real nutty times. One day last year there were 150 Mini Coopers, 35 Mustangs and 20+ Vespa scooters to go with the 1000's of Harleys going s l o w l y, sportbikes going entirely too fast, sports cars, families sightseeing in minivans, fishermen in diesel duallys with bass boats behind, RVs, 20 cops and a smattering of semi-trucks just for flavor. Did I mention semi-trucks can't go through there without taking up both lanes and then some, so you come around a corner and the road is blocked from ditch to ditch with big rig... fun!!

It's ridiculous. Fantastic road, one of the greatest... on a clear Wednesday morning between Halloween and Easter...

[CertInsaneC5]

It's clear some of you have never been on the dragon. :rofl:

[Burro (He/Haw)]

It's clear some of you have never been on the dragon. :rofl:

:confused5::confused5:

[CertInsaneC5]

:confused5::confused5:

:barnbabe:

Don't you and hildabeast have something to do? :Jeff '79:

[Datawiz]

Where's all the outrage for driving like this on a public road?

this isn't legal is it? also, how do you know no one is in front around those turns?

Don't kill the messenger, but I agree as well. :yesnod: Yes, this is illegal, and yet the cops often turn a blind eye, as it brings a lot of tourism dollars into the area. I'd never drive my car in anger on a road like that. Racing (and wrecking) down in the Keys is as far as I'll go on the danger side, and that's a closed road and perfectly legal.

[RedLS1GTO]

Add me to the list of those who just don't get it. I drove it once, 2005 in my GTO.

Cool road, but I have no urge to go back. If I happen to be in the vicinity, great, but not a special trip for it.

[mrvette]

Jeebus, that blue car, kinda sets the standard for the phrase....blow the doors off......:sadangel::dance::dance:

[Steve Austin]

I did it last fall and I will go back. Im also sstayed in my lane and never got the brakes hot. You can enjoy the Dragon and not be stupid about it.:drivingskid:

[Burro (He/Haw)]

Don't get me RONG, I'd love to try it on my bike. Traffic doesn't really shake me up much but a bunch of lunatics doing their best Senna would.

[MrPeabody]

Looks like they had to cut him out of the car.

Lots of really cool and challenging mountain roads where I live. Only two problems - deer and Highway Patrol aircraft. There is one 19 mile mountain road that runs between here and another town. On holiday weekends the CHP will patrol it with aircraft and if your tire so much as touches the double yellow line, you get a ticket. One cop I talked to said it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Great revenue generator. I always warn anyone visiting me about it.

[simpleman68]

Ouch! Glad to hear everyone is alright, but damn. :eek:
Scott

[Kerrmudgeon]

Just reminds me of what I've always known....never lend a fast car to anyone, no matter how good a driver you or they think they are. :nonod:

Just think how you'd feel if they are maimed or killed, and their kids orphaned.....:sadangel:

[Kerrmudgeon]

I hate to say this but I can't even tell what kind/model of car that was? :ack:

[snide]

I hate to say this but I can't even tell what kind/model of car that was? :ack:

Datsun 350z.

Hope the driver will be OK. That road is nuts. I've driven it a couple of times. It's a fun drive.

:cheers:

[ZipZap]

I hate to say this but I can't even tell what kind/model of car that was? :ack:

Z

[ApexOversteer]

I did it last fall and I will go back. Im also sstayed in my lane and never got the brakes hot. You can enjoy the Dragon and not be stupid about it.:drivingskid:

Yup, you can... but you are still sharing the road...


Dragon Time lapse - YouTube

[Burro (He/Haw)]

Lacking skills there Mr. MC rider.

[ApexOversteer]

Lacking skills there Mr. MC rider.

Inattention + Target Fixation + Lack of Experience = Broken Pelvis

[carlton_fritz]

Oh there's plenty of it. The local paper rails on it, the TV newsholes usually do a week of stories about it each summer, locals bitch about it all the time...

We here in TN have to pay for LEOs to patrol it, for the rescue and fire equipment and personnel to cover it, and to keep up the whole road... NC just gets to make most of the money...

Someone is maimed or killed regularly, sometimes multiples daily at the real nutty times. One day last year there were 150 Mini Coopers, 35 Mustangs and 20+ Vespa scooters to go with the 1000's of Harleys going s l o w l y, sportbikes going entirely too fast, sports cars, families sightseeing in minivans, fishermen in diesel duallys with bass boats behind, RVs, 20 cops and a smattering of semi-trucks just for flavor. Did I mention semi-trucks can't go through there without taking up both lanes and then some, so you come around a corner and the road is blocked from ditch to ditch with big rig... fun!!

It's ridiculous. Fantastic road, one of the greatest... on a clear Wednesday morning between Halloween and Easter...
This is why I never go that way anymore.

[carlton_fritz]

I did it last fall and I will go back. Im also sstayed in my lane and never got the brakes hot. You can enjoy the Dragon and not be stupid about it.:drivingskid:
99% of the drivers on that road can't avoid being stupid.

[Burro (He/Haw)]

Inattention + Target Fixation + Lack of Experience = Broken Pelvis

Inattention + Target Fixation + Lack of Experience = Broken Pelvis & internet sensation.

[carlton_fritz]

Those guys taking the photos assist in people being stupid so they can get a "cool" photo of themselves. I forgot the name of the company that sets up to take the photos.

[snide]

Yup, you can... but you are still sharing the road...


Dragon Time lapse - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2R4D1vBOM8)

That idiot was lucky there was a car to run into, otherwise his parts would have decorated the trees.

[chevyman_ky]

Those guys taking the photos assist in people being stupid so they can get a "cool" photo of themselves. I forgot the name of the company that sets up to take the photos.

they are about 3-4 different ones taking photos there all of them set up on curves. I was down there a few weeks ago on my bike with a group, saw more cars that weekend than bikes. there was a vw group there someone told us they was over 400 vw there that weekend. not a bad road if you use some common sense. you can find photos if you search deals gap photos.

[Z1NONLY]

Make sure you get the story behind that

I'm the car's (former) owner. Here's what happened:

We were on 28 driving (in the rain) away from the Dragon, towards Fontana Village when he crashed.

My friend was lucky. The tree that almost killed him actually stopped him from going all the way down into the river. It was also a miracle that I even knew to turn around and go look for him. I was driving a C7 Corvette a few turns ahead of him with the Vette's owner riding shotgun, focused very much on the road ahead....when something in my head said "What was that?" I slowed down, looked in the review mirror and waited a few seconds. When I didn't see the headlights of my Z sweeping through the turns, I had a feeling he had gone off so I turned around. The only sign of a crash was a small mound of mud (about the size of a fist) at the edge. We parked the Vette and ran to the side. He hit a tree about 8ft up, facing opposite the direction of travel, and then fell out of sight from the road. The tree was occupying the space where the driver belonged and I was sure he was dead. I thought I might get the Vette to a land line for help (no service up there) a little faster than the car's owner, but I thought it was a recovery effort rather than a rescue, and I didn't think the 26yo Vette owner should have to be the one to open the door. I sent him for help and slid down to the car. I never thought I could be so happy to find a friend in such bad shape, but then I never considered "dead" as a point of reference.

Thankfully, he went into shock in a very laid-back way. He kept asking the same few questions over and over, but he did so in a very calm manner. I answered the questions as I checked the car's stability and tried to find any injuries that were immediately life-threatening. The car was stable. I didn't find any bleeding that looked like it would kill him in the short term. I told him not to try to move his left arm and that he looked like he would live to tell a hell of a story. After about 15 minutes of the ground-hog-day routine, it occurred to me that finding the crash site again was going to be very difficult. I wanted to keep him talking but I needed to get back up to the top. I started looking for something to break out the passenger glass, and wondering how my friend might react to having his face covered with something while I busted the window out....Then it occurred to me that I should try the window switch.....and it did it's auto-down thing like it was chilling at a red light. I then went to the top and continued our conversation through the passenger window until EMS arrived.

They took off the passenger door....couldn't get him out.

The cut the roof loose...couldn't get him out.

They dragged the whole car up to the top with him still in it and then still had to cut the driver's door off to get him out.

After a helicopter ride to UT and some time in the ER, they assessed his injuries to be a few missing teeth, 4 broken ribs, and a shattered shoulder. His shoulder seems like the longest road ahead of him, but he had one of the top surgeons in the country put all the pieces back together, so he's hopeful.

I just noticed my avatar is very old. This is what the car looked like before it got Frisbee'd into a tree:

Before:
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/19850737275_d22ca9fa99_o_zpsdbesma2w.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/19850737275_d22ca9fa99_o_zpsdbesma2w.jpg.html)
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TampT%20Ga_zpsc2egsome.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TampT%20Ga_zpsc2egsome.jpg.html)

[Burro (He/Haw)]

The real question is will this thread bring back the cone fairy?

[GRN ENVY]

I'm the car's (former) owner. Here's what happened:

We were on 28 driving (in the rain) away from the Dragon, towards Fontana Village when he crashed.

My friend was lucky. The tree that almost killed him actually stopped him from going all the way down into the river. It was also a miracle that I even knew to turn around and go look for him. I was driving a C7 Corvette a few turns ahead of him with the Vette's owner riding shotgun, focused very much on the road ahead....when something in my head said "What was that?" I slowed down, looked in the review mirror and waited a few seconds. When I didn't see the headlights of my Z sweeping through the turns, I had a feeling he had gone off so I turned around. The only sign of a crash was a small mound of mud (about the size of a fist) at the edge. We parked the Vette and ran to the side. He hit a tree about 8ft up, facing opposite the direction of travel, and then fell out of sight from the road. The tree was occupying the space where the driver belonged and I was sure he was dead. I thought I might get the Vette to a land line for help (no service up there) a little faster than the car's owner, but I thought it was a recovery effort rather than a rescue, and I didn't think the 26yo Vette owner should have to be the one to open the door. I sent him for help and slid down to the car. I never thought I could be so happy to find a friend in such bad shape, but then I never considered "dead" as a point of reference.

Thankfully, he went into shock in a very laid-back way. He kept asking the same few questions over and over, but he did so in a very calm manner. I answered the questions as I checked the car's stability and tried to find any injuries that were immediately life-threatening. The car was stable. I didn't find any bleeding that looked like it would kill him in the short term. I told him not to try to move his left arm and that he looked like he would live to tell a hell of a story. After about 15 minutes of the ground-hog-day routine, it occurred to me that finding the crash site again was going to be very difficult. I wanted to keep him talking but I needed to get back up to the top. I started looking for something to break out the passenger glass, and wondering how my friend might react to having his face covered with something while I busted the window out....Then it occurred to me that I should try the window switch.....and it did it's auto-down thing like it was chilling at a red light. I then went to the top and continued our conversation through the passenger window until EMS arrived.

They took off the passenger door....couldn't get him out.

The cut the roof loose...couldn't get him out.

They dragged the whole car up to the top with him still in it and then still had to cut the driver's door off to get him out.

After a helicopter ride to UT and some time in the ER, they assessed his injuries to be a few missing teeth, 4 broken ribs, and a shattered shoulder. His shoulder seems like the longest road ahead of him, but he had one of the top surgeons in the country put all the pieces back together, so he's hopeful.

I just noticed my avatar is very old. This is what the car looked like before it got Frisbee'd into a tree:

Before:
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/19850737275_d22ca9fa99_o_zpsdbesma2w.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/19850737275_d22ca9fa99_o_zpsdbesma2w.jpg.html)
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TampT%20Ga_zpsc2egsome.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TampT%20Ga_zpsc2egsome.jpg.html)

Hey Mike, Glad to hear your friend is doing well. Sad the car is no more. Anything salvageable from the car, any plans on a new one?

Hope your friend keeps improving.

[Cybercowboy]

Wow. Just...wow.

[Z1NONLY]

Hey Mike, Glad to hear your friend is doing well. Sad the car is no more. Anything salvageable from the car, any plans on a new one?

Hope your friend keeps improving.

I did not want or get any parts off the car. (unless you count the dented Z emblem I found down by the river)

The new car is a story of its own so here's a copy/paste from another forum:


I get to drive a lot of cars at the track so I had a short list of favorites once I started considering my next car. I ultimately went with a new FRS because it has great driving dynamics and it's classed well in the SCCA.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TwinZ/IMG_1572_zpsdlatgmum.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TwinZ/IMG_1572_zpsdlatgmum.jpg.html)


My wife was the one "due" for a new car since I drive a company vehicle to work, and her Sebring had 140k miles. She insisted that I get the new car and get back on track. (figuratively and literally)

After closing the deal on my new 2016 FRS, we started looking at what her old car needed to make it a couple more years. That process got us thinking about one of the cars that we rejected out of hand when searching for my new vehicle. One of the dealers had a new 2015 automatic listed as a manual on their website. When we learned of the typo we said "no thanks" and moved on....but not before the dealer told us that they were willing to heavily discount the car because it was a languishing 2015 still on the lot with the 2017 models due soon. It turned out that they were seriously willing to deal, so now we have, well....


Twins:

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/IMG_1594__zpsdvscwjho.png (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/IMG_1594__zpsdvscwjho.png.html)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TwinZ/20160607_190423_zps85chdsbs.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TwinZ/20160607_190423_zps85chdsbs.jpg.html)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/20160609_214246__zps0i4wp6bn.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/20160609_214246__zps0i4wp6bn.jpg.html)

The parts for the CS street prep are starting to come in. The Borla exhaust is on the car. TRD springs/Sways and Koni shocks are in the garage. My Strano FSB should ship Friday. Tire rack said I should have my RPF1's with mounted Rival S tires in a few weeks.

Already tinted the windows and my new numbers came in:
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/20160616_145131c_zpsfuvztmwq.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/20160616_145131c_zpsfuvztmwq.jpg.html)


The parts seem to be going on in reverse order of importance, but the stuff that really makes a difference on the track is just taking longer to get, and get on the car.



TL; DR: Best. Wife. Ever.

[GRN ENVY]

I did not want or get any parts off the car. (unless you count the dented Z emblem I found down by the river)

The new car is a story of its own so here's a copy/paste from another forum:


I get to drive a lot of cars at the track so I had a short list of favorites once I started considering my next car. I ultimately went with a new FRS because it has great driving dynamics and it's classed well in the SCCA.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TwinZ/IMG_1572_zpsdlatgmum.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TwinZ/IMG_1572_zpsdlatgmum.jpg.html)


My wife was the one "due" for a new car since I drive a company vehicle to work, and her Sebring had 140k miles. She insisted that I get the new car and get back on track. (figuratively and literally)

After closing the deal on my new 2016 FRS, we started looking at what her old car needed to make it a couple more years. That process got us thinking about one of the cars that we rejected out of hand when searching for my new vehicle. One of the dealers had a new 2015 automatic listed as a manual on their website. When we learned of the typo we said "no thanks" and moved on....but not before the dealer told us that they were willing to heavily discount the car because it was a languishing 2015 still on the lot with the 2017 models due soon. It turned out that they were seriously willing to deal, so now we have, well....


Twins:

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/IMG_1594__zpsdvscwjho.png (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/IMG_1594__zpsdvscwjho.png.html)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/TwinZ/20160607_190423_zps85chdsbs.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/TwinZ/20160607_190423_zps85chdsbs.jpg.html)

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/20160609_214246__zps0i4wp6bn.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/20160609_214246__zps0i4wp6bn.jpg.html)

The parts for the CS street prep are starting to come in. The Borla exhaust is on the car. TRD springs/Sways and Koni shocks are in the garage. My Strano FSB should ship Friday. Tire rack said I should have my RPF1's with mounted Rival S tires in a few weeks.

Already tinted the windows and my new numbers came in:
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj117/Z1NONLY4REAL/20160616_145131c_zpsfuvztmwq.jpg (http://s270.photobucket.com/user/Z1NONLY4REAL/media/20160616_145131c_zpsfuvztmwq.jpg.html)


The parts seem to be going on in reverse order of importance, but the stuff that really makes a difference on the track is just taking longer to get, and get on the car.



TL; DR: Best. Wife. Ever.

Glad to see you were able to get into a new ride, as well as Tonda. We have the summer break, hopefully you will be able to get a few things sorted on the car and burn those tires up come September :seasix: