So on Friday night, Jack Dover is involved in a very violent crash due to a parts failure. He was then taken to a local hospital after being unconscious for over 30 minutes and diagnosed with a bruised brain and also bleeding on the brain. He was released around 2 p.m. and told to take it easy for a couple weeks. So what does him and his family do? They head to the race-track. Now I know he put on a great show in both his heat race and feature but my question is, why was he allowed to even be in a race-car? Looking at the past should be enough to prevent this kind of situation from happening. Kevin Doty and Doug Wolfgang are both examples of what can happen in this situation. Here's another question. How can the ASCS sanctioning body allow something like this to happen? I realize all these guys are "racers" and this is what they do, but not only did Dover endager his mere existance, but I also believe he put the other drivers on the track in a bad situation. What if he had blacked out during a race? Head injuries are by far the worst of all injuries to diagnose, and are also by far the most dangerous overall. I, for the life of me, cannot figure out 1 good reason for this to have happend last night, but can think of many reasons it shouldn't have happened. Now from what I have heard, the Dover's are good people, but I just cant see how these people or the ASCS people allowed it. Sorry to rant, but to me it is a very important topic that needs to be looked at much more closley.

I'll play the devil's advocate here.

Did he have a doctor's release?

If not, the series and promoter should be dealth with in some fashion.

Yes, a true racer wants to race. But sometimes old "common sense" needs to prevail!!

TSA...It's not a GROPE...it's a Freedom Pat!

What ever dealth is.

Agree

copy and pasted from another forum

The EMT that attended to Jack said they witnessed him having Seizures while still in the car, I did not see this...THANK GOD, seeing him unresponsive was enough for me!!! He also did not walk to the ambulance, like was announced over the intercom…I was there when they took him out of the car, and he was as limp as a noodle. He was knocked out for almost 30 minutes; I was with him in the ambulance when he finally came to.

He was diagnosed with a bruise to the brain and some slight bleeding of the brain.

When we left the Hospital Saturday at noon, our plan was to take Jack and his car to Eagle and take the green flag so we could maintain our points with the National ASCS series. Jack was in agreement with this as well, as he knows the severity of his head injuries. At this point, all I can say, is once we got to the track, something come over him, and he started to change his mind...did I agree...no, but he is 20 years old, and when he straps in his sprint car and goes on the track, he makes all his own decisions...We were in agreement, before he went out, that if he felt comfortable with the car, it was his prerogative to stay out....He obviously felt good with, was it the right decision...????? Everyone has their opinions. Bottom line is, he is a racer, this is what he does and knows...If his decision tonight bothered some of you....it did me too….More than any of you know…..Sorry

This is all I will say, as I really don't want this to turn into a bashing session.

One other thing....We are very thankful for Eagle's great safety crew and the guys and gal that transported him to the hospital. I'm not very happy with the way our oldest daughter was treated, as she was sitting in the stands, and they would not allow her to come into the pits to see if her Brother was OK!!!!

Those are the facts

Jack's Mom, Lori

thankfuly he did not hurt anybody or him self. a tip their are old knees and their are bold knees BUT THEIR ARE NO OLD BOLD KNEES. be carefull out their

Jack's sister was treated exactly as we always treat anyone in similar situations. She was not allowed into the pits immediately. She was let in before the rest of the fans from the stands.

I am lucky enough to work at one of the best tracks 
anywhere.

Neither do I wish to get in a bashing but I would be very concerned.

If my driver is taken to the hospital and gets the same "diagnosis" he is out of the car until we can get home and "diagnosed and examined" by reliable physicians. I am NOT saying he wasn't. I just want a follow-up a few days later!

Points? Points over a possible life-time paralysis or death?

Don't think so.

Just glad he was not injured and I STILL wouldn't let him drive until doctors are sure it is safe.

For me, sanity and safety are taken far more seriously than points.

I wish you the best for the season and trust there are no more "accidents" for your son.

TSA...It's not a GROPE...it's a Freedom Pat!

I guess HIPPA laws don't apply to sprint car racing forums.

"If you're gonna run the bottom, you might as well get 
a real job."

That is the lamest reply I have ever read there Ben! All the info shared came right from the driver's mother. You can take you HIPPA law say whatever you want. Nothing illegal here. As a matter of fact here is some good reading for you Ben.

Understanding Health Information Privacy

The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information. At the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure of personal health information needed for patient care and other important purposes.

The Security Rule specifies a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information.

All the info we have talked about was released by Jacks mother. How much better source do you need? If she says it, then it becomes public. Get over yourself and your HIPPA law. This also is side-stepping the original subject matter. No one was thinking very well last night in regards to the things that went down.

Wasn't there, didn't see anything or have I spoken to anyone about this. I can say this much however. The ONE PERSON that can be trusted to make a call REGARDLESS of points, money or stubborn pride is Tommy Estes.

Estes takes his Job as CD very seriously. You pass the scales after a race, he doesn't care if your Gary Wright or Jim Bob Racer, you get DQ'd. When it comes to safety, He would definitely sit you down in a heartbeat if he thought you were a danger to those on the track. Anyone who knows Estes' work knows what Im talking about.

John Lemon

Owasso Okla.

This happened over points....? Regardless of driver or family preference, I'm just a bit surprised a "premier" sanctioning body would allow this. In other sports, the athletes don't get a say...and then were talking about carrying, throwing, or shooting a ball, not controlling a 750hp "car" around other people at 100mph.

Easy there shooter (dirtracer84)... I'm well-versed on HIPPA laws.

Mrs. Dover is not Jack's legal guardian so that doesn't make his medical issues fodder for the forum world. I'm just saying that sometimes we forget about medical privacy and its important to remember that some of this stuff is private. However, HIPPA does not trump the overall safety of the event and the other drivers. I am one of the biggest safety advocates around this sport and I agree with your ideas about this topic. You and I are on the same page. So we will go back to the subject at hand...

We need to take a look at whether drivers need a break after a head inury. The NFL is addressing the situation. It will be interesting to see what the NFL comes up with. Other major motor sports entities have addressed the issue but they don't race 100 times per year either. The frequency of races and accidents makes this issue very unique for sprint car racing.

The Dovers are great people and Jack is one of the best gassers around. I can't blame him for getting back out there and running. Mrs. Dover's candidness about the subject should be applauded. Jack is an adult and I don't think its right to beat up the parents.

Preventing these injuries would go a long way in fixing the problem but that's a whole other can of worms...

Ben T

Knoxville, IA

"If you're gonna run the bottom, you might as well get 
a real job."

Once Jack is in that car and on that track, he is the only person in control....like I said before, did he make the right decision....????? I do believe he made the same decision any other driver in his situation would have made.....

I agree.... Tommy Estes is the very best at what he does !

This is the nature of the sport, if these drivers have any fear of anything, they most likely would not be strapping in to these rockets.

Eagle Pit Shack Guy, do you live on these forums to defend Eagle Raceway ? A state police Officer came and found Adrian in the crowd and told her she needed to go to the pits, but yet when she got to the gate, you would not allow her in ??? Why if she wasn't going to be let in, did the police officer feel the need to go find her ??? I guess you have more authority than a police officer.

She or her husband may not legally be the "legal guardian" as Jack is now old enough, by age standards to take care of himself. But if you want to play devil's advocate you can look at it this way. Mr. and Mrs. Dover are the car owners and could have simply parked him. For them to say it was out of their control is a cop-out to me.

so why don't we see this kind of thread every time a WoO, local, wingless, winged driver has a bad wreck? why pick this particular instance to make a point? have you never driven your vehicle when you were sick, injured, or otherwise not at y0ur best health wise?

just wondering.......

What I dont understand about this subject is the fact, isnt this the same person that was saying last year that she wasnt going to allow Jack to race at I 30 speedway due to their safety crews or lack there of???? That turned into a bashing session against the speedway, now you dont want this to turn into a bashing session over Jack racing last night? You cant have it both ways.

He should of not been allowed to race period. I totally agree with the poster that said, "I'm just a bit surprised a "premier" sanctioning body would allow this." The ASCS in my opinion showed NO concern about Jack or any of the other drivers safety last night.

Jack may be of age, but you are the car owner and a parent. You dont stop being a parent when your child is 18 years of age. To have any brain, again think about it, BRAIN issues is a red flag. To go back out there 24 hours later is stupid. If he got into another crash who knows what would of happened and what if another driver was hurt if Jack blacked out or something? Did the ASCS feel that they should allow him to race since Eagle is his "home track?" Did they feel the fans would be upset with them? That really shouldnt of mattered at all. What should of mattered first and for most was that driver, being Jack and the other competitors safety.

I understand these drivers have no fear or they wouldnt be doing this at all. But there is a line and a time to sit and heel before getting back out there. 24 hours after a brain injury isnt enough time for that to heel. This isnt like he broke his hand or something. We are talking about the brain. I hope, I really do hope that if this issue comes up again with the Dovers or any another driver that they sit out for quite some time and make sure they are 100% cleared to race by a brain doctor.

We are talking about a brain injury. Not a broken hand or feeling sick because you have the flu. We have all seen bad wrecks out there on the track, but when its this serious of an injury a 24hr time to heel the brain isnt enough. I just dont want to see a young man risk his whole life over one night of racing or maybe a few weeks of racing.

Better yet.....Ricky Logan crashed 12 laps before Jack, was knocked out cold and went to the same hospital, and he raced, but yet nobody has said anything about that...I know why...Ricky was smart and kept his business to himself.....LESSON LEARNED !!!!