Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

It's OK to disagree publicly with John Westbrook, but there is no reason for childish comments

Very well said Jeremy.

It would be good if some of these big $$ NASCAR guys or sponsors like Lucas Oil would set up a fund to take care of disabled racers like Westbrook. Tragedy all around....

Very, very well written Jeremy. 

There  is no  room  for  ill  tempered  comments  regarding  driver  John  Westbrook  , he did  what he felt was right  and other   drivers  might  do the same thing in his  position  . There  is  always   room for  improvement and  the management at  WG  can certainly  improve  as  can other  tracks  everywhere .

+1

Ahmen, lets move on. I wish the guy nothing but the best. And although he didnt win the case, his opinion and voice was heard, thats all anyone can ask for.

I have been silent up,to now, bit now I'd like to say something. I am proud to  be John Westbrook's mother. He has always loved auto racing.  John is brave and honest man who loves this sport and wants it to be as safe as possible for those who can still compete. He does not want any other drivers to have to deal with the catastrophic injury that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. 

Turns 1 and 2 at Williams Grove are very dangerous. I don't think a reasonable person can argue with that.  

Equally as dangerous is Williams Grove's failure to do anything after John's injury. When a driver flys over your guardrail and becomes a quadriplegic, an owner of a racetrack should take a hard look at that turn and see if there was something that could be done to prevent another driver from suffering injuries in the future.    

We all know that fans love to see wrecks and crashes, but I believe that the majority of racing fans realize that the drivers risk their lives and are entitled to a track that does their best to make the venue safe as possible.  Racetracks are places for entertainment of fans and the drivers are the reason fans come to the track. Racetracks make  money on the backs of the drivers. The drivers work on cars all week, spend all of their free time getting ready for the race, and come to the track to put on a good show!  Williams Grove expected that and profited from it. Williams Grove sold tickets to watch the race, in which my son was injured. But when John got hurt it turned its back on him. 

Drivers like my son are taken advantage of to the point of catastrophic injury and even death. Tracks have a moral obligation to provide the safest racing conditions possible. I understand the concept of personal responsibility, but I chose not to be blind to corporate responsibility. If a track sees a person permanently injured, they need to take a hard look and see if they can make improvements. Williams Grove is the same track as it was 50 years ago. In that time, the race cars have improved significantly. The cars have changed. The track has not. 

In closing, to all of the misguided people who have said hurtful things about my son, you obviously don't know him. He's an amazing person who cares more for the sport of racing than you can even imagine. And to those of you who have supported him, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Racing is inheritally a dangerous sport being it Sprint Cars or Power Boats. Improvements can always be made even at the top venues in the United States. Obviously optimal results will never be achieved at all Race Tracks given the budgets they are forced to live by. I've never been to WG but from the Stature that this Race Track holds I would assume that is one of the more Safer Tracks to race in the U.S. but I could be wrong. I know there are many tracks with out the tall catch fences but only 4 or 5 come to mind right now with 2 of them being Premiere Sprint Car Tracks, (Williams Grove & Terra Haute). I guess another Question to ask is a Tall catch fence always necessary if the area outside of the fence is unobstructed from trees or other structures that would contribute to driver injury? What I'm saying is what is the difference from flipping to a Stop down the straight away than flipping to a Stop over a gaurd rail as long as your not hitting anything else!  

My Sympathy goes out to John Westbrook for the injuries that he has sustained as well as any other drivers that have been injured, It's terrible when it happens and NO Race fans any where want to see it happen.

I guess all we can do is hope that all Race Tracks strive to keep making their track as Safe as they possibly can and if a Racing person or group feel that they are not in a Safe Facility then they should take a stand not to race until the problems are resolved.

Again Racing will always have a degree of Danger no Matter how many Safeguards you have in place.

Burlingtons 34 Raceway a few weeks ago: Brad Sweet, Not injured but a reoccurance of this particular accident is preventable and should be.

Billy Anderson at Knoxville a few years ago - Nothing the tracks Safety design could have prevented this.

Keith Hutton at Oskaloosa a few years ago - Good intentions of the track constructing a new fence, but poorly engineered or designed. Track remedied the problem, unfortunately it was at the high price of a life.

I love Sprint Car Racing "I LOVE SPRINT CAR RACING"!!!!! Hopefully Safety can stay at the forefront to keep our Sport going on for Generations to come.

With all due respect to you Mrs. Westbrook, In your first paragraph you say John wants racing to be as safe as possible and dosnt want want any other drivers to deal with a catostrophic injury, yet the car he owns continues to race through turns 1 & 2 at Williamsgrove on a weekly basis. Is he not putting his driver in danger by agreeing to race his car there?  I dont beleive all fans "love" to see wrecks and crashes, and you sound like someone forced John to race there, He chose to race there, I think its wrong of you to say race tracks take advantage of drivers and make there money on the backs of drivers, No one forces any driver to race at any track, tracks dont force drivers to take risks, they provide a place to race, that drivers and owners choose to race at, nothing more nothing less. You also assume a catch fence would have prevented his injuries, how do we know it couldnt have been fatal had he been thrown back into traffic like so many other racers all over the country. Nothing will ever change what happend to your son and for that Im truly sorry, but to place all the blame on Williamsgrove is not right. Sadly your son was well aware of the dangers before he made the choice to race at Williamsgrove, He decided to take the risk and we all know the rest of the story. I hope you and John and the rest of your family are able to make peace with this horrible accident and move on.

Dude, for god's sake - let it go.  You've given you position countless times on here - trust me, we know where you stand.

Go re-read Jeremy's article at the top of this post again, and quit trying to argue with everyone who doesn't agree with you.  Then, if the weather is nice, get in your car and go to the Grove or wherever and enjoy the races like the rest of us will - and move on.

Hello kettle pot calling!

Sorry your an angry misirable person Larsonfan, if you dont want to read my posts dont read them. I didnt call anyone names, ill argue with whoever I want and dont care if you like it, you must really like my posts since you read them all. Trust me dude we all know your the president of the Kyle Larson seat sniffer club but you argue with everyone who dosnt believe hes gods gift to motorsports. Mind your own damn business and dont worry about what i post.

You have no absolutely no class. 

I would be worried if you felt differently. You must not have any mirrors in your house because your incapable of seeing that all the things you call and say about other people are a reflection of you, you have proved time and again you have no class and yet your foolish enough to say it about someone else. Im sure Kyle would be proud to know your his #1 fan.

Sorry man, my bad, he must be vice president.

This is the last thing I'm ever going to say on here to you..ever. You are not worth any more of my time. To come on here after Mrs. Westbrook, who' s life, along with others, has been turned upside down by this tragedy - and try to argue with her on here....I honestly feel sorry for you. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you have no shame. 

To Mrs. Westbrook, John if you read this, I'm sorry. You have my sympathy,  my compassion, and my support. I'm sorry for the cards you have been dealt but I believe God has bigger plans for us all and I hope that John's best days lie ahead. God bless you and your family.

Driving home from work just now and thinking about what this board has become, I'm done. I have been no angel myself, but a small percentage of people ruin it for others. There are some people on here I like and respect alot...Vande, Canuklehead, and the California guys to name a few. I'm done.

BTW, my name is Jeff King. I live in Dayton, OH. (937) 269-3098. Saturdays I'm at Eldora,  Waynesfield, or Lawrenceburg, IN. 

Impossible to come up with a dumber argument than "Williams Grove (or any track) takes advantage of drivers." No one forced anyone to race, come on. 

God I hope you stick to your word and never say anything to me again, I didnt try to argue with Mrs. Westbrook, I was very respectful, I understand how horrible his injuries are and how their lives have been turned upside down, I just dont agree that Williamsgrove Speedway is the villain that uses and abuses drivers until they get injured or killed and then turns their back on the injured driver, thats simply not true. Maybe if this family can look at this in a different light they can make peace with the situation and stop trying to blame someone for this very unfortunate circumstance, is that somthing to be ashamed of? I dont think so. Why do you think anyone cares who YOU respect, who the hell are you? Come down of your high horse Jeff King, your just another bozo like me sharing your opinions on this forum, the difference is you truly beleive what you have to say is more important than everyone else. your wrong.