[Tim]

OK, Folks - Stupid Question Time

Are there certain injuries that a driver can experience while in competition that the track claims are not covered by their insurance? I ask because I was part of an experience last night that left me a bit confused. I was at a well-known Gulf Coast race facility helping a guy with his winged sprint car, racing with a well-known sanctioning body. During his heat, this driver happened to take a projectile to the eye, breaking the helmet, and busting his eye open just below the brow. He was a little dazed, but finished the heat race and returned to the pits. Some friends summoned the medical crew on site to administer first aid, but they were unable to completely stop the bleeding (actually more of a seep by then). The cut I saw looked like it was definitely going to need a few stitches to close. Anyway, the bleeding finally subsided enough for him to run the B main. After this race the bleeding returned, so he queried the track officials about going to the hospital to have the injury looked at and, according to him, track officials told him that this type of injury is not covered by their track insurance. Not having insurance of his own, he was forced to make the decision to close it up as best he could until he gets home.

Has anyone ever heard of any type of injury experienced by a driver in competition not being covered by the track insurance? Ordinarily, I wouldn't care about this enough to post the questions because the track and sanctioning body are for winged cars, but an off-shoot of this sanctioning body is running real (that is to say non-wing) sprint cars at this same facility next month and we were planning to compete. I do, however, have some concerns about whether or not my driver is covered under the track insurance. We are planning to get coverage through STIDA but, if I understand correctly, this is secondary coverage and STIDA recommends we make sure the track has $15K primary coverage.

Can someone help me understand which injuries are and are not covered by track insurance?

Tim Simmons

[Dave Rudisell]

Originally Posted by Tim OK, Folks - Stupid Question Time Are there certain injuries that a driver can experience while in competition that the track claims are not covered by their insurance? I ask because I was part of an experience last night that left me a bit confused. I was at a well-known Gulf Coast race facility helping a guy with his winged sprint car, racing with a well-known sanctioning body. During his heat, this driver happened to take a projectile to the eye, breaking the helmet, and busting his eye open just below the brow. He was a little dazed, but finished the heat race and returned to the pits. Some friends summoned the medical crew on site to administer first aid, but they were unable to completely stop the bleeding (actually more of a seep by then). The cut I saw looked like it was definitely going to need a few stitches to close. Anyway, the bleeding finally subsided enough for him to run the B main. After this race the bleeding returned, so he queried the track officials about going to the hospital to have the injury looked at and, according to him, track officials told him that this type of injury is not covered by their track insurance. Not having insurance of his own, he was forced to make the decision to close it up as best he could until he gets home. Has anyone ever heard of any type of injury experienced by a driver in competition not being covered by the track insurance? Ordinarily, I wouldn't care about this enough to post the questions because the track and sanctioning body are for winged cars, but an off-shoot of this sanctioning body is running real (that is to say non-wing) sprint cars at this same facility next month and we were planning to compete. I do, however, have some concerns about whether or not my driver is covered under the track insurance. We are planning to get coverage through STIDA but, if I understand correctly, this is secondary coverage and STIDA recommends we make sure the track has $15K primary coverage. Can someone help me understand which injuries are and are not covered by track insurance? Tim Simmons

Tim, I suggest they find out who their insurance provider is. Don't just take the word of the track, and get a hold of them directly. I have never heard of a coverage that would not cover that. The coverage i have will cover any type of injury.
Good luck, Dave

[Tim]

Mr. Rudisell,

Thanks for the reply. I was a little surprised by the track's response last night. I have another question. If the insurance provider is contacted, and the injury is, indeed, covered, can the driver make a claim after he leaves the track? Since this driver felt he had no options, he loaded up and went home. Is his claim now null and void?

I should also state that I was a bit disappointed with the sanctioning body officials and their reaction to this situation last night. They seemed to be indifferent. When I asked them about whether the track had insurance, they didn't seem to know. I was under the impression that this sanctioning body required the track to have insurance, with proof thereof. They were sure to tell me, however, that if the driver had been a registered member with the sanctioning organization, he would be covered under that.

Tim Simmons

[Dave Rudisell]

Originally Posted by Tim Mr. Rudisell, Thanks for the reply. I was a little surprised by the track's response last night. I have another question. If the insurance provider is contacted, and the injury is, indeed, covered, can the driver make a claim after he leaves the track? Since this driver felt he had no options, he loaded up and went home. Is his claim now null and void? I should also state that I was a bit disappointed with the sanctioning body officials and their reaction to this situation last night. They seemed to be indifferent. When I asked them about whether the track had insurance, they didn't seem to know. I was under the impression that this sanctioning body required the track to have insurance, with proof thereof. They were sure to tell me, however, that if the driver had been a registered member with the sanctioning organization, he would be covered under that. Tim Simmons

Tim, The coverage of that injury should be claimable for one year after the accident. As far as a sanction, it depends some carry insurance some require the tracks to carry coverage. Either way the track should always have insurance in addition to a visiting sanction. Hope this helps. Its not a bad idea for a racer to check with the track they race at to make sure they have insurance and check out their policys before racing there.
Hope this helps, Dave

[STIDA.com]

From what I am reading, Mr. Rudisell is correct. That injury should be covered. I would take his advice and contact the insurace carrier directly. It frustrates me that tracks and organizations spend the money for their insurance and then when someone gets hurt all of a sudden everyone has amnesia. If you have any questions or concerns I would be more than happy to speak with you. You can email me at stida22@aol.com or call 800-378-4608

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by Tim OK, Folks - Stupid Question Time Are there certain injuries that a driver can experience while in competition that the track claims are not covered by their insurance? I ask because I was part of an experience last night that left me a bit confused. I was at a well-known Gulf Coast race facility helping a guy with his winged sprint car, racing with a well-known sanctioning body. During his heat, this driver happened to take a projectile to the eye, breaking the helmet, and busting his eye open just below the brow. He was a little dazed, but finished the heat race and returned to the pits. Some friends summoned the medical crew on site to administer first aid, but they were unable to completely stop the bleeding (actually more of a seep by then). The cut I saw looked like it was definitely going to need a few stitches to close. Anyway, the bleeding finally subsided enough for him to run the B main. After this race the bleeding returned, so he queried the track officials about going to the hospital to have the injury looked at and, according to him, track officials told him that this type of injury is not covered by their track insurance. Not having insurance of his own, he was forced to make the decision to close it up as best he could until he gets home. Has anyone ever heard of any type of injury experienced by a driver in competition not being covered by the track insurance? Ordinarily, I wouldn't care about this enough to post the questions because the track and sanctioning body are for winged cars, but an off-shoot of this sanctioning body is running real (that is to say non-wing) sprint cars at this same facility next month and we were planning to compete. I do, however, have some concerns about whether or not my driver is covered under the track insurance. We are planning to get coverage through STIDA but, if I understand correctly, this is secondary coverage and STIDA recommends we make sure the track has $15K primary coverage. Can someone help me understand which injuries are and are not covered by track insurance? Tim Simmons

Tim,

Sounds like a rather scary situation. Why would anyone, track officials, sanctioning body, crew members, car owner, etc. let a driver with that type of injury continue to race? If it broke the helmet, did he have another helmet to wear during the B-main or did he use the same one? I realize that drivers want to race, but somehow this certainly doesn't sound very safe to me. JMO. Sorry about high jacking the thread.