Driver OK after airborne VW Golf crash

A video has been making the rounds online of a VW Golf flying off the race track and into the trees. So where was this, what happened, and is the driver OK? We found out.

The event was one of SCCA's Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tours, which is part of the club's U.S. Majors Tour. This series of races qualify drivers for SCCA's National Championship Runoffs, an amateur racing, winner-take-all event that, this year, takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late September.

This particular race involved mixed group racing including E Production, F Production, H Production, and GT-Lite, and took place on April 9, 2017, at Hallett Motor Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings, Okla.

The driver behind the wheel of the H Production-class VW Golf is Chris Albin. Albin is not new to racing; he obtained his SCCA competition license in 1992 and since then has, among other things, won the SCCA Atlanta Region's ARRC race in 1995, '98, and '99 in the ITB class, and has scored two Runoffs podium finishes driving a VW Golf, one in 2006 and the other in 2010. He's currently a member of SCCA's Board of Directors and, more importantly, he walked away from this incident unharmed.

So what happened? Quite simply, a sudden brake failure. "We struggle to find brake lines that will put up with the demands of this sport," Albin tells us. "These braided stainless lines are the best ones we've used, but still fail from time to time."

The brake line actually separated from the fitting at the caliper.

"Once the [brake] pedal went to the floor, I just tried to scrub speed, hoping that I could make an arc and maybe save it – obviously, that didn't work," he says.

Surprisingly, Albin thinks the racecar is mostly fixable. "All things considered, the car isn't that bad off," he says. "Some parts failed, but the hang time and trees absorbed most of the landing. The A-arms aren't even bent." In fact, his plan is to fix the car in time for the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour races at the Circuit of St. Louis on April 22-23.

Albin walking away unharmed isn't a surprise. SCCA has an approval process for all tracks that see wheel-to-wheel road racing, and that means all tracks must have appropriate runoff room and safety barriers. In addition, all racecars must have a full roll cage, race seat, harnesses and more, as well as pass safety inspections from licensed scruitneers. All drivers must be licensed for racing and wear racing suits, helmets, gloves, and an approved head and neck restraint. Safety isn't taken lightly within the SCCA, and incidents like this show the rules are there for a reason.
On top of all of this are SCCA's workers, who are trained to respond when accidents occur.

"SCCA's Flagging and Communications has guidelines in the manual and training for everyone who does it, and SCCA's emergency services and responders are trained to deal with situations like this," explains Eric Prill, SCCA's Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. Beyond his job, Prill is also a racer, and happens to be the one who was driving the F Production-class Mazda Miata that captured the best footage of the incident.

"What my video doesn't show is I was in a nose-to-tail battle with Sam Henry and we were coming up through the leaders of H Production," Prill says. "I passed Chris and I made the turn through the hairpin. The way the course goes, you have a sharp left turn with a jog to the right, and as I turned my head to the right, I caught a flash of yellow in my rear-view mirror. My eyes concentrated on the mirror, and I watched him go off the track, hit the tires, and go up in the air.
"My immediate thought was, 'Boy, I hope Chris is OK,'" says Prill. Then he admits, "My second thought was, 'I've got to pass Sam right now because this race is about to end.'"

As predicted, the race did come to an end, but not with a black or red flag. "The interesting thing is that not only was Chris OK, but there wasn't an issue on the course – Chris essentially left the perimeter of the course when he crossed the barriers," Prill explains. "We went full course yellow before we finished the lap, we circulated for [about] two laps and then they threw the checker, ending the race early."

Like Albin, Prill is also not new to SCCA road racing. Scoring six podium finishes at the last eight SCCA Runoffs, Prill is among the nation's fastest F Production racers.

So what are Prill's thoughts on something like this happening right behind him? "I saw it in the mirror, but I really didn't see how close he was to me," Prill says. "He got as close to me as he could while he was trying to scrub as much speed as he could, all without hitting me – I appreciate that.

"If someone's going to have a problem behind me, I'd prefer it to be someone experienced like Chris," Prill notes. "He has the ability to process that type of situation very quickly."