Don’t think you’ll wreck? Well, it happens, even to the most seasoned of veterans. Just ask Terry Fair. Terry walked us through what he did just after he crashed his LS-swapped Ford Mustang at the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge.
Also in the April issue, more tire tests, how we built a bulletproof transmission for our V6-swapped Miata, …
I have more experience than I'd like dealing with race track crashes but I'm still looking forward to the article.
You bring it home. Ignore it for awhile. Then start gathering parts and put it back together.
In my case, I couldn't stand to look at it's never-going-to-be-as-nice shell and wound up selling it so I'd never have to see it again.
My Big One (including the ambulance ride to infield care) happened the night Lady Diana perished. Of course that meant my first wife was still awake when I finally got home at 3:30 AM so I couldn't just quietly sneak it and think about it the next day. Or month.
In my case, let insurance deal with it and never see the car again 
It's almost been a year and I still haven't gotten back on track yet.
The answer to "you just crashed" could be anything from "Have Jeeves arrange to get it fixed for the next event" to "car stays out of commission for just about an entire racing season while you save up money to be able to fix it enough to get it back out of the shop before it gets snowed in, also you do a Challenge-style search for screamin' deals on replacement parts and plastic-weld your own headlights back into service"...hypothetically speaking.
To clarify, the story revolves around mainly the moments just after the crash. However, the minutes, hours, days, weeks and months after certainly are noteworthy, too.
I have crashed countless times racing motorcycles. Typically, you get up and get moving as quickly as possible and assess the damage to bike and body on the fly. Occasionally you aren't able to get moving quickly.
Many years ago I helped a buddy get started racing - his wife wasn't thrilled. One day he crashed and injured his ankle. I took him home and then an hour or so later his wife called me screaming that it was my fault and that I had to take him to the ER. When he crashed the following season and broke his collarbone I took him straight to the ER myself.
maschinenbau said:In my case, let insurance deal with it and never see the car again
I feel like the longer you wait, the less likely you will go back. Its easy to let fear win.
Motojunky said:I have crashed countless times racing motorcycles. Typically, you get up and get moving as quickly as possible and assess the damage to bike and body on the fly. Occasionally you aren't able to get moving quickly.
Many years ago I helped a buddy get started racing - his wife wasn't thrilled. One day he crashed and injured his ankle. I took him home and then an hour or so later his wife called me screaming that it was my fault and that I had to take him to the ER. When he crashed the following season and broke his collarbone I took him straight to the ER myself.
I'm hoping this is because he realized his wife was terrible and was no longer with her?
Marjorie Suddard said:Motojunky said:I have crashed countless times racing motorcycles. Typically, you get up and get moving as quickly as possible and assess the damage to bike and body on the fly. Occasionally you aren't able to get moving quickly.
Many years ago I helped a buddy get started racing - his wife wasn't thrilled. One day he crashed and injured his ankle. I took him home and then an hour or so later his wife called me screaming that it was my fault and that I had to take him to the ER. When he crashed the following season and broke his collarbone I took him straight to the ER myself.
I'm hoping this is because he realized his wife was terrible and was no longer with her?
They are still together 20+ years later. He hasn't raced anything since. :(
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