Watkins Glen double national - July 8-10th

blitzgt3":3k2raqpp said:
Very sorry to hear of Ken’s accident. I will keep him in my prayers tonight. If there is anyone that knows him personally, please let him know that I would be happy to talk to him.
john@johnmillsracing.com
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John - it was good to see you at Nelson - and to hear how much you knew about my car's history! Very kind of you to offer help as the voice of experience!

Ken Nesbit":3k2raqpp said:
Anybody hear any updates on how Ken's doing?
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Haven't heard anything. Not sure who would have info, altho I believe the Hunters are friends. Tom and I will be heading up to WG for vacation next week. If anyone hears of anything we can take north to help them out, or bring south to help them out when we come back, please let us know. In the meantime I'll see if I can track down Sheila and Bill to see if they have any news.
 
Ken and CBB,
Shelia and I have not heard any update. Barb's brother Johnny has our e-mail address to keep us updated. Shelia and I hope no news is good news.
 
As of this morning Ken is stable and still in the induced coma, Barb said this will probably not change until after the weekend.

Bryon Beiler
 
More from the Star Gazette on July 13:

"...Buchel suffered severe head and neck injuries in a first-lap crash in Saturday's Group 1 race and remained in guarded condition Wednesday at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Mike Toombs of Rochester, the event's registrar, visited the Buchel family at the hospital Monday. He said Buchel suffered several broken facial bones and a fractured skull and was in an induced coma at the time of the visit.

"He's been responding to commands to move things like his toes," Toombs said Wednesday, speaking of the times when doctors brought Buchel temporarily out of his coma. "They said Monday was the critical day for the brain swelling and he got through that OK, so I think things are looking encouraging."
 
Does anyone know if Ken was wearing a H&N restraint of any sort. This is just good info so we all know how to be as safe as possible. Having lost my brakes trying out some Carbotech pads repeatedly coming down the chute, it hits home even more how dangerous that section of track can be.
Chris
 
According to the Stewards, he was not wearing any H&N restraint system. Given that he has fractured facial bones, it would appear that his head struck something, probably the steering wheel. I would hope that the Safety Steward would have some more information that might be helpful to the rest of us. Does anyone know if accident reconstruction is done for an incident like this?
On Sunday when I blew a tire going into the Bus Stop I was slowing from 125 mph+. Scary to say the least and a strong reason to use all the protection available.
 
Bobby,
Yes, it had 1 qualifying, Saturdays race and 10 laps on Sunday. The car felt fine through the esses and down the straight. As I slowed for the bus stop, the car started to rotate to the right and it felt like I suddenly had huge stagger in the left rear. It then let go at the entrance to the bus stop causing me to spin. Appareently the entire tread section separated fron the sidewalls and was seen rolling down the track. The sidewalls were still seated on the rim even after limping back to the paddock. Hoosier has the remains of the sidewalls and I have been talking to them to see if anyone else has had a similar experience. The tire pressure started at 19 #'s and hot was 26 #'s in the paddock after Saturdays race. There was no indication I had low pressure and watching my video don't see anything on the track that might have punctured the tire. I will post if I get any more info from Hoosier.
 
I just talked to John Martin, Ken Buchel's brother-in-law, and got an update on Ken's condition. They removed the breathing tube on Friday and he started talking to the nurses and giving them a hard time. He does not remember the accident but he does know he drives a Honda. John said when he got there this weekend Ken shook his hand with a hard grip and tried to arm wrestle him. This is all good news but there is still a long road ahead and it will have ups and downs. More information as I recieve it.
 
zChris":j7bdur4z said:
Does anyone know if Ken was wearing a H&N restraint of any sort. This is just good info so we all know how to be as safe as possible. Having lost my brakes trying out some Carbotech pads repeatedly coming down the chute, it hits home even more how dangerous that section of track can be.
Chris
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Please guys get a full face helmet and a HANS. Speedcom sells them for $575 and they are well worth the cost compared to the things that can happen to you in a heavy crash. Its all good news that Ken is much better.
 
racerbob4":25ewdwl9 said:
zChris":25ewdwl9 said:
Does anyone know if Ken was wearing a H&N restraint of any sort. This is just good info so we all know how to be as safe as possible. Having lost my brakes trying out some Carbotech pads repeatedly coming down the chute, it hits home even more how dangerous that section of track can be.
Chris
Click to expand...


Please guys get a full face helmet and a HANS. Speedcom sells them for $575 and they are well worth the cost compared to the things that can happen to you in a heavy crash. Its all good news that Ken is much better.
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This was not a HEAVY CRASH.
 
Ken had a setback when an artery in his neck burst. He was operated on and it was repaired. Two days later he was operated on again to repair the other artery. The doctors knew the arteries were leaking but not bad enough to work on them at the time. He has the breathing tube back in again. This is information I got from his wife Barb. It is a week old. I should be talking to her tomorrow and will update his condition. Ken was not wearing a HANS and the doctor told his wife it would not have help in this case. The damage was due to the g-force his body went through. Barb did want to thank everyone for their prayers and kind thoughts. She wanted to also give thanks to the Glen Region and Finger Lakes Region for their help during these hard times.
 
Just received an update on Ken. Things are not going in his favor & we should all say a prayer to help him pull out of this.
 
I just got off the phone with John Martin, Ken's brother-in-law, and got the news that Ken slipped into a coma and the doctor's told his wife he has a 50 50 chance. We can only pray and hope for the best.
 
Oh jeez, Bill. Thanks for letting us know. Keeping him and his family in our prayers.
 
This was posted today on the EMRA website:

Sad News - Ken Buchel
August 8th, 2011

I'm sorry to inform everyone that Ken Buchel, longtime EMRA racer has passed away this morning, Monday August 8th 2011.

We will keep you informed as we receive additional information and details on arrangements. In the meantime, please keep his family in your thoughts and extend your support in any way you can.

http://www.emraracing.org/

RIP, Ken. :cry:
 
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