Sonoma Burn
{gallery}/articles/2022/sonoma-burn:290:193:1:2{/gallery}Aloha, Oregon, June 20, 2022 | On lap number five of the Sonoma Trans Am race last month, I felt some heat funneling in along my left hip. But when you drive a Viper, cockpit heat is normal feature. I have dealt with it for years. When you combine the heat of a 10-cylinder motor and side exhausts, you just learn to man up and tough it out with the heat. In fact, I even incorporate heat training into my workouts. Juggling in a sauna of 150- degrees for 30- minutes three times per week. I also have the best driver cooling system in the business from our friends at ChillOut Systems. If you want to see a picture of the burn, you can click here (warning, it's not pretty).
Anyway, I just put my head down and finished the race. It’s amazing how adrenaline certainly helps you overcome so many physical challenges. Walking up to the podium, I could feel something was wrong. But I just kept a smile on my face for the ceremonies and drank more of the champagne than normal which will turn out to be a good thing later. Within a couple of hours, a blister the size of a cantaloupe developed on my hip. Needless to say, the ten-hour drive back to Portland, Oregon from Sonoma wasn’t too fun.
Once home, I got medical treatment. So, for seven weeks, I have seen a wound/burn specialist for treatment three-times per week. During this time, I battled an infection and had to get the burn debridement. Yes, removing/scrapping the dead tissue from the burn. Pain was pretty intense. I have been so frustrated on how slowly burns heal. I had no experience with any types of burns before. And I have a whole new appreciation for anyone recovering from burns and getting back to their job.
The cause of the burn was a few cracks on the driver’s side exhaust system.
I only share my story so that people will learn. I was wearing all the top-notch safety Nomex and driver’s suit. I have the best crew in the business that give me a safe and fast bullet every weekend. So, things can still happen.
9 weeks later, I jumped back in the car for the first time. Had to grit my teeth a little bit the first time I slid into my seat. But from that point on, it was a back to business.