The rule book at our local racetrack reads: "All cars MUST have an approved fire extinguisher securely mounted within reach of the driver." I never really thought about it much, but that's kind of vague don't you think? I mean, what do they mean by "approved" and exactly who does the "approving?" The truth is many rulebooks at tracks around the country are pretty vague when it comes to fire extinguishers. So, once again when it comes to safety it's up to us, the drivers, to do all we can to protect our ass-ets.
If there is one thing that all race car drivers fear it's fire. But a good fire-suppression system can help you avoid an inferno like this. Despite the severity of the fire, this driver walked away thanks to a quick-acting safety crew. Courtesy Lake Erie Speedway
While the old fire extinguisher I had in Project DLM conformed to rules written in the rulebook, we wanted to go to the next level and install a fire-suppression system that would provide the maximum protection for a reasonable cost. We purposely steered clear of the NASCAR Sprint Cup-level systems since we don't have their budgets and opted for the Firecharger two-nozzle system from Smiley's Racing Products. Smiley's sells this system for $299. I thought the coolest thing about it was the fact that the design allows it to be recharged in the field by someone with basic mechanical skills and tools, which covers just about every last one of us oval track racers. So you could have an issue in hot laps, discharge it, pull back into the pits, recharge it and still make the heat race.
Installing this system is easier and takes far less time if you have two people working on it. So I enlisted my dad to give me a hand. Truth is, I really don't think I'd want to try to install one of these by myself and you'll see why shortly. At a couple of points in the installation you really need four hands to get the job done. Enough talk, let's get to it. This is a five-pound system and basically comes with everything you need to get it put into place.
