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Yes. It was an RX8.

You're absolutely right. Later on, I started having HPDE students drop two or even four wheels off the track in a corner where it was relatively safe to, just so they experienced it in a controlled manner.

You drop a wheel off with any kind of side load on and you’re going to hook.

I learned to ride curbs, when appropriate, much better eventually. Though you're right, there are some at Road America you want to stay off. I've heard stories of the gators on the runoff at turn 5 setting off airbags.

@@Formaldehydex it wasn’t really about…chasing faster drivers, though. I beat myself that day, competing in TT, not being consistent. I got another car, learned a lot, went much faster, and won frequently without drama.

@@owensnicholas So you are “competing” without any of the essential safety equipment? How outrageously stupid…

@@owensnicholasBTW you nearly lost control on the preceding corner as well. You were clearly driving way over your ability level.

@@Formaldehydex I mean, are you just here to tell me I suck? Cool, message received. I gave a pretty clear explanation in the description. I made big mistakes and I learned from them. I shared it so others can, too.

Speaking of talent, why don't you take some time and improve your ability to talk to strangers. The amount of straight up rude behavior in these amateur racing videos is ridiculous.

@@immunity4soul oh, this was years ago. I bought a caged RX8 after this car and had a ton of fun in NASA TT.

@@owensnicholas glad to hear you back out there. I am looking to go out to autobahn for some track time. Picked ip an 86. It looked like the rear end washed out on you when you were on the rumble strip. You got on the throttle before the apex and pushed all the way to the edge of that rumble and you got crossed up. Part of the game, rx8 is a great chassis to work with. Keep it up.

Thanks for your input. The corner immediately following the kink is tight and greater than 90deg. I see what you mean about the similarities, but you had a corner with some margin. I didn’t, because I didn’t leave myself any and the corner is very tight.

@@ingocernohorsky yes. Autobahn Country Club is in Joliet, IL. It wasn’t my favorite track to visit, even before I destroyed a car there.

@@johncowie3092 and yet you watched and commented.

How fast was the car going, @johncowie3092? How fast are you normally going through there?

Right? I did have to be towed from that track once, when I had some wires melt on the exhaust. But I had a tow vehicle and trailer by this point.

@@owensnicholas do you still run the track? thinking of coming out there with my new to me car.

@@c.j2527 I do not, sadly. I sold the race car and moved to the mountains. If you want to get out on track, and you’re in the Midwest, check out NASA. Best instruction out there.

Man, I don’t know. It was six years ago. I could probably look up the results from that event, but it would take a while. I admit I wasn’t actually very fast yet. I had a lot to learn, and went much, much faster more safely later on in a different RX8.

I do think that corner should have a paved runoff on the outside. But the big dip was something I never should have hit to begin with. I should have seen it when I walked the track, and I shouldn't have hit the apex before that so early. I did all of that myself.

@@owensnicholas at least you have a cool story to tell AND didn't harm yourself (as far as I can tell) =)

This was not a front wheel drive car.

The car had a very nice roll bar in it. I have little doubt that it saved me from injury, especially since my seat broke in that crash.

Thanks for the comment. You're absolutely right. I learned a lot from that crash, and the one before it. I wish I didn't need such expensive lessons, but there we have it.

@@owensnicholas that's life my man, live to fight another day. Stay safe.

And it was.

The lesson I learned here is to be cautious around people I don't know. This event combined a couple of NASA regions, so there were drivers I didn't know. Yes, that driver went through that corner way slower than I would have expected. But I should have been prepared for it. I was competing, so backing off in case that driver did something unexpected wasn't my first priority. As I said, lesson learned. Thanks for the question and stay safe. :)

Oh no. Even worse. This was a warm-up lap. I learned a valuable lesson that day.

I count seven!

And then you wasted even more commenting.

Now everyone knows your an a hole. If you were any kind of driver you'd know that you can learn something from anything.

Yeah, I got frustrated in the heat of competition. Live and learn, and thankfully I was able to get back on track with another car. Thanks for the comment. :)

Thank you for the kind words, Alex. I hadn't actually seen this video in a few years, so thank you for the walk down memory lane. I became a MUCH better driver in the couple years that followed...until the pandemic hit and I skipped all last season. I'd be happy to share some stories over a drink some day. I love Road America so much. I hope that I get to go back there soon.

I made a very rookie mistake of hitting the corner early, trying to go faster. It's very common, and now I spend a lot of time right-seat, trying to help others avoid doing the same thing. :)

Paul Tracy had a big off there in a Champ Car there around 2004. Spun to the right, just like this gentleman, and hit the tire barrier in front of the old bleachers by 14 hard.

Mark Patterson Thanks. I have a new appreciation for what can go wrong at that turn!

Seen lots of spins at 13 through the years. This is a very common mistake, the other is trying to get a big run into 14 and dropping a wheel off on exit of 13. Point is, I think anyone could make this mistake. I try to keep it off the curb on the apex here.

@@keegles1 Just got back from Road America a week ago. I took the curb on 13 and then used some of the access road on exit. Learned I need to hurry back left for entry into turn 14. I have seen more offs on turn 14 than 13.

The car was on R888Rs. It had coilovers and...that’s largely it. Actually, my channel has another video of what happened to me the next day in that car. I’ve done a 2:01.0 in my current RX8 on R7s, but it’s been a year and a half since I last went to Pitt. I’ve learned a ton. I’ll be much faster next time I go. Have a great time. Pitt is an excellent track. But be careful!

Thanks, I've been there several times and it's a blast. I've seen your crash video before, it's the primary reason my butt puckers as I roll through the kink. I ran last year on Koni yellows and crappy Indy 500s, not much else so i feel like I'm not far off. Just finished putting in RB springs and sway bars and got better tires coming. Maybe someday I'll convince my wife to let me gut her and setup like a NASA TT5 car. Appreciate the response! th-cam.com/video/O1O34dm8H2c/w-d-xo.html

I instruct for NASA Great Lakes. I felt strongly that I had to share it so more could learn from my mistakes. Actually, I should edit my description on the video to better explain what happened, instead of making excuses about 'trying too hard.' Description edited to make with the learning and the sharing.

I think I made the same mistake that can be seen in my roll at Autobahn, roughly a year and a half later. I hit the apex early, tried to cut the corner, and had too much steering angle to try to force the car to turn. This has been a difficult and expensive habit for me to change. In both cases, the car oversteered and went backwards into the inside wall. In this case, it wasn't so bad. In the other, I destroyed the car.

@@owensnicholas Glad you are ok

There's a little bump right at the apex of 13 so I try to avoid getting too close to the curbs there. Good save, hopefully damage was minimal

@@owensnicholas Its hard to see for sure but it looks like you were on cold tires, but more importantly it looks like there was no counter-steer early into the slide. It looked like the nose was still moving/pointing left when the rear was moving right.

@@dc5769 there's so much to unpack in this one crash. I was inexperienced and over-eager. I didn't know how to build speed safely. Thanks for your comment. :)

We had three car-destroying accidents in the same corner that weekend. I do wish ABCC would put some paved runoff or a big gator there.

No need to be out that far. If you are, you turned in to early for S5…

Believe me, this very thought has occurred to me.

@@owensnicholas I have been itching to import an r32 for the last week. I need to stop watching grand tour, top gear and these track videos.

@@danlatu209 Yeah, you've got the right idea with drone racing. Stick to that. Much better for your health and wallet.

@@ivochicr1 Engaging in a contest of speed? It is an organized sport with cash payouts. www.multigp.com It is both challenging and fun. Besides, I got out of racing turtles in my area, too many people were cheating.

Thank you! I am, too! 2018 went much better with my new car. No crashes!

@@owensnicholas nice. Ill be at autobahn this sun for tsscc track event.

What car will you be running? And good luck

@@fatoputso7375 I bought an already-prepared RX-8 race car with a bad engine to replace this one. I ran it all season, missing out on the NASA Great Lakes TT5 regional championship by only five points out of nearly 1,300.

A local shop called Scram Speed built it from scratch. They did a fabulous job and built it way, way beyond minimum requirements. www.scramspeed.com/

The upside-down tantrum came after I cut the video. I have it, but I’ve actually never watched it. I have some memory of hanging upside down screaming.

Yeah, it's a good car. Great to drive. :)