[mccastle]

Fire damages NASCAR racing truck | ShreveportTimes | The Times

[Bob Tanner]

Unless there's something I've missed, this was miscalculation on the truck driver's part.

He probably hit a "gator" and pulled an air line. When this happens two thing immediate happen

• Air leaks and when it drops below around 75# the trailer brakes lock up

• When the air begins to leak, in a new tractor, you can immediately hear it, then the trailer brake handle will pop out.

The driver probably didn't want a breakdown along the Interstate and tried to nurse it to, if my guess is correct, the Pilot TS at the #24 stick. His brakes probably overheated and caught the grease or the tire on fire which spread to the trailer.

Driver error, unless I'm mistaken.

[mccastle]

Randy LaJoie was talking about this today on Sirius and someone called in and said that they were a owner/operater and was on a safety team that inspected tractor trailers and said he suspected those haulers carrying more weight on their axles than they are supposed to be. If I remember correctly he said something about needing to take off the caps and making sure the wheels are greased throughly. I am not automotive savvy so I may have just reported incorrectly.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by mccastle

Randy LaJoie was talking about this today on Sirius and someone called in and said that they were a owner/operater and was on a safety team that inspected tractor trailers and said he suspected those haulers carrying more weight on their axles than they are supposed to be. If I remember correctly he said something about needing to take off the caps and making sure the wheels are greased throughly. I am not automotive savvy so I may have just reported incorrectly.

The max weight they can have on the trailer tandems is 34,000 lbs. The same with the drives (rear tractor tandems) and 12,000 on the steers (front tires). These guys have to pull across the scales like any other truck unless they have EZ-Pass and then they sill sometimes have to. I doubt if weight was the problem

The axles running dry on grease is another story. But the report that the driver "ran over something" still makes me think he broke an air line and then tried to get it to a truck stop to park it for repair. Hot brakes are a common occurance on the road.

[Racer Duck]

not sure what this driver's status is in the team, but oftentimes on the smaller teams one of the "shop hands" is anointed driver or co-driver. that in no way disparages the talent nor quality of driving these guys (and gals) do, but when it isn't your full time job, sometimes there are small errors in judgment that a more experienced driver wouldn't make.

based on my own experience, I support Bob's hypothesis.

fyi: my son received such an anointment on Rich Bickle's team (he was their full-time mechanic and parts man!)

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

not sure what this driver's status is in the team, but oftentimes on the smaller teams one of the "shop hands" is anointed driver or co-driver. that in no way disparages the talent nor quality of driving these guys (and gals) do, but when it isn't your full time job, sometimes there are small errors in judgment that a more experienced driver wouldn't make.

based on my own experience, I support Bob's hypothesis.

fyi: my son received such an anointment on Rich Bickle's team (he was their full-time mechanic and parts man!)

I don't want to sling mud at these guys, either. Show me a professional driver who has never made a mistake and I'll show you a driver with an extremely short memory and an almost empty log book.

What I surmised is something I've seen happen probably a lot of times. But, the fact remains the driver had a Class A CDL (he better have had one, anyway!), and part of getting that license is knowing a rig's air brake system.

But, ca-ca do occur. Too bad this was such a semi-high profile accident.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Too bad this was such a semi-high profile accident.

.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Quality88

.

they (the Mikosukee team) were able to fix the backup truck (it received minor fire damage) and Kyle drove it to 2nd place in tonight's race after having lead the most laps (almost twice as many as any other driver.)

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

they (the Mikosukee team) were able to fix the backup truck (it received minor fire damage) and Kyle drove it to 2nd place in tonight's race after having lead the most laps (almost twice as many as any other driver.)

I was sayin in another thread that the tail of the backup must have only got singed, just speculation of course goin by where the vehicles are located on the trailer. The primary vehicle would have been toasted because it would be sittin right over the axles of the trailer where the fire would have been at the most. Would this be a pretty good assumption since it was the brakes that caught fire on the trailer?

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Quality88

I was sayin in another thread that the tail of the backup must have only got singed, just speculation of course goin by where the vehicles are located on the trailer. The primary vehicle would have been toasted because it would be sittin right over the axles of the trailer where the fire would have been at the most. Would this be a pretty good assumption since it was the brakes that caught fire on the trailer?

I've never pulled a Featherlite trailer, Dustin but my guess is that the tandem axles (they're fixed on a Featherlite) is around 40 -45 feet from the kingpin (the pin that connects the trailer to the tractor). This would put the tandem (brakes) about 13 - 8 feet from the rear trailer doors. I'm not sure how the trucks are secured in the trailer but it seems to me that one would be about in the middle of the trailer and the other right behind it.

One of these evenings, I'm going to take the time to look in a hauler, here in Mobile, and see just how the layout is.

My guess is that unless some flammables (illegally stored) inside the trailer caught fire, the only damage the trucks suffered was cosmetic smoke damage.

But, all this is just an educated guess. I wasn't there and admittly am in the dark of the particulars.