Andrew Nelson in stable condition after Sick Week accident

Wondering how Andrew and the whole Nelson family are doing.  Hoping for good news, understanding that this is not a priority right now.

https://youtu.be/qt8mmEJB2QA

In reply to wheels777 :

So good to see you posting here again!

Many prayers coming your way!!

In reply to wheels777 :

There is nothing better than seeing you upright and talking in that video!

Praise god!!

ftfy Andrew

In reply to wheels777 :

You've got mail. I sent you a PM through this board 

And we just got this from Andrew Nelson:

Feel free to use my accident to leverage more safety in the sport. I had all my gear on and my belts were tightened immediately before the pass. We have more inspection planned to prove our suspicions. Right now we have cause to suspect the block materials cut down the rear tire. The top end guy confirmed that the tire was poised then shot sideways in a flash. 

In reply to wheels777 :

Glad to see you vertical sir. Very glad. Here's to you healing quickly and fully!!

Colin Wood said:

And we just got this from Andrew Nelson:

Feel free to use my accident to leverage more safety in the sport. I had all my gear on and my belts were tightened immediately before the pass. We have more inspection planned to prove our suspicions. Right now we have cause to suspect the block materials cut down the rear tire. The top end guy confirmed that the tire was poised then shot sideways in a flash. 

I took two sessions to work through the video.  It gave me time to think about it some, and go back and grab this screen cap from the above video:

to me, this looks like:
- full "funny car cage" with padding around the head
- G Force full face helmet
- HANS tethers (device itself is hard to make out, but probably reasonable to assume its presence)
- Full Fire Suit & Gloves (Can't tell for sure, but it might be a 'single layer' GForce suit based on the color scheme?  {reasonable to assume SFI footwear?})
- Aluminum Fixed Back Seat, which looks to be "snug fit"
- 6 point belts, (amazingly the cellphone snap includes) showing "Dec 2024" cert date tag

Physical Impacts from the crash:
- Concussion
- Cracked L3 vertebrae
- Bruised Hip Bone (pointed at right side)
- 4 Broken Ribs
- Bruised (right) Lung
- Eye damage due to tumbling

I feel like having this stuff "front and center" and somewhat explicit will be helpful/useful w.r.t. PPE conversations and possible improvements;  as well as being up-front about the fact that I have limited information... and none of my comments w.r.t. this subject is intended to be 'picking at' the Nelsons.

Andrew, great to hear you are out of the hospital and back home!  Hope the rest of the recovery goes well.

I'm very glad to see you're still with us after that!  

New video with an update on the car:

Good to see Andrew walking around hands-free in the background there! I'd have to think that the rod had been weakened before the accident somehow. I imagine that losing ignition on that cylinder would decrease the odds of a rod failure if anything. There should be some obvious flat-spotting if the tires had locked up for more than a split second at that speed so a tire going flat from debris is more likely, keep an eye out for anything inside that tire with the hole...

GameboyRMH said:

 I imagine that losing ignition on that cylinder would decrease the odds of a rod failure if anything.

I'm guessing the concern was that gasoline isn't compressible as a liquid, so if they were driving it on the street with a lot of misfires, the gas was causing a larger load on the rod and piston during the compression stroke, especially if it wasn't all getting evacuated during the exhaust stroke, and more than a single cycle's worth could be in the cylinder.

is that where the laptop is normally tucked in for runs, or did it fly around inside the car and wind up stuck there?

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

IIRC. It started the run on the passenger seat.

eastsideTim said:

GameboyRMH said:

 I imagine that losing ignition on that cylinder would decrease the odds of a rod failure if anything.

I'm guessing the concern was that gasoline isn't compressible as a liquid, so if they were driving it on the street with a lot of misfires, the gas was causing a larger load on the rod and piston during the compression stroke, especially if it wasn't all getting evacuated during the exhaust stroke, and more than a single cycle's worth could be in the cylinder.

 The compression ratio of that engine is 9-1. That leaves a lot of space for  fuel to collect.    Calvin said  the injectors never went to 100% duty  cycle. Even if the exhaust valve was only open  during the exhaust stroke  and the intake valve never overlapped that's relatively a long time  to allow fuel out.    
 It is possible to hydraulic a cylinder  but  with  water instead of fuel.  Calvin said water pressure never went over 16 psi  indicating  that wasn't an issue.  
  It might be possible if he had been using methanol  to supplement the E85 but he wasn't. 
   I suspect Calvin is right,  in That the #2 cylinder  was  misfiring. Burning out the coil. 

In reply to GameboyRMH :

You have to respect Calvin and his father for being as open and forthcoming about all that happened.  
  They pointed out what went right and things they have to do to continue their hobby safely.  They took full responsibility and  are continuing with their  program. 
  It's a privilege to know them.    

I have had bad misfires on a big power car. Usually it will just seize due to lack of oiling. Would be hard pressed to think it bent a rod before the whole bottom end is full of fuel. Have had water do it, never fuel. 

Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:

I have had bad misfires on a big power car. Usually it will just seize due to lack of oiling. Would be hard pressed to think it bent a rod before the whole bottom end is full of fuel. Have had water do it, never fuel. 

I stand corrected.  Now I am even more curious about how misfires could relate to the #2 Rod being weakened, or if maybe it was just dumb luck.

I suspect the rod itself is more brittle than the thicker, "more robust" LS rods of the same powder cast steel. The LS rods will definitely bend in various directions before breaking. I do also believe that the rod may have "shrank" just a few thou causing the continued misfires, especially given that coils/plugs/data says it wasn't them.

In reply to Ranger50 :

Powder cast steel is stronger than cast Iron but not as strong as forgings.  
 With the long 4" stroke of the 4200 Atlas  that is some really fast piston speed .  Remember pistons have to come to a complete stop and change directions 4 times per power or even intake stroke. 

In reply to frenchyd :

4" stroke is not a long stroke, when you're swinging 4.5-4.75" stroke cranks around at 8500rpm, come prepared to talk piston speeds. 4" stroke at 7000rpm is only 4667 ft/s. Raise that to a 4.5" stroke and you're at 5250, which I wouldn't run with stock anything. I'd gladly run a "dump truck", aka max stroke for the biggest bore I can run for a given in^3, motor then to take less to just appease a calculated value. There is a reason NHRA capped the rpm limit in pro stock at 10500rpm....

It could easily be "wasn't strong enough." Our stock vr6 rods give up readily around the 900whp range, sometimes they just bend a hair, sometimes they take a walk. Just luck (good or bad) and time. At 700whp they last forever.

In reply to Ranger50 :

What engines  have 4.75 stroke at 8500 RPM?