During the second night of racing for Chris Trimino at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Arizona, he flipped his car. The incident occurred during the Western States Dwarf Car Association (WSDCA) feature.
As Trimino took the white flag, he saw the No. 48e of Trent Morley on the inside and the No. 16r of Joey Lingron on the outside, racing side by side, in front of him.
“They were racing each other hard, and I felt I could get past them on the last lap and finish solidly in the top 10,” said Trimino, of Phoenix, Arizona. “I got a great run on them down the backstretch and drove under them as we entered turn three. I got inside the No. 48e, and when I got to his left-rear tire, he started to spin.”
Trimino’s right-front tire made contact with the left side of the Morley’s car. The impact straightened out Morley’s ride, but Trimino’s momentum kept his car up against the No. 48e. Then, Trimino’s right-front tire climbed over Morley’s left-front tire, which launched Trimino into the sky.
“I knew it was coming,” Trimino said. “The flips seemed to be in slow motion. It took forever before I stopped.”
The car incurred damage only to bolt-on components.
“I measured the frame and it’s not bent,” said Trimino. “I’ll strip it down to the bare chassis, look for cracks in the welds, and then start bolting everything back on.”
Trimino exited the wreck without serious injuries. He sat in a full-containment seat from Ultra Shield Race Products, with Simpson belts. He wore a NecksGen head-and-neck restraint, with a Bell Dominator helmet.
Trimino was especially thankful for the reinforced steel floor pan on the chassis from Double Diamond Chassis, of North Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I landed on top of the turn three wall, flat on the floor pan, right under my feet,” Trimino said.
Luckily, Trimino mounted the seat directly to the frame instead of to the floor plan as some racers mistakenly do. He sent the belts back to Simpson for inspection. Many seat belt manufacturers recommend doing so — or discarding them — after a bad wreck.
Even though Trimino felt his safety equipment performed up to his expectations, he purchased an upgrade based on this crash.
“I called Scott Coffman at Pace Chassis and ordered the CASM,” Trimino said.
CASM — Compression Absorbing Seat Mount —will hit the market later this month. It consists of a four-piston seat mounting system that lessens the impact on the driver’s spine during rollovers.
Undeterred, Chris Trimino looks forward to continuing his quest for the WSDCA championship.
“I hope to run a few local shows in the Phoenix area before the next WSDCA event March 26th at Mojave Valley Speedway [in Arizona],” said Trimino.
The Outside Groove contributor was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania. These days Schnars calls California home. Since 2014, he has covered races in California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and anywhere else his Harley takes him.
