In a split second, Jimmy Hebert went from receiving the green flag to finding himself smack dab in the middle of a pileup at Thunder Road Speedbowl.
The crash eliminated seven cars among the 31 that started the second 50-lap segment of the American-Canadian Tour feature. Another 12 incurred collateral damage.
“It happened so fast — I only remember excerpts of crash,” Hebert, of Williamstown, Vermont, said. “I got turned toward the wall. I hit it head on. Sheet metal was flying everywhere. I felt my car being hit, lifted, and then everything came to a stop. I was so twisted up — but I knew I had to get out.”
Hebert started the second segment in 16th. When they took the green, two cars tangled in the second row, causing an accordion effect through the rest of the field. Scott Dragon’s car landed on top of Hebert’s, Brian Hoar’s below the two.
Hebert’s father, Larry, watched the incident unfold from the spotter’s stand.
“My biggest fear was fire,” said Larry. “I knew my son was not in a good spot. I yelled for him to get out of the car.”
The crash had sheared off Jimmy’s antenna. He heard his father’s radio transmissions in broken pieces.
“I was realizing the severity of the situation I was in,” Jimmy said. “Scott [Dragon’s] transmission was in my face. I could have changed his oil — the drain plug was poking through my window net.
Jimmy saw a pinkish-purplish fluid leaking. While later he realized the fluid was from a cooling system additive, at the time he feared the worst–gasoline.
“I couldn’t get out the driver’s side,” said Jimmy. “The fiberglass roof pushed down on my cage. I knew I had to try to get out on the passenger side of the car, sliding through the mangled tinwork.”
His fellow competitor Brian Hoar helped him from the wreckage.
“[Brian] was worried about fire, too,” Jimmy said. “I am so thankful that he pulled me through the passenger window. When Brian pulled me out of the car, I thought I was stepping on the ground, not onto the dash of his car.”
Jimmy emerged from the wreck not hurt. He sat in a Kenny’s Components carbon-fiber, full-containment seat paired with a Schroth five-point harness. Jimmy wore a Stilo carbon-fiber helmet and a HANS device.
“I bought carbon fiber products because I felt they would be a lot stronger than aluminum or composite materials,” said Jimmy. “I’m happy with that decision.”
His chassis, built by Dale Shaw Racecars, will require some work.
“My car needs all of the body panels, all of the supports, a front clip and all of the suspension parts” Jimmy said. “We think the rear clip is good. There were no dings, dents or kinks to the halo or the cage, despite a head-on hit into the wall — a testament to Dale Shaw Racecars.”
After the race ended, Jimmy Hebert visited Brian Hoar in the pits.
“He was still pretty shaken up after the crash,” said Jimmy. “I thanked him. I told him there aren’t many people like him who would risk their life and dive in despite the danger of fire, just to help someone like me get safely out of my car.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
