IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

July 29, 2007 TBARA FIRE CREW TRAINED AND READY By Bill Green The turning point came in 2004 at DeSoto Super Speedway. Matt Mercer’s car had hit the wall hard, causing his engine to pump oil onto a resulting fire. As the volunteer safety crew, dressed in street clothes, fought the fire, the track fire crew pulled a dazed Mercer out of the car. Mercer has since recovered from the second- and third-degree burns he sustained to his arms and was back racing after four months. But the incident prompted Tampa Bay Area Racing Association members to request the safety crew get better training and fireproof clothing so it could better handle such situations. While crew members are still volunteers, they are now trained volunteers, giving the TBARA something no other Florida sprint car series has � a full time traveling fire and rescue crew. Anchored by Steve Hensley, 49, of Kissimmee and his 25 years of experience, this crew sports two female crash/rescue responders and drivers consider them to be their trackside guardian angles. “Every time you get caught up in a wreck on the track, the first face you will see in the car with you will be Jennifer or Heather,” said rookie contender D.J. Hoelzle of Tampa. “They don’t wait for a ride to the scene of the accident. You'll see them sprinting across the infield in the direction of the problem before all the cars are even slowed down.” Jennifer Butler, 34 of Riverview, is a clothing store manager and Heather Rehm, 24 of Brandon, is a mail order pharmaceutical tech, but both have a vested interest in the TBARA events. They grew up going to almost every event because their dad is the current and long standing president of the TBARA, Don Rehm. Jennifer took it one step further when she married TBARA sprint car driver and past champion Keith Butler six years ago. But both of these women have been at the track responding to crashes for some seven years, the past three as trained professionals. “Getting into the rescue class that Kevin Hull teaches, was the best thing we ever did,” said Jennifer Butler. “They taught us everything from track clean up, right up to cutting racers out of cars and even live fire situations.” The course she’s referring are given in February, May and November in Largo by Motorsports Rescue instructors, lead by Hull. The two-day, 16-hour course is one of the country’s most attended comprehensive motorsports-based rescue and safety courses. “We train people from everywhere, not any one group or sanctioning body,” said Hull, who has been teaching fire rescue for 12 years. “We first went to training given by several sanctioning bodies; IRL, NASCAR, NHRA and we even consulted with Craig Clarke of Track Rescue [which represents every volunteer fire crew at local tracks around the country]. So our course is now recognized as one of the best in the country.” --Advertisement-- The TBARA took the training and knowledge and applied it to their two specialty vehicles. One is a specially equipped CJ7 Jeep; the other is a one of a kind pick-up truck provided by Hensley. Together these vehicles have some 13 fire bottles, several medical kits, plus several cutting, spreading and sawing power units. Not to mention that all members of the fire/rescue crew and the other race officials are on an updated multi-channel radio system to insure clear and concise emergency communications. At DeSoto Super Speedway stop two weekends ago, there was only one incident on the track, but Jennifer and Heather were there in 15 seconds, one checking on the driver and the other directing the other sprints away from the stationery car high on the track. That time there were no life threatening emergencies, only the procedures of returning the car to the lineup, but they never take anything for granted. “There have been too many strange things happen over the years for us to relax anytime the cars are at full speed.” Heather said. “We do not relax until the cars are in the pits and on the trailers.” Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on The Real Racin USA Florida Fan Message Board! or Email KARNACto send a letter to the editor!