JessN16 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) Chris Martin, this was in the same area of the road you and Becky nearly went off in... Originally posted on Jayski.com: --- Sad News - Rich Shafer: Richard R. Shafer, of Stockbridge, Ga., was pronounced dead at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga Saturday, Oct. 3 after being airlifted there from Jackson County, Ala., where he was involved in a single-car incident at the Crow Mountain Hill Climb, sanctioned by Sports Car Club of America's Tennessee Valley Region. He was 66. Witnesses reported that Shafer's modified Chevrolet Camaro left the road at the third corner of the course that was approximately two miles in length. He was initially conscious at the scene and transported via helicopter. He later succumbed to his injuries. Hill Climbs are one of the oldest forms of motorsports competition in the United States, and are set up on challenging pieces of road closed to public traffic. The course is marked with a start and a finish, with drivers trying to complete the course in the lowest possible time. Shafer was making his second run at the time of the incident.Known as "Mr. Cool Shirt," Shafer was the founder and CEO of Cool Shirt, a company that developed a cooling vest initially for surgeons in the operating room. The company later expanded its line of vests and shirts to cater to racecar drivers, football players, fire/emergency services/hazmat, military and industrial workers. "Rich Shafer was dedicated to making racers better and safer and his passing is a loss for the industry," SCCA President and CEO Jeff Dahnert said. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends." Shafer is survived by his wife, Eileen and their two children. Services will be held Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, 2165 Highway 138 SW, Riverdale, GA. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to that church in Shafer's name. The church has a web site at www.christourhope.org (SCCA), some of Cool Shirt customers include Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, part time NASCAR drivers Andy Pilgrim & Johnny O'Connell, Richmond International Raceway, Firefighters as well as the US Military.(10-9-2009) --- Jess **ON EDIT (since the topic got cut off): This was the route known as "Mountain 2" to the SQC guys. It's not the one that ended in Sewanee; it's the one that started off at the bottom of the hill on Jackson County Road 33 and ended up in Skyline near the Walls of Jericho. Edited October 9, 2009 by JessN16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilBoy Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 Man thats too bad...but atleast he went doing what he loved..I saw a special about his "cool shirts" being used in F1 and how effective they were especially in super hot climates it made a huge difference.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack_Morris Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 Man, that sucks. I know many racers the use the cool shirt while drag racing or road coursing and they said it's amazing how it reduces fatigue. My thoughts will be with his family and friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh '88 Posted October 9, 2009 Report Share Posted October 9, 2009 Is this the one with the 8 or 10 horseshoe curves, and where we came up on a bicyclist imitating Lance Armstrong? It is an awesome road to drive in a SQ, but I don't remember any guard rails on it. Very unforgiving if you make a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessN16 Posted October 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 Is this the one with the 8 or 10 horseshoe curves, and where we came up on a bicyclist imitating Lance Armstrong? It is an awesome road to drive in a SQ, but I don't remember any guard rails on it. Very unforgiving if you make a mistake. That's the one. Not a guardrail on the thing. And yeah, I think it was Jeff Hall that nearly flattened Lance. For those who have never seen this road, it was a collection of horseshoes and switchbacks, and was laid out like a neverending chain of letter "Z"s. You got up to about 30-60 mph depending on the turn, then slowing to 0-10 mph, doing a 180 and going back the other way. If you missed the turn, you were going off the brim of the mountain into a bunch of trees. Well, these hillclimb guys go 90-130 at the corners, take the corners at 30 and go back up the other way. I can't even fathom something moving that fast on this road. For those who have driven The Dragon, this road is shorter but the curves are about 2x to 3x as sharp. And some are banked off-radius. Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pure_insanity Posted October 10, 2009 Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 thats quite a trip for this guy to die. he lived in stockbridge which isnt far from me at all. i remember this road pretty well also, but mainly it was a touch more than im good for at speeds. i like it but i was content with the >than 30 mph thru the corners. jess, you know we need another scottsboro meet. or you are gonna have to put something together over your way maybe in the spring. it would be good to see you guys again. tell melena hello. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessN16 Posted October 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2009 (edited) thats quite a trip for this guy to die. he lived in stockbridge which isnt far from me at all. i remember this road pretty well also, but mainly it was a touch more than im good for at speeds. i like it but i was content with the >than 30 mph thru the corners. jess, you know we need another scottsboro meet. or you are gonna have to put something together over your way maybe in the spring. it would be good to see you guys again. tell melena hello. Where I live now doesn't have a lot of good roads... As for Scottsboro, Melena is trying to get me to do one (she made a scrapbook of all of us and gave it to me for Christmas -- it was a very nice thing, lots of memories). I doubt I'll be able to get one together this year, as I've just changed jobs (I left the newspaper industry and am now a financial advisor with Edward Jones). The two biggest reasons that keep me from doing it, though, are (1) my Starion is DOA, I can't fix it, and the Conquest can't handle that particular drive, and (2) we had some fairly significant drama the last couple of attempts at a meet there, in regards to reservations, discount room rates, etc., and some things that got back to me about what was said about the format of it. It started out as something fun to do, but it grew into something that more stress on me than it was fun. If we ever do it again, it'll be every man for himself on the rooms and dinner, and I will make it clear (if it wasn't already clear enough -- I assumed it was, but you know what they say about assumptions) that it is a DRIVING MEET and isn't all that easy on the cars. But I'm in no position to do anything at the moment. We miss you guys, too. Jess Edited October 10, 2009 by JessN16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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