A Very Big Thank You

[dcarter]

I would like to say a very BIG THANK YOU to mike kuzura and his wife mitize. As most of you know matt had a very bad crash at stel city this weekend and had to be med-flighted to the hospital. I flew with matt to the hospital, after the tests were run and we found out he was going to be okay, first i finally toke a breath. After his head cleared a little he wanted his phone and some clothes. I called kevin and told him about the wreak, he talked to mike on the phone and mike called me. Mike and his wife got in there car and drove an hour to pick me up and take me back to the track so i could gather up some things and get a car. I can not begin to tell you how much that ment to me, i know i was a wreck and they ARE THE BEST in my book. They printed me off directions to the hospital and took great care of me. Mike you and your wife are the best in my book, what you have done i will never forget and i will be forever in your dept.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! DAVE
p,s, i would like to think the restrelli family for giving me there rental car to drive back and forth. also to the harness family for all there help, michell was there with matt when i got to him, thanks for all your help. and kevin for making the call to mike. this shows me how much every one in this sport really cares and comes together when something like this happens. thanks all dave

[BradLoomis]

Matt can no longer test any of our carbon fiber parts! He is making an old man of me... and I am on the other side of the country.

Thanx for calling and giving me the heads up on his condition! I would rather hear it from you, than the internet.

[mcwilly]

eh, Mike's ok. :p
Good to see the atv community helping each other out once again.
Glad to hear Matt's alright.

[Coley'sdad#8]

Dave, I knew something had happened when I checked the results this morn @ work, I am glad Matt is going to be okay even though you got some more grey hairs from it:rolleyes:
Brad, you need to start designing a clear carbon fiber bubble to fit on Matt's quad:D

[STOCKRACING917]

Sorry to hear that but glad he is ok. !!!!!
Get well quick !!

[Nichols Atvs]

Glad hes ok.

[quadnana7]

Dave
We watched the wreck as it happened and knew it was bad. Gary,myself, my son and daughter-in-law immediately formed a circle and started praying and then we called our Pastor and had Matt being prayed for. My heart goes out to you and your family. I know prayers make miracles happen. So glad Matt is doing okay look forward to seeing him back on the track
As for as the Kozura family goes Mike and Missy are fantastic people always there to lend a helping hand.
The racing families are the best they may be the biggest competitors on the track but always there to help.
I want to also thank you for everything you have done for me I really appreciate it.

[mxdad423]

Dave, my heart hit my stomach when you called me an told me what had happened to Matt, I think of both of your boys as if they were my own, they are both great kids, (young adults), even thought Matt likes to adgitate me, LOL...I was so glad to hear that he was OK, I was worried sick till I heard back from you, along with Brandon's crash on Sat. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. I wish I could of been the one to come get you but with us being at the races, it was alot quicker to have Mike come get you, it would of been a good 5 hours or so before I could of got there. Mike was more than happy to help out when I called him, Mike and Missy are great people, he** there like family to me just as you guys are. Tell Matt to listen to the Doc and don't try to come back to soon, it's not worth it.

Kevin Smitley

[Logan #34's Dad]

Hey Dave, We are glad to here he is doing okay. I had asked around that day to a couple of kids that I knew, knew you,and Matt and they said he was going to be okay.
As for Mike, He is a good man - a little loud - but hey. I'm sure you had a good time in the car. I'd be willing to bet that he took your mind off of things for a minute or two with his sense of humor.

[thequadfather+2]

"He is a good man - a little loud - but hey"

Hey Rocky, the first time I met you was at pell City...I thought there was gonna be a smack down when the officials told everyone they weren't letting us hit the up-hill jump.....:eek2: :D

I just kept thinking...oh crap these people are serious! I'll just stand over here with my hands in my pockets and do what i'm told...:)

Needless to say the kids hit the up-hill jump. Thanks Rocky.

Glad to hear Matt was OK. Maybe when everything settles down Dave can tell us about his ride in the helicopter.

[Logan #34's Dad]

Originally posted by thequadfather+2
"He is a good man - a little loud - but hey"

Hey Rocky, the first time I met you was at pell City...I thought there was gonna be a smack down when the officials told everyone they weren't letting us hit the up-hill jump.....:eek2: :D

I just kept thinking...oh crap these people are serious! I'll just stand over here with my hands in my pockets and do what i'm told...:)

Needless to say the kids hit the up-hill jump. Thanks Rocky.


LOL! I'm just one of those fellas that speak my mind. Sometimes it gets me in hot water but.........
I usually say what most ppl are thinking but don't have the stones to say it outloud. LOL
I'm seeking thearapy - hehe
What upset me the most about that was they had practiced the whole track then they wanted to change it right before the race.

[Coley'sdad#8]

Bruce, I know Dave likes high tech gadgets and gizmos and I can only imagine him looking at all the cool stuff in that copter thinking wow I could make one of those:D heck he may want to get his own copter now:eek:

[dcarter]

the flight crew and pilot were great! once we got in the air they told me that matt was talking and responding well, i could finially breath. the heliocopter was cool, i looked down and we were flying at 120 knots. the dash looked like a video game with gps tracking and a lot of things giving the pilot feed back. pittsburgh is cool from the air.
as for matt he is still really sore, we have a doctor's appt. next week to see when he can ride again. All of you know how much i love this sport, but this is the second time one of my kids has been knocked out. josh did it a few years ago at a tt race. I told matt last night that i had no more rides like that left in me. I can not take that anymore.
Okay parents here is the deal. STOP PUSHING YOUR KIDS TO DO SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT READY FOR!!!!! If they do not feal like they can do a jump, do not push them! if they run at the back of the pack, tell them they did a good job!
matt told me friday he did not like that section of track, i told him if he did not like the track what are we doing here, we could have stayed home and rode localy. then saturday he toke his new bike with baldwin power and pulled the hole shot. when he got to that section of track he thought he had to do it.
ENTER NEW NO.1 RULE IN DC RIG, if you do not fell safe doing a jump or you do not do it in pratice, then YOU DO NOT DO IT IN THE RACE PERIOD!!!!!! it is easy to get caught up in racing and push kids to far to fast, so please parents, do not push your kids!
thanks again to mike and his wife, they are great. dave

[Coley'sdad#8]

I agree 100% Dave, we have all been guilty of it at one point in time and usually regretted it. I respect Coley's decision on what to jump or not and I will just ask him what is wrong if he is not riding a section how I think it should be ridden, usually he will have a good reason. Some of the reasons , bad rut throwing quad sideways, suspension hard or soft ect. usually helps to just talk to him and ask whats wrong so it helps me set the bike up to suit him NOT ME:eek2: . Gotta remember that is my best friend on that bike and he is 62# managing a quad that is 200 sumpthing pounds for a piece of plastic prize:confused:

[JAG Motosports]

Three years ago we did our first national and Jordan got a first and a second at Pell City. I was pumped...my kid was the fastest kid on the planet. The next race was in Kentucky was my son was going to dominate. Well when we got there Jordan didn't like the track and wasn't riding as fast as I wanted. I proceeded to tell him we didn't drive a 1000 miles for him to not ride hard and he will do better. It's the first and last time I let my "dad ego" take over. He went out and rode harder up untill he broke his arm and leg in a crash. I felt like a total piece of *hit. Never again have I told him to ride harder or do a certain jump...it's about them not us.

And Dave I'm really glad Matt's OK

[thequadfather+2]

Glad to hear your experience with the flight crew went well. I am a flight Paramedic on a helicopter and I was curious what you thought about the flight. I know you had other things on your mind but in most cases family members are not allowed to go. Mostly it's a gross weight issue or the flight programs policy.

Do you know what kind of aircraft it was? From your description it sounded like you sat in the left front seat where a co-pilot would normally sit. 120 knots and enough power to carry extra passengers sounds like a BK117 or EC135. Did it rattle and shake like a tank when you got ready to land?

Sorry for all the questions I was just curious about what you thought. Those crews are truly the best of the best and he was obviously in good hands. Thats how I would want my kids treated, put them in a helicopter and get them to the nearest level 1 Trauma Center. Better safe than sorry when time is the enemy, the initial emergency care and the time to definitive care are the 2 biggest factors impacting patients.

Your advice about pushing them on the track is dead on.....Thanks.

[dcarter]

hey good to here there are people in that line of work on here. When i explained to the flight paramedic that i was 17hours from home and had no idea where the hospital was and any way to get there, not to mention the fact that if i did not get on that chopper that my wife and ex-wife would kill me he went and talked to the pilot. The pilot made the call to leave the co-pilot behind so i could go. then he had to go back and pick him up.
THEY WERE THE BEST! i really mean it. the pilot talked to me and the crew keep me informed on how he was doing the whole 13 minute ride. it seemed a lot longer than that.
when we got to upms hospital they were great. a case manager came right out and telked to me. she said that they were taking him back for tests and she would be back in about thirty minutes. Now my wife is a case manager and i know how things work there, but in about thiry minutes she came back and said all the test's were good and i could come back and see him. that was great!!!
the heliocopter was sort of small when in flight it shuttered up and down i do not know if it was thermal updrafts or that is just the way it is. it was a very cool ride and i want to fly one of those things one of these days!
matt is doing better today, a little sore from the a&* chewing last night about being safe, but i am very serious about being safe and only doing what you can do safely. I think he got the point. dc

[thequadfather+2]

Awesome Dave, Thats cool. All of them seem small on the inside. The bumpy ride was probably thermals or wind gust because normally it would be smoothe sailing with just a slight vibration. Usually when the aircraft starts to slow down (for landing) it goes through transition as it bleeds off airspeed and the pilot changes the rotor pitch. The helicopter will begin to vibrate and shake for a few seconds as it goes into a hover. That usually scares people.

Good luck and hope he's back soon.

[raidernut]

Originally posted by dcarter
the flight crew and pilot were great! once we got in the air they told me that matt was talking and responding well, i could finially breath. the heliocopter was cool, i looked down and we were flying at 120 knots. the dash looked like a video game with gps tracking and a lot of things giving the pilot feed back. pittsburgh is cool from the air.
as for matt he is still really sore, we have a doctor's appt. next week to see when he can ride again. All of you know how much i love this sport, but this is the second time one of my kids has been knocked out. josh did it a few years ago at a tt race. I told matt last night that i had no more rides like that left in me. I can not take that anymore.
Okay parents here is the deal. STOP PUSHING YOUR KIDS TO DO SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT READY FOR!!!!! If they do not feal like they can do a jump, do not push them! if they run at the back of the pack, tell them they did a good job!
matt told me friday he did not like that section of track, i told him if he did not like the track what are we doing here, we could have stayed home and rode localy. then saturday he toke his new bike with baldwin power and pulled the hole shot. when he got to that section of track he thought he had to do it.
ENTER NEW NO.1 RULE IN DC RIG, if you do not fell safe doing a jump or you do not do it in pratice, then YOU DO NOT DO IT IN THE RACE PERIOD!!!!!! it is easy to get caught up in racing and push kids to far to fast, so please parents, do not push your kids!
thanks again to mike and his wife, they are great. dave

If you dont listen to anything anybody ever says again on this forum, taking this advice would be the most important thing you ever do. Ive been guilty of this as well so dont feel bad dave

[Coley'sdad#8]

I can see it now in the classifieds / equipment trader magazine.
"fully equipped machine shop with production backlog, wanting to trade for newer model helicopter with flight training":D :D

[thequadfather+2]

Originally posted by Coley'sdad#8
I can see it now in the classifieds / equipment trader magazine.
"fully equipped machine shop with production backlog, wanting to trade for newer model helicopter with flight training":D :D

Helicopter must be equipped with long travel skid gear.....

[dcarter]

long travel gear to soak up those doubles! that sounds cool.

[etondaddy]

Anytime Dave……..anytime buddy. Remember my friend I’m a daddy to……..


Thanks Dave I’ve been waiting a long time to use the daddy thing…….lol. I got that from a story Ned Jarrett told about Dale Earnhardt Sr. the year that Dale Jarrett his son beat Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the Daytona 500. Ned was in the broadcast booth and they gave him the call at the end of the race…. He never mentioned Earnhardt and felt bad later, the next week Ned found Dale at the track and apologized……he said Dale Sr. looked at him with one of those classic Earnhardt smiles and said remember Ned I’m a daddy to….. gave him the thumbs up and walked away only the way Sr. could.


Hope Matt’s doing good……. Me and Kyle had the talk again after this….lol.


Thanks for all the kind words from everyone but this is not about me just thank God for Matt not getting hurt any more than he did.


Love you to Rocky………lol.