Brandon Smith...Gods speed.

[Baja Big Dog]

The 19 year old from Hesperia apparently died during the Vegas to Reno race yesterday, from the BITD entry list he was in the open motorcycle class.
Didnt know him, read it on RaceDezert...
Just bad news for the family and the whole off road community.
Kinda puts a damper on the whole race. So sad.

[Flyinbowtie]

Very, very sad.
On August 9th, 1988 I lost a dear friend in a tragic accident at Sand Mountain.
He left behind his wife and two little girls. He dropped them off at camp and told his wife that he was going to make one last run at the mountain before loading up.
He was in a V-6 powered 4-seat homebuilt rail, and we believe, from examining the wreckage, that the throttle cable was jammed wide open by interference from another part that had come loose form it's mount. He went over the top of Sand Mountain essentially wide open, in 3rd gear. He didn't lift in time to discover the problem and take evasive action.
Sand Mountain is a 600+ foot tall dune, that ends in a razor at the top, like a launch ramp. That is exactly waht happened.
His speed was probably close to 55 MPH when he crested the summit.
It took us 14 hours to drag what was left of the machine back around the mountain to put it on the trailer. I had to counterblanace the wreckage with my own weight and push it so the tow could get under way. Then, I walked along the 1/4 or so mile to where they ran out of steam and we started all over again. I had lots of time to think, and to reflect.
Warren was my friend, a good guy and a family man.
My rail went into the barn with a tarp thrown over it for almost a year, until I came to grips with what had happened. Everyone that knew Warren changed the way they drove after we lost him.
I didn't know Brandon Smith, but I know something of what his family is thinking and feeling. Trying to make sense out of that which makes no sense, while also trying to understand the giant hole left in your life is impossible.
I have always taken some comfort in the fact that the girls and Cathy were not in the rail when Waren took his last run at the hill, and in the fact that Warren left us doing something he dearly loved.
Godspeed to Brandon, and the very best to his family.