Anthony D'Alessio

I got to meet DJ Vanderley this past week and study his crashed race car chassis. Ive been trying to figure out how to get my message across for the last few days. Generally i just post stuff on here exactly how i would say it to u in person There are problems across the racing industry & there always will be. There are alot of moving variables which make it hard to find “fix all” solutions Since DJ was injured in a micro race i want to cover that today. What i say here will cause industry ripples & im ok with that because i am posting this with the best intentions for u the racer. Some of u i know & some i don’t but i do care about the industry ive lived my whole life in There are alot of theories running around about micro chassis construction and how to make drivers safer so i am going to tell you how i would build a car for the people i love and hopefully it helps you make a better decision for the people you love. First off i want the top rail (downtube) made from 1.25”x.083 wall tubing. That is the main rail over your head and has alot of things attaching to it. I would use 1.25”x.083 wall on all 4 roll cage uprights minimum. I would put 1.25”x.083 wall tubing for the front and rear halos for the roll cage. The rear cage upright would go from the top of the cage to the bottom frame rail as 1 continuous tube. I also want to put my rear cage upright in front of the bend on the back of the cage. Behind the bend greatly reduces its ability to keep the cage up and above a drivers head. Remember a bend is nothing more than a controlled kink and that kink is already heading the wrong direction. And lastly i would use 1”x.065 wall minimum tube on the A pillar behind the driver. Anything smaller than that will try to pierce up thru the rear halo. I do not like .065 wall tubing for any of the cage uprights or downtube, it just isn’t sufficient enough in my opinion. Will it hold up? Yes Can u race your whole career and not get hurt in it? Probably, but all it takes is that one time for everything to line up and that is the situation im preparing for. I don’t necessarily care what the bottom frame rails are made out of. Nor do i care what tubing u use in front of the cage for radiator uprights and braces and such. From what i have seen it doesn’t affect the outcome of a driver in a crash. Thinner tube is probably better tho in these areas. If you have ever had a micro and in a crash it rips the top wing spuds out or ur rear bumper spuds out of the downtube leaving a gaping hole that is not good. Adding cage gussets and braces to a .065 wall cage to help support it is not correct to me either. If the tubing or design is insufficient putting braces in is a half ass way to fix something. I have been asked to sit in on some conference calls about chassis safety but for some reason i only get asked once, i have never been invited back for subsequent calls. There are emails floating around with all the chassis manufacturers but i have never been included in on any of them. I only can see them when people forward them to me. If u have doubts on ur chassis tubing specs i would buy a sonic tester for about $140 & test the tubes for yourself DJ asked me if i could help prevent this from happening to someone else and i said probably not, but i can try I doubt there is another person on this planet that has had the volume and variety of crashed race car frames pass thru their hands as me. Simply put, i have seen it all Once again this is how i would build a chassis for my loved ones. Im not pointing fingers or bashing anyone, thats not what this is about. If you think buying a new frame is too expensive, let me know how you would feel about never hugging your loved ones again. If you think buying a $140 sonic tester is too much, maybe run an extra night on that used tire. If you think it won’t happen to you, maybe call DJ Vanderley Best wishes to all, racers and car builders alike. Flea Ruzic 🤘🏼❤️

Why is it that when you google Donald Trump, you get news about Kamala Harris But when you google Kamala Harris, you don't get news about Donald Trump?