Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Tilley Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Tripp Nobles claims the Airfence placed at the exit of the Daytona International Speedway chicane saved him from a trip to the hospital.

Nobles was running away with the wet Formula USA Thunderbike final at Daytona International Speedway March 2 when he crashed at the exit of the chicane.

“I just went across the puddle at the exit, and it got away from me,” recalled Nobles. “(I was) straight up and down. It didn’t do it on the warm-up lap, but I guess there was so many people ahead of me on the warm-up it dissipated when I got there. It didn’t do it on the first lap. I can’t blame it on anything but myself. It just hydroplaned and got thrown off.”

With water on the track, Nobles slid much farther and faster than he would have on a dry track and impacted soft barriers placed against the speedway’s outside retaining wall with considerable speed.

“Thank God for Airfences or I would’ve got into the wall,” said Nobles. “It was pretty cushy. It spun me around. I thought I would get caught up in it or it would flip me back out on the track, but it didn’t catch or hook or anything. It kind of absorbed a little bit.”

When asked what would’ve happened if he had hit the wall instead of the Airfence, Nobles said, “I would probably still be in the Care Center or on the way to Halifax (Regional Medical Center). Even though it’s in the rain, it was pretty fast. Yeah, I would’ve definitely been going to the hospital. So thank God for Airfence. Also thanks for John Ulrich for getting that (Roadracingworld.com Action Fund) together and getting the Airfence. I can’t thank him enough.”

Nobles raced again later the same day.