Gary Rose

Road Racer Gary Rose was thankful for his Joie of Seating safety equipment when involved in a scary crash at Watkins Glen International. In Gary's words, even though his race truck was destroyed, his safety was never in jeopardy.

"I just want to let you guys know that your seat saved my butt this weekend. My Pro Truck broke loose at WGI and hit the Armco full passenger's side at way too much speed and neither the Saturday Night Special seat nor my butt moved a millimeter! 

The transmission moved a few inches up and to the left, but not the seat. I walked away without even a muscle ache. 

Best safety money I've ever spent. The truck is trash but the seat goes into my next racecar!"

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Justin Marvel

Twenty-four year old Justin Marvel survived a devastating crash at the Terre Haute, Indiana Action Track at the last event in USAC's Valvoline Indiana Sprint week, which destroyed his sprint car. Justin will will race again thanks to his seat.

The crash occurred during the semi-feature event, when the steering broke entering the third turn, sending the car into the outer guardrail. Upon impact about the only thing not needing replacing was the "Joie of Seating" safety seat he had recently installed. Marvel credits the seat for saving the portion of his body that sets in it.

(click pic for enlarged view)

It was the crash that quieted a raucus Independence Day crowd at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Young Nathan Rodgers was cruising towards a strong finish in the July 4th Bandolero Outlaw Summer Shootout event at Lowe's Motor Speedway (NC) when several cars made contact ahead of him. Rodgers' orange #42 machine was vaulted into the air and barrel-rolled several times, eventually stopping when his roof slammed flush against the pit road retaining wall. Everyone at Lowe's was stunned and hoping that the driver would be okay. As safety personnel reached him, the young driver climbed from his destroyed car and gave an enthusiastic wave to the crowd, indicating that he was just fine.

Rodgers' Bandolero seat from The Joie of Seating, along with other safety apparatus, kept the driver out of harm's way despite the viciousness of the crash. "I was wearing a Simpson Head-and-Neck restraint which helped out a lot," said Rodgers. "It probably would have been a lot worse if I hadn't of had it. Good thing Randy Lajoie makes good seats. That really helped me be able to walk away from the accident." By staying safe with all the latest safety products out there, from restraints, belts and seats, Rodgers was able to focus on his next race after his wicked crash rather than dwelling on what had just occurred. "I am okay, just hopefully we can get it on a jig or something because I have a race up in Pennsylvania on Friday and I really want to be able to make it." LaJoie and his staff are making themselves available to answer any racer’s questions on how to be as safe as possible inside the racecar. (click pic for enlarged view)

Joey Payne On The Mend After NEMA Crash at Stafford
Car Destroyed, But The Joie Of Seating Seat Helps "The Jersey Jet" Survive

"I wound up going to the shop to see it before they cut it up. There is no doubt in my that if i had that shitty kirkey seat in the car i wouldn't have survived. The pictures show how much i moved the left side shoulder support. you can see the seat bent around the cage support."

Those are the words of NEMA Midget driver Joey "The Jersey Jet" Payne after surviving a horrific crash in the NEMA event at Stafford MotorSpeedway (CT) on July 3rd. The rear axle snapped off his car, sending him hard into the backstretch wall. The car was destroyed, but all of the safety apparatus, like his Joie of Seating Sprint seat, did their job. Of course, as Payne admits below, more safety precatuions could have been taken before he jumped behind the wheel. Payne received a severe concussion and several arm and leg injuries, but he is currently recuperating at home in New Jersey and plans to race again soon. Here's an update on Payne's crash and his subsequent recovery.

Joey Payne is recuperating at his home in Fairlawn, NJ after a devastating wreck at Stafford Motor Speedway on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 in the Northeastern Midget Association feature during Xtreme Tuesday presented by CARQUEST. The veteran racer sustained a severe concussion and injuries to his arms and legs when the rear axle sheared off his racer sending him careening into the outside wall.

“I’m doing okay,” said Payne on Monday. “My knee and shoulder hurt quite a bit. My knee is really swollen and my shoulder is severely bruised. But my head is better, that is the good thing. It was a hard shot for sure.”

A “hard shot” might be the understatement of the season. It is believed that Payne was traveling at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour in the open-cockpit Midget when the crash occurred. During the impact both Payne’s head and shoulder made contact with the outside retaining wall.

Payne was transported to Johnson Medical Center and then airlifted to Hartford (CT) Hospital, where he spent the night. He remembers little about the accident.
“I knew something broke and the next thing I remember was bang… I think the bang was my helmet hitting the wall.” His helmet is broken in two places. Payne, who owns a Safety Solution R-3 head restraint, admittedly in poor judgment, was not wearing it at the time of the accident.

“When I do come back, I will surely make some changes to my safety equipment. I will definitely be wearing my Safety Solution R-3 from now on. It is a great device and I should have been wearing it. I will have it on next time I race and every time after that,” added Payne wisely.

All other safety precautions were in place. “Everything did what it was supposed to do,” continued Payne of his equipment. “I have to thank Gene and Marilyn Angelillo for spending their money to keep me safe in their racecar. No other car in NEMA has a Joie of Seating seat. It is the Cadillac of seats. It saved my life.”
Unfortunately for Payne and his owners, the Angelillo’s the car is a total loss.

“I went to see it (the car) the other day,” said Payne, “I walked in and said ‘Wow, I can’t believe I survived this’.” Despite the severity of the incident, Joey Payne will be back behind the wheel as soon as possible. “I am not giving up,” said the diehard racer. “It would take a lot more than that to make me want to stop racing. Racing is my life. I have been doing it my whole life. I don’t want to go out like that. To go out like that just would not be right.”(click pic for enlarged view)