Salem Speedway Rescue Team Completes Annual Safety Training

This year’s safety training at the Salem Speedway, led by Training Coordinator Phil “Shrek” Nahm and Safety Director Jonathan Sears, was a great success. This annual training is intended for those at the track who are tasked with the responsibility of rushing to the rescue in the event of a wreck or other safety scenarios, and it serves as both a refresher for seasoned responders as well as a new learning opportunity for those just beginning their rescue safety journey.

This year, March 29 and 30, the Impact Rescue Safety Team at the Salem Speedway welcomed the Brownstown Speedway Safety Team to join in on the two-day training session. In addition, the Salem Speedway also welcomed guest speakers Dr. Melissa McCarthy and local driver Ashton Thompson, as well as Air Methods Corydon.

Although the subject matter was rather serious, the mood certainly was not. The rescue teams enjoyed their moments together and had a great time learning rescue methods, both new and old, in a hands-on manner. Many even remarked that it all feels like a family.

“This feels like one big family,” said Ashley, an attendee of the safety training this year. “I absolutely love being here. Everyone is so kind, and we all crack up and joke around with each other. We always welcome new people with open arms, and we just treat them like our own.”

Throughout the two-day span of training, the rescue team went through a large amount of real-world scenarios to help solidify their knowledge and reduce response times.

“We did a lot of scenario work to prepare ourselves,” said Shania, another training attendee.

“These scenarios really help to simulate a car crash on the track,” added Ashley. “It helps us to know the proper way of getting the driver out of the vehicle and the best way to stabilize and triage them. We also learned the best way to put out vehicle fires. We did a lot of scenarios like that and learned a lot of new codes.”

Shania added on by saying, “We did a lot of classroom activities in order to learn the history and introduce ourselves to the crew chiefs and the medics. Anything we can do to prepare ourselves, really.”

Many of the track rescue team members began their journey as first responders. For instance, Phil Nahm, the Training Coordinator, has been a first responder for nearly three decades.

“I have been a first responder in the Louisville area for 28 years, and I started track rescue in 2011 at the Kentucky Speedway,” said Nahm. “I have worked at the Kentucky Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Florence Speedway. This is actually my first year teaching this safety training, and I almost created the whole two-day event from scratch. I tried to update it, keep things interesting and keep everyone’s attention by trying to do unique things that we’ve never done here before.”

Nahm went on to describe the bond that the team shares as well as some of the scenarios he had them go through.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a first responder on the streets or at a track, it’s all a big family,” Nahm remarked. “This team is getting bigger, and we’re trying to give the big boys a run for their money.

“We put a race car chassis in the grandstands to simulate the worst case scenario: a car going into the grandstands. We sent our crew up there, and they had to triage and go through everything,” said Nahm. “We also did a multi car wreck on the front stretch where we had everything from the drivers being okay to someone getting hit by a race car.

“Last year at our Spooky 200 event, we actually had to extricate one of the drivers on the backstretch,” Nahm added. “Our team got to them pretty quickly and figured out what was going on. From the time the caution was thrown to the moment the driver was in the ambulance was 16 minutes.”

Assistant Chief Justin Shryock added by commenting on the team’s hard work last year, noting that there were only a few cautions thrown and a total of five red flags.

“We definitely excelled and earned our money as a team,” said Shryock. “There are a lot of tracks where that doesn’t happen.”

EMS Chief Amy Jones was present during the safety training weekend as well in order to provide her expertise during the different scenarios.

“The thing I really like about these training sessions is the ability to broaden people’s horizons for the lack of a better term. It is really important to be able to give people a broader grasp of things that are going on around them,” said Jones. “And these are skills that are not only specific here, but you can also implement them in your job outside of the Speedway.

“We went through scenarios involving multi car wrecks, single car wrecks, head injuries, spinal injuries and orthopedic injuries,” continued Jones. “Something we really focused on was neurological assessments. So, if we have drivers that have signs and symptoms of a concussion, we can better assess them and make sure they get appropriate care.”

The two-day training session concluded with a review meeting at the track. Members of the rescue teams were asked various questions pertaining to the events and scenarios covered during the safety training, and correct answers were rewarded with speedway-related prizes. Concluding the weekend, rescue team members put their names in a drawing for more prizes such as Ashton Thompson shirts and an autographed Jeff Gordon shirt.

The members of the Salem Speedway Impact Rescue Team, as well as the many other rescue teams across the nation, play a majorly important role in the world of racing. Ready and waiting for emergencies ranging from miniscule to the unthinkable, these skilled ladies and gentlemen take immense pride in ensuring that drivers and spectators stay as safe as possible with speed, determination and precision. Not only do they love what they do, but it is clear they love who they do it with.

Photos provided by Jason Greene, rescue team member and photographer.