another driver killed at e-town
Looks like another person went through the net at the end of the track. Seems they have some serious shutdown configuration issues there. I haven't been there since I raced Jr Dragsters so I don't remember it well.
Every track should be shut down and reconfigured with uphill shutdowns that are longer in length. A net and 30 feet of sand won't save someone going that fast. At least they could make it mandatory for the track to give them a chance at survival.
RIP to our fellow drag racer and hopefully this TWO in TWO years stuff will wake NHRA/IHRA up.
/frustrated rant.
RIP to our fellow drag racer and hopefully this TWO in TWO years stuff will wake NHRA/IHRA up.
/frustrated rant.
Every track should be shut down and reconfigured with uphill shutdowns that are longer in length. A net and 30 feet of sand won't save someone going that fast. At least they could make it mandatory for the track to give them a chance at survival.
RIP to our fellow drag racer and hopefully this TWO in TWO years stuff will wake NHRA/IHRA up.
/frustrated rant.
RIP to our fellow drag racer and hopefully this TWO in TWO years stuff will wake NHRA/IHRA up.
/frustrated rant.
RIP Neal
This is a risk we all take when we get in the car getting ready to make a pass, but even more so in A fuel or top fuel cars. God rest his soul and prayers go out to him and his family.
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^^^^ Have you ever been to e-town? Due to the surrounding area that's not possible there. Even if it had a longer/better shutdown a runaway car at 200+ mph is going to be nearly impossible to stop, much less save the driver.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
Teching In
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Southeast Arizona
^^^^ Have you ever been to e-town? Due to the surrounding area that's not possible there. Even if it had a longer/better shutdown a runaway car at 200+ mph is going to be nearly impossible to stop, much less save the driver.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
I agree with 94Z28rag, and if the track can't be reconfigured, oh well.
^^^^ Have you ever been to e-town? Due to the surrounding area that's not possible there. Even if it had a longer/better shutdown a runaway car at 200+ mph is going to be nearly impossible to stop, much less save the driver.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
RIP to another gearhead doing what he loved. Prayers to him, his family, and his friends.
Pension Road passes just beyond the wall at the end of the sand trap. It's ridiculous. There are all woods just past the other side of Pension road. Easiest thing would be to just bend Pension road a bit in that spot to give the shutdown area some more real estate. There's nothing there!! Whatever it would cost and the town should work with them to keep racers and also travelers on Pension Road safe. I wouldn't want to be driving through that part of Pension road with my wife and kids during a Top Fuel car pass. Something really needs to be done. These cars are too fast and some tracks were designed waaaaaaay before cars were going this fast.
I agree there is risk in drag racing but it's a total shame when there are things that "can" be done and are "not" being done.
Like Shawn said we don't know all the facts and I don't pretend to know what happenend in this case but take a look at an areal map of the Etown shutdown area and sand trap and tell me if you don't scratch your head.
I don't see how the surrounding area would affect an uphill configuration in the shutdown area.
Pension Road passes just beyond the wall at the end of the sand trap. It's ridiculous. There are all woods just past the other side of Pension road. Easiest thing would be to just bend Pension road a bit in that spot to give the shutdown area some more real estate. There's nothing there!! Whatever it would cost and the town should work with them to keep racers and also travelers on Pension Road safe. I wouldn't want to be driving through that part of Pension road with my wife and kids during a Top Fuel car pass. Something really needs to be done. These cars are too fast and some tracks were designed waaaaaaay before cars were going this fast.
I agree there is risk in drag racing but it's a total shame when there are things that "can" be done and are "not" being done.
Like Shawn said we don't know all the facts and I don't pretend to know what happenend in this case but take a look at an areal map of the Etown shutdown area and sand trap and tell me if you don't scratch your head.
Pension Road passes just beyond the wall at the end of the sand trap. It's ridiculous. There are all woods just past the other side of Pension road. Easiest thing would be to just bend Pension road a bit in that spot to give the shutdown area some more real estate. There's nothing there!! Whatever it would cost and the town should work with them to keep racers and also travelers on Pension Road safe. I wouldn't want to be driving through that part of Pension road with my wife and kids during a Top Fuel car pass. Something really needs to be done. These cars are too fast and some tracks were designed waaaaaaay before cars were going this fast.
I agree there is risk in drag racing but it's a total shame when there are things that "can" be done and are "not" being done.
Like Shawn said we don't know all the facts and I don't pretend to know what happenend in this case but take a look at an areal map of the Etown shutdown area and sand trap and tell me if you don't scratch your head.
If this is accurate, maybe he had a medical condition like heart attack, stroke, or something that prevented the driver from properly decelerating the car.
I have raced at Etown and I do agree that the shutdown area is abit ridiculous but you can't blame the short shutdown area since all of the other cars had no problem stopping. Something had to have prohibited the driver from stopping which holds true in both fatalities at Etown.
Launching!
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 297
Likes: 1
From: Indy
I'm going to keep this short. Since I ran the race track for 7 years and worked their for 15, I would say I know a little more then most.
E-Town shut down is in no way unsafe. Since the updates 2 years ago their has been many cars I have seen get stopped without issue. Their are in some cases no matter where you are what I would like to call the perfect storm. It suck to have lost a racer and you all must keep in mind that fact before you go and bash something you know nothing about.
I will leave all the facts to the State Police.
Also going up hill in any case of a run away car will not do anything.
As for moveing the road. You really can't without knocking atlease 2 houses down to do it. I don't think the state will cover that or want to help the track do it in any way. In the two cases that a death has happened in the crashes a longer track wouldn't have helped any bit.
Take care. Ed
E-Town shut down is in no way unsafe. Since the updates 2 years ago their has been many cars I have seen get stopped without issue. Their are in some cases no matter where you are what I would like to call the perfect storm. It suck to have lost a racer and you all must keep in mind that fact before you go and bash something you know nothing about.
I will leave all the facts to the State Police.
Also going up hill in any case of a run away car will not do anything.
As for moveing the road. You really can't without knocking atlease 2 houses down to do it. I don't think the state will cover that or want to help the track do it in any way. In the two cases that a death has happened in the crashes a longer track wouldn't have helped any bit.
Take care. Ed
