rons 00z

iTrader: (10)

i agree too. i wish they would have done that with the pro truck class!

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

The fact still remains that Scott died because of a HUGE track design flaw. A straight concrete wall is not and never will be the best way to stop a car. Scott didnt hit a pole or anything else besides the END of the track. At Englishtown there is a solid concrete wall RIGHT after the catch net. Scott hit the sand, blew through the net and slammed into the wall.

If the tracks cant make the money and improve them themselves then NHRA needs to step in and help pay for improvements. It is their sport after all and they are responsible for everybody's safety.

NHRA has known FOREVER that the chutes burn up but has anything been done? Nope.

There are a ton of flaws going on in the sport right now and I know the 1k mark is just a stepping stone for now but something more serious needs to happen. ALL the safety work has been done by the crews because THEY wanted to improve it. The new head restraints and chassis were designed and put into use before NHRA ever mandated anything.

Scott covered the 1/4 in right at 5 seconds and it took him another about 8 seconds to cover the last 1/2 mile of the track. If you take a conservative look at it he traveled the shut down area and coasted to the end of the track around a speed of 225 MPH.

Even if they cars shut down at the 1k mark they will still cover the 5/8s of shut down area they will still be able to coast to the end of the track at a speed over 200 MPH.

There needs to be some innovation come out of the horrific accident and it needs to come with some speed.

TA1364

iTrader: (11)

Everyone is focusing on Scotts death sinces its most recent, but what about Eric Medlin, Darrel Russel or Blaine Johnson, I think safty on the whole track needs to be addressed not just the shutdown area.

Caveman

iTrader: (2)

There were huge safety changes made in a very short time with funnycar's after Eric's death. There have been 3 different tire design changes for safety since Darrel Russel's accident. This change was voted for by the drivers/teams as a tempoary fix to keep them safe. I think its good to see quick action by NHRA for all the fuel drivers sake.

98catfish

iTrader: (13)

Valid point but the fact still remains Scotts car blew up after the 1k so this would'nt have happened if the race was over at the 1k. no explosion no oil on the brakes no problem stopping. Every other team seems to have no problem stopping.

It was a tragic accident and we lost a real competitor. although tragic it is what we all accept when we get in our car to go down the track. Think about going down the track and the guy in the other lane loses control and hits your car then you hit the wall. Could this have been avoided? Answer is yes dont race. Or better yet dont drive, Oh wait dont even get out of bed.The point is you cant make going 325mph on the ground not dangerous and lets face it if it werent dangerous we wouldnt watch it and the drivers wouldnt do it. Its an adrenaline rush.

Scotts accident is not the reason for the change, there were a lot of factors involved in this decision, not the least of which the fact that 90% of the teams and drivers voted for this. Jim Head and a number of drivers have been pushing for this for a while now. Scotts accident was just the straw that broke the camels back. Hell IHRA started this last year.

For the level of danger it is still one of the safest sports.

Doug

TA1364

iTrader: (11)

Yea thats true, but shouldnt these changes try to happen before an accident occurs tho. I guess you just never no what to expect untill after the fact.

I agree tho on nhra taking quick action, good move.

Z06PSI

iTrader: (33)

Oh well I will not be going to Richmond's race now because of this. Make the run-off areas a lot longer and don't put a wall at the end of it. The shutdown and run off area at Englishtown is a joke anyways. Extend the shutdown area and put 300' of sand and gravel at the end with an aircraft barrier (think Aircraft carrier) and go from there. They are changing the whole spirit of the race with this (i.e. records and history).

84MonteSS

iTrader: (2)

Contrary to what I posted in another thread, there is no straight wall at the end of the track at E-Town. While working at a car show there last weekend, me and a few others went to the end of the track before the day started. I would've taken pictures, but no one had a camera. There is a wall on each side of the track going down to the end. At the end of the track, there is a sand pit, then the net. On each side of the net is a big pole holding it up. What appears to be a straight wall is actually the Toyota side (right side) wall curving after the sand pit. It doesn't cut straight acrossl; instead, it keeps heading out towards the trees and slighty curves across. He actually flipped over the wall, because there is no damage to the wall but there IS damage to the guardrail that is in front of the trees, about 30 feet past the wall.

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

So his car hit the sand trap and net and catapulted over the wall?? Sorry for saying its straight across, it looks like that from all the pictures and video I have watched.

It still stands that there is a WALL at the end of the track. I was watching a couple other wreck videos, mainly the Force/Bernstein wreck at Dallas and comparing things. At Dallas there is NO wall at the end of the shut down area which is almost 3/4 mile long.

Yea Englishtown has been on the NHRA schedule for a LONG time but it needs some serious improvement if they want to stay on it.

My 04 Goat

Copyed this from somewhere else.. But needless to say its not a strait across wall that everyone keeps saying

Below, you'll find an aerial pic of ETown's shutdown area and some pics taken days after the accident showing the safety equipment up close. ETown has taken a lot of criticism because of it's short shutdown. In reality there aren't many tracks in the world that could've allowed a driver to survive a 200-250 mph crash. There's a lot to be fixed in drag racing. The track's represent only one of several issues. The 1000' racing is temporary solution so they can keep racing while they figure out what to do. For the team's perspective, I'd ask that you read Bob Wilber's latest blog entry. It may change your perspective:
http://blogs.nhra.com/nhrablogs.asp?blog=csk

Now to the shut down. Let's start with the aerial view:


What follows is a photo study from a drag racing board that I visit. The words and pics are not mine but serve to convey what was in place on Saturday, June 21st.

This is a photo from the rear of the gravel pit looking toward the starting line. What appears, to many, from the starting line as a retaining wall is actually the continuation of the right side guard wall. It is designed to aim errant cars into another run off area [JerseyGTO - done to improve safety after Johnny West's big accident at ETown years ago]:


This is a view from the right hand lane entering the gravel pit. You can see that the "pit" is open ended. The trucks are in the auxilliary run-off.
You can also see the sand barrels that were added after the crash.
At no time were jersey barriers installed anywhere in this area as some have stated.


This is the pole that supports the net. You can see that it was not embedded in concrete as some have stated. It is a 10" o.d. section of water pipe with a half inch wall thickness. It is not, nor ever was, filled with concrete as stated by Jim Head and others. It does have a steel plate welded to the top in order to keep water and debris out.


Net, attached to pole with springs. The springs give the catch net the ability to stretch far more than it would without them. You might also note the plastic tubing that holds the net upright. Some have stated that they were made out of steel. No, its PVC that has been drilled so that it has a "break-away" function. The gravel is piled up behind the net to keep cars fro "diving" under the net.
[/QUOTE]

RAGENZ28

iTrader: (5)

That is one example, saying motors won't blow if they are only run to 1,000ft holds no truth what so ever. I have seen motors blow from the starting line to 1/2 track to the top end. He happened to blow his motor on the top end and thinking if we only run a motor to the 1000ft mark there won't be any more motor failures is ridiculous.

Whether it is 1/8th mile, 1000ft or 1320ft they still need new and improved engineering into the safety and shutdowns at the end of tracks. Higher retaining walls would be nice also.

JCattSS

I think there will just be less consequences if the cars blow earlier and are going slower when doing so. They are going to push the envelope no matter what. Also I would like to see the data of what a TAD hitting the chutes at 1320 going 280 vs. a fuel car hitting the chutes at 1000 going +/- 300 ish how fast will the fuel car be going after 320 ft of shutdown when equal to where the TAD is hitting the chutes? I know they hit hard and pull a lot of -g force when the chutes deploy I would guess the two are going to be close at that point.

SLowETz

iTrader: (12)

I as many others hoped and wanted to believe he was rendered unconscious by the concussion, but it seems as if that may not have been the case.

Seemed to me the car was on a rail all the way down track, although if conscious, I can't fathom not riding the wall to scrub off speed.

I cut/pasted this next bit of info from another hard core race board.
Haven't been able to find any info to back this statement up, but can't debunk it either.

"The #3 intake port exploded, a section of the intake around the burst panel was blown out and the engine was running on it's own oil and making power. Scott was on the brakes (confirmed by Connie) and they found front tire skid marks at the end of the asphalt. The car was simply driving through the brakes."

Back to topic at hand-

Z06PSI

iTrader: (33)

Well the pictures show exactly what I thought I saw the day it happened. He was running mid-lane when he struck the wall though. The glancing blow even at 30 degrees at that speed is still enough to kill you (think Earnhardt). Will it ever be 100% death proof? No but the shutdown and run off area is short for the 300+ that they are traveling. Most tracks are like that though and I hope this changes things. Don't change the sport though. Change the track.

98catfish

iTrader: (13)

I stand corrected.

Look at the arial pics... There is no way to extend the shut down there or many other tracks.

Z06PSI

iTrader: (33)

Money buys property and moves roads. Safety should not be compromised in light of money. If tracks do not conform to new shutdown standards then I guess they can look at other tracks.

s346k

iTrader: (4)

i find this to be the most insightful post thus far in the thread. i think shortening the track will make no difference. the cars will be bred to run harder in a shorter distance. they will still be blowing up and still crossing the traps at 300+ mph. obviously ANY precaution is better than none, but i think a little more thought should've been invested in this one. ultimately, it's time to update the tracks, as mentioned 483908290 times already.

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

So how much you guys think it will cost to move that road? Can't be to expensive eh?


I still say that the 320ft of NOT go forward and instead braking WILL make a big differance.

84MonteSS

iTrader: (2)

I talked to a buddy of mine who owns an alcohol funny car, and he said that if Scott was conscious he would've turned the car into the wall to slow it down. Does anyone know if he physically or mechanically couldn't steer the car after the explosion?

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

Have the problem of bouncing off the wall then if you hit it to hard. With no brakes I don't think th outcome would have changed but then again I think I would rather bounch off the walls and flip a few times before I hit a wall straight on.


Just my.02.


I can't see top fuel going to 1/8th mile, nobody would pay to see like a 2 second ish race, maybe I am wrong though.


SFI DOES need to look at the chutes.........