bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

Does anybody know what brakes are actually allowed on the car? I know they will get the lightest and smallest parts they can to slow it down but do you think that will be changed in the next few weeks?

95zpro

I agree that some sort of action should be done but you have to be naive to think that in a little while they will not be blowing engines whether at the starting line or 1000ft mark; it's the nature of the sport to push the envelope to get to the finish line the fastest ! If the issue is blowing engines then maybe they should look at restricting horsepower while also getting these tracks to improve their facilities in order to host these professional events. My whole point was you have fans that love the speed and the tradition of covering the 1/4mi the fastest way possible and I think that this might/will affect the sport. I think they should be looking at how to make the engines safer(although anything using nitromethane can't really be that safe) and facility improvement in order to better protect the drivers and spectators.

mrdragster1970

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Excellent article, exactly what they need. Saves money, slows them down, helps stop cheating.


http://www.competitionplus.com/index...6566&Itemid=24

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ty_ty13

iTrader: (42)

i think they do need to shorten the runs to 1/8th mile... hell IHRA does this at some tracks because the tracks are too short.... anything for safety sake as far as im concerned.... i think for a fix until they figure something else out they should shut them down at 1/8 mile.... realistically these cars need a combined total of about 1800ft of asphalt and sandtrap.... it is getting rediculous that there are no specs for shut down areas or chute mounting on funny cars.... every race it seems like some ones chute on a funny car doesnt deploy right... something must be done or the class will end up like nitro bikes... everyone will die

JCattSS

I believe for fuel cars there is a min 1/2 mile shutdown area. I think the 1000 ft is a good idea for now until they can come up with fair across the field rules that will slow the cars down. If it turns out fuel stays at 1000ft then so be it I'll still watch every race and attend when possible. I read that article mrdragster and if they could lower the compression and not speed up the superchargers to compensate it seems like a good way to limit the horsepower & speed. Still haven't heard the alcohol classes mentioned in this. I'd like to know how a fuel car shutting down at 1000 traveling 300 and an alcohol car going 275 shutting down at 1320 compare in the shutdown area. Obviously they don't normally blow they way fuel cars do but in the event of chute failure or what not they and both faced with the same shutdown areas and sand traps at probably comparable speeds.

RAGENZ28

iTrader: (5)

Whether it is 1/8th mile or 1320 feet, that isn't the issue. The problem is eliminating serious collisions. One we need to keep the cars on the track and not over the wall which means higher walls and two a car needs to be able to shut down with or without brakes without having a wall to slam into at the end.

Ideally the cars would have 2x-3x the shut down space which would run uphill with long gravel pits and netting to drag a car down whether it is going 200 mph on not.

If there was an open field past the end of the track there wouldn't have been an impact at the end. The thing is being limited by old designed tracks with limited shut down space and land to build on, they obviously all didn't consider a run away car making it all the way to the end at high speed.

There is one solution, design tracks to be able to keep the cars on the track and find a way to stop it from full speed coasting down at the top end without brakes or chutes. How will they do it who knows, will they spend the money to make it happen at every track, no way in hell.

QuietSS

It will be very interestiing to see how this develops.

Im sure somewhere out there is some crash wizard who has designed and built an excellent crash barrier or arresting device.

It will be up the racing orginizations on how much $$ they decide to invest in the safety of their racers. Hopefully they will do the right thing IMHO.

ty_ty13

iTrader: (42)

whatever crash device they build for the track make the team that uses it (hits it) pay to replace it.... im sure those teams/drivers wont mind a bit to replace it rather than get mangled in the hospital.... 70,000$ is cheap for not going being in the hospital for 12 weeks

blackfang

iTrader: (2)

To my knowledge, only Del Worshams does as he designed that for his car. That was one of the discussed items on the telecast. I know Del has had too many incidents where he has blown the body off and one time he flipped the car in the sand trap being the body buckled in half.

I know the same thing has happened in the past to Del Worsham and recently Tony Pedregon but he put his into the wall.

CaMaRo67RS355

iTrader: (75)

they dont need to slow the cars down if your going over 180mph period you dont have many chances of surviving. the drivers know the risks that they are taking and nhra should not cut the length of the track down but extend there tracks and put in soft walls like nascar uses. there are many other things they can do. i think it will hurt the events honestly.

mrdragster1970

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All F/C's release the chutes when the body comes off. Been like that for a while.

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JCattSS

I think what he meant is Worsham has cables rigged so when the burst panel blows it pulls the chutes. Slowing them from 330 to 300 may help as much as the extra 320 ft of shutdown I don't know. At 1000 ft we will be seeing "quicker" ET's and still 300+ I'm sure. And its not like fuel cars take long to accelerate its ***** out from the green. 275+ even at half track it will be just as exciting, maybe more if the runs are cleaner and not so many hold ups to fix the track after oil downs and what not. Heck maybe even live races on TV! Slowing down, improved chutes, limiting blow ups, and a host of other things I don't know of will help to make it safer. Most of the time the wall is not the issue but you infringe on the track width it will be a lot worse. So basically short of widening and extending a bunch of tracks, by slowing them down to 300ish, "lengthening" the shutdown by 320 ft and addressing other issues will make it safer and still just as exciting. I don't know if anything other than that curved wall not being there would have saved Kalitta. If rumors were true that his car was still making power even after it blew who knows how much more track he needed but another 320 sure would have helped.

mrdragster1970

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Just another thought. With fuel cars losing belts, & blowing up at the big end. I actually think we will have more 300 MPH pass'. If you look, there are a lot of 260-290 pass'. So all the people whining there won't be big numbers, might be surprised.
Yes, no more 320-330, but I think we might get more full pass' & closer racing.

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JCattSS

I agree! Also towards the end of the run how much you think they are on the rev limiter anyways?

blackfang

iTrader: (2)

Yes I meant the burst panel or the body buckling, but not coming off. Sorry for the confusion.