Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Beckman
All racers know that if you shorten the track to 1000 feet, then I need to get to 1000 feet ASAP! So I'll make the engine run to 990 feet or so, same ending. Not gonna change Jack Squat. But less than 2 weeks after Scott K dies, Von Smith darn near hit a tree in the shut down at Norwalk. (They cut it down after). 1. Clear the shut downs of all obstructions. 2. Make all cars carry a device that can be controled by someone outside the car that a. deploys the chuts, b. turn on the fire bottles, c. shuts off the fuel. NHRA could have a person at 1000 or 660 to set this RF signal off in the event of a massive explosion. The people are already there. This combined with CLEAR AMPLE SHUT DOWNS is the answer, we already have fans bewildered by all the classes. Lets not toss in a distance change to boot.
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Anyone who thinks the nitro tuners haven't already been throwing everything they have at the track to get to the 1000' mark is mistaken. They've had to due to the rev limiter that kicks in on the top end. Also, how can they can magically achieve more traction on the same racing surface by turning up the wick just because the finish line is closer? They can't.
This is a change that may or may not be temporary. It will be in place for the rest of this season. It was the one thing that they could do that wouldn't have immediate significant financial impacts on both the teams and the tracks.
Remote shut off of some systems and activation of others is definitely worth looking into. Measures to slow the cars down is too, but they shouldn't be measures that will cause even more engine carnage than there is now, or reduce the likelihood of side-by-side racing because the changes render the cars more prone to getting out of shape and/or losing traction.
The end of the racing surface most certainly needs to be addressed at many tracks. How it is addressed differs from track to track due to the availability or unavailability of real estate to expand it. None of them should serve as launch pads producing airborne race cars. They should all have real sand traps. There should be nothing to run into other than catch nets, and there should be multiple catch nets at every national event track.
While there are no absolute guarantees that any of these changes will prevent another driver from dying in a racing accident, they could well go a long way toward reducing the number of funerals the sport has experienced in the last few years.
Some folks don't watch or care about some classes of drag racing, and that's fine. I watch and care about them all. When too many people die doing something, the companies that insure the activity stop doing so - see rocket cars in the USA and class B rally cars world wide. I think it is far better to do this (move the finish line) now, and spend some time looking at other remedies to prevent potential catastrophes than to lose more lives and the ability to contest the sport at all.