Re: NEW NHRA enviorenmental policy READ IT
 

Bret, you might want to re-think the felony part. It should be a civil penalty by the EPA but that is as far as it goes unless you kill someone and first you have to be convicted. Remember you are innocent until proven guilty even with the EPA.
My 2 Cents

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Art, no NHRA may not be able to collect..........but you'll not race either!

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He makes a substantial part of his income due to drag racing. How many sportsman racers would pay that kind of a fine. And besides I'll bet they came to a compromise on the amount.
If they were to fine me $1000 for some trivial infraction. First I'd get a lawyer to get me off on the assault charges. Then I'd never race NHRA again.

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Schumacher has NOTHING to do with this subject.Research your post be fore you post on it.Wake up.

Here's the Schumacher story about his fine.Nothing to do with environmental.


Don Schumacher Racing responds to NHRA record fine
By ROB GEIGER The NHRA fined mega-team owner Don Schumacher a record $100,000 for having four barrels of unauthorized nitromethane fuel in his pit area at the recently completed national event in Las Vegas.

The amount of the fine and the fact that NHRA senior vice president of racing operations Graham Light decided to announce the seemingly minor infraction live on ESPN2 are a bit perplexing for the usually tight-lipped sanctioning body.

First of all, Schumacher wasn't using the cheaper fuel in competition; he was saving it for Monday testing. Second, while Light was speaking, ESPN2 showed footage of the U.S. Army dragster driven by Schumacher's son Tony, the reigning five-time series champion, in the background--which implied that the Army team was involved in some way.

A brief NHRA statement said that all nitromethane fuel in the professional pits must come from an approved NHRA supplier. The only on-site provider of nitromethane is VP Fuels, which leads readers of the rulebook to assume that VP is the fuel they must use, although VP is not mentioned by name. In fact, no company is mentioned by name, an oversight that NHRA spokesman Jerry Archambeault admits should be addressed.

Schumacher's four barrels were leftovers from a test session last October at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which had been stored in Vegas over the winter. Schumacher got into the nitromethane-distribution business himself in 2004 to combat rising nitro costs. For the past four years, he's used the fuel when testing his armada of Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars.

In January, Schumacher sold his entire inventory to WEGO, including the four barrels stored in Las Vegas. He then bought those four barrels back for testing that his team had planned for the Monday after the event



Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2008...#ixzz0fkigmJgv

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If brake clean causes global warming I am going to buy a truck load and spray it in the air!

G-d@mn AL gore lied and I am up to my *^%^ in snow!

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I don't have to rethink it, 63. I was in the middle of it when the EPA took direct aim on indoor motorsports in the late 1980s. I know all about the felonies, the responsibility, the litigation and the unbridled power of a government agency bent on policing a motorsport. I was the guy who (repeatedly) got to tell 10,000 paying fans that the EPA just shut down the event and it was time to go home.

You guys have NO IDEA what you're up against but feel free to "wait 'til November". LMAO!

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You're kidding, right? You can't possibly have survived this long without watching any other sport on the planet. I won't even BEGIN to list the drag racing examples.

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Unbridled and unaccountable. Keep an eye on our Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein, and the other "powers that be." They're looking out for your best interest... :rolleyes:

They've already hinted that if they can't get Cap & Trade through Congress, they'll just do an end-run and start piecing it together through the EPA.

Canada's fight over leaded race fuels is merely the beginning. I think we're in for a lot of news over the next few years.

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Agreed, Beard...and I can't believe we've survived under the radar this long.

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I am a little confused as i have not seen any sportsman abuse the epa deal but i would like for some to look at the pits after a race and see who has created the biggest problem ??? i just can't seem to remember what group makes the biggest mess ? can anyone remind my memory?? i am confused ???:D

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Brent, I know a little about the situation now and not so much in the 1980's.
When I retired I was responsible for all the environmental permits and issues for a rather large gas pipeline operation in 15 states from Arizona east to the mid-west and up to the Canadian border.
First off the States were delegated the responsibilities for enforcement by the EPA some years ago. The states are first in line with any violations. Most states have a DNR or something like it (Department of Natural Resources) which is the state version of the EPA. The Federal Government EPA sets the rules for the state enforcement as a minimum and the states can add on as they see fit to a certain point.
The states enforce and issue fines and enforcement mandates.
Like I stated earlier the only Felony would be if someone lost their life due to an issue of Environmental Quality. Civil penalties can be issued by the state and federal government but a Felony would have to be a crime of some type.
A Felony must be prosecuted through a Law Enforcement Action and must be proved in a Court Of Law.
Government can make your life miserable and levy fines on top of that but a Felony is a serious charge and a Law Enforcement Action.
If you would like to discuss it give me a call sometime. I am retired and with the cold and snow in the Texas panhandle right now I have lots of time as the shop is pretty cold right now.
Rick Cates
Canyon TX

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Understood, Rick. I will add, however, that a racer who dumped his motorhome tanks in the staging lanes (in a fit of rage) at Gateway five years ago would also have faced felony charges. The track learned this when they contacted the EPA while deciding to press charges.

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Ed you are the person who needs a wake up call. You wrote that you did know NHRA had the right to fine people. I pointed out that they did in fact fine Don $100K and Don paid it.

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You're correct about NHRA levying fines but the subject here is enveriornmental fines not someone bringing his own fuel to the track.That's all.
BTW I'm wide awake.

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I got on line and watched the required video. Logged off. Now I logged back on went to event reg. and the same video came back on. Does this mean that everytime we go to enter an event we have to sit through this video? It is about 15 min. long.

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Tim,
My guess would be no.... once you read the release and then clicked that you agree, this will then go on file. The reason it keeps coming up is, your not going to get any farther in an entry untill you click "agree"

If memory serves me correctly, we have to do the same thing a while back in reguard to some other rule..........I think maybe it was golf cart and such.

Rick

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Both kinds of brake clean are still available.
the best way to test is spray them on brake rotors or any metal surface, chlorinated dries very quickly. squeaky clean surface.
non chlorinated dries slowly, does not work as well.

the chlorinated is very bad for our health. As a mechanic of 20 plus years, I've sprayed a bit of the chlorinated.
When the shop went to the brush on stuff, non spray w a catch tub, the stuff stunk. it took forever to dry. Not a very good job either, needs a lot more elbow grease. Less drum brakes getting cleaned w liquids. better for us anyway.
A lot less of the good stuff is used now.

Dealing w NHRA is better than ANY GOV'T agency.

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Chris,the pictures on the Pyroil site show both products.The non chlorinated can states so on it above where it says Brake Cleaner.

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Sounds like a ........NHRA Approved List.........is coming.

I was a store earler and was looking at a can of CRC brand.........can said nothing about chlornated or not. Just no CFC's ???? and not for use in Calif.

Rick

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What do you know? ;)

As for the fine, NHRA can fine you, but they can't force you to pay. But, if you don't pay (or go through the appeals process) you won't be able to race any NHRA events. Somebody else pointed out that Schumacher had a lot to lose by not coming to some type of agreement with NHRA regarding his fine. He could have just as easily said, "Up yours NHRA" and went IHRA racing. But, I don't think his sponsors would have appreciated that.

In the end, this is DEFINITELY a CYA policy by NHRA. I'd bet that at the Winternationals they were contacted by the EPA, which is why all of a sudden this issue came up, and is being enacted immediately. Had they been proactive about this, and actually did something years ago about the Pros dumping gallons of brake clean on the pavement, they probably wouldn't be in this predicament. But, they turned the blind eye because they were too busy counting their millions.

I can also guarantee you that your NHRA fine does NOT protect you from fines by the EPA. In the end, they have final say. But, in NHRA's defense, would anybody listen to their pleas if NHRA DIDN'T threaten to fine on their own? It's just like telling your kids Santa is watching. Your kids' response? "Yeah, sure he is...I don't see him, so I'll take my chances."

There are SO many issues like this that NHRA could handle better, IMHO. And every time they step on their dick, more and more people become skeptical (they ruined me years ago), and think that the NHRA is out to get them. Why NHRA couldn't have had a meeting with the SRAC and PRO to explain the situation first is beyond me (though the pros probably got more advance notice than we did).

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This has always been the case with NHRA. I think it was the second national event I ever went to, when Hurricane Floyd blew through leading into the Keystone Nationals. NHRA announced, "When you lose, LEAVE."

Not, "Hey folks, understand that we have a situation yadayadayada... Please help us out by etc. etc., and we greatly appreciate your patience, understanding, and cooperation...." Nope, it was "When you lose, LEAVE." A lot of people were severely p*ssed over that deal. Is common decency and tact a lost art?

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This is exactly the thing I have been talking about for years! They have no communication skills! They believe talking down to and threatening the racer is the way to keep him under control, and showing the racer who *is* in control. Jim

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Is there any fine for a bunch of empty beer cans and chicken bones in your pit area??

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Anyone remember when the divisional fees were raised by I think $10 to cover disposal of waste oil by us evil sportsman racers?Well anybody aware of the environmental mess
waste Pro fuel engine oil is?You could probably raise the BTU's on a waste oil heater
500 degrees with that nitro saturated stuff.

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Dont give them any ideas

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Anybody ever see those pro pits the next day after a national event, they better just write a $1000 check when they come in the gate.

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Cimo ~ If the EPA ever shows up at your back doorstep you'll be in deep doo-doo!!

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And my wife always wondered why that flower bed never grew flowers beside the garage at the old house, lol

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Seems to me all the sportsman racer's paying the extra $10 have been paying for the pro's waste oil removal all along since they dont pay an entry fee to start with. (who generates the most waste oil at a race)

Jim you will need to watch out for the BPA (beer protection agency) and CPA (chicken protection agency) coming to your pit spot lol.:eek:

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This is just the start folks, Now that the EPA is involved it will in California get worse.
If anyone from CA knows what happens when the EPA is involved and they will be watching, soon we will have to carry or have a spill containment kit and have any clear type spray bottles marked with what is inside them. This is just the begging unfortunately I have been in the Automotive and Heavy Equipment industry for over 15 years and in CA we can not even work on Piece of Heavy equipment outside the shop and have a spill of any type without a chance of a fine should a EPA rep catch it.
Ive worked in the field in the dirt,If we spill we have to contain and remove the dirt into a sealed 55 gallon drum and have it sent away as Haz Mat waist and even then we are responsible for the movement of that barrel till it reaches its destination.
I have also heard that all other states besides CA are going to be following these same procedures in the EPA standards both for Chemical and Air born Contaminates.
If NHRA is going to police this to try to stay under the radar so be it, I think its better to be proactive about this rather than wait till the ---t hit's the fan so to speak... just my 2 cents