Originally Posted by Myron Piatek (Post 487638)

That's a good and logical point that has been brought up before. But to put things into perspective, the disparity is even greater in Stock, especially since the factory race cars were introduced. Some are in the high 8's and have the opportunity to race against Stockers in the mid-teens.


Full cages, full face helmets and SFI 5 suits would be prudent in slow stockers because of this, but it isn't beneficial to the health of our sport. No easy solutions or suggestions that I can see, at least not without more controversy.

Originally Posted by Stewart Way (Post 487637)

Michael
One reason NHRA does the safety requirements by class is that in tech, how does a tech man know how fast a car will go? Ask the Racer?

Originally Posted by Sean Cour (Post 487610)

I personally think anyone running super stock, should be outfitted with all the same safety equipment as a SS/AM car. The reason why is ......we run these fast cars in elims, and if one gets out of shape and comes across the track and hits us at the finish line, we all will wish we had the same safety apparel as they have. It's a safety concern, no matter what class, slow, or fast you run. If you can't afford it, you shouldn't be racing. My 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Michael Beard (Post 487553)

I have already e-mailed both Bruce Bacheldor and Dave Mohn regarding the arbitrary safety rules thrust upon the "Factory" cars. Bruce never responded. Dave said he would look into it, after I approached the argument from one of NHRA's highest priorities: "CYA".

What will the insurance company say if there is a SS/JA or GT/HA in an accident that is deemed "safe" by NHRA running 10.00 with a roll bar, -1 jacket/pants, no Competition License, etc., when at the same time they will have 10.50 & slower cars that are required to have a full roll cage, -5 jacket/pants, Competition License, etc. in order to be deemed "safe" by NHRA?

Which is safer, a 3350# car with a 275HP 360 running 10.50's, or a 3350# car with a 275HP 340 running 10.50's? When the safety requirements of a vehicle change based solely upon the decals on the windshield, there's a problem. Safety rules should be based on ET, MPH, and chassis construction, period. If they want to make every car in the country 10.99 & quicker require a full roll cage, -5 suit, Competition License, etc., fine, do that, but the rules should be the same for everyone, not arbitrary based on what year the body or engine is.


Last year, when NHRA created the new Factory classes, they combined sticks & automatics, and utilized the stick index, which resulted in various levels of index hits for automatics. There are a number of Super Stock classes that have sticks & autos combined, in which the autos get a 5% weight break. My question was: if they get a weight break, why don't I? *OR* If I don't, why *do* they? I don't really care which way it is, but I *do* expect consistent application of rules.

The worst thing was that despite numerous back-and-forth e-mails, NHRA absolutely ignored the question entirely -- not only refused to address it with so much as a "no comment" or "because I said so", but refused to acknowledge that the question had even been *asked*! Absolutely staggering.