Now that Indy is over....
 

Mike Jones;571667]Don`t mean to hijack thread, but Brett makes great point. Best to all competitors.Does NHRA have legal obligation to ensure fair race, or is there a disclaimer somewhere?

This subject has been beat to death for years but I have never found there to be an acceptable answer to Mike's question or any kind of change for the better.
Just what does the NHRA "owe" us in return for our Membership fees, Entry fees and devout loyalty?
A "Safe" Racing environment is a given but the competitors in Stock and SS (and ALL competitors to some degree) are racing in a "Performance Based" eliminator that is supposed to be driven by strict rules and Technical Specifications and it is getting to be more and more (sadly) apparent that there just isn't enough manpower for the Tech Dept. to do a proper job. Don't get me wrong, the Techs who are there are doing the best job that they are "allowed" to do but they just don't have enough help to do it all.
So, does NHRA "owe" us enough qualified Tech Inspectors to ensure a fair race?
Does NHRA have a legal obligation to ensure a fair race? Now, I'm not a lawyer ("but I played one in a TV show once") but I'm guessing that if the NHRA can't supply enough qualified Techs to assure me that all competitors are playing by the same rules then someone is being discriminated against.
I remember the "good-old-days" when there were three "sessions" of teardown and you were told which one to show up for. Back when there were enough Tech Inspectors to go around!

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

I'm still waiting for Mr. Fuller to tell his story. Inquiring minds want to know.

http://classracer.com/classforum/sho...&postcount=248

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Good tech inspectors have quit because after catching a racer with a blatant illegal modification the higher ups make a decision that over rides the tech guy.

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

This is a big part of it right here. It's a thankless job

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

I will get to it probably later than sooner. Here is a little tidbit to give you an idea. We were told to be at the tear down garage at 8:00. I was there at about 7:58. Mike Pulstelney show up a few minutes later. There was also a Drag Pak car there about the same time. Don Carson showed up around 9:00. In years past he would have been DQed right then. I am correct with this statement?

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

In the good old days, I remember they "sealed" motors by spray painting critical nuts and bolts with a certain color paint which varied every event. I recall that many enterprising racers kept a supply of different colored spray paints so they could mess with their cars and then "re-seal" the motor. lol

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Which car was the original protest filed against?

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

true statement there !!!!!!!

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Another true statement........I can vouch for that !

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Mike,


Sorry if you feel we were a little late. We had to go to harbor freight to buy an engine stand. I was told to be there in the morning and that we were pulling cranks along with rod and piston. You should know because you filled out the protest sheet, being you were the one who protested us. This was not a NHRA tear down, this was a protest tear down of specific parts that you requested.


Never met you before, we've never raced you before, still do not quite understand your reasoning for the protest in the first place. We showed up and we tore down and we were 100% legal. As for the oil pan you questioned, look on the approved product list and you will see Stef's Oil Pan part #1442. As for the windows even Mike D. from Ford Performance sent NHRA an email on it and the reply back to him was the are 100% legal. They have been approved for over 6 years now, if you like I can send an original copy of the email from 6 years ago with NHRA's approval.


Jim D'Amore

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Well Jim first let me tell you a little about myself. I started racing Stock in 1983. It took me a full season before I could run the index in my 1969 B/SA Camaro. I did most of my own machining and all of my own assembly. Holbrook Racing did all the things that I did not have the equipment to do. In 1991 I set the record in C/SA at the Rockingham Invitational. After I made the backup pass and was weighed and fuel checked the national event tech director told me to pull the car over by the scales and to bring my tools so they could observe me disassemble the motor. In 1992 I was the TRW (Jegs now) division 3 Stock representative. The race was held at National Trails outside of Columbus Ohio. After the first qualifying pass we were sealed up ( Carb to intake. Intake to cylinder head. #4 plug sealed to the head.) We had to be torn the next day at noon in the middle of the pits by the scales. If any of the seals were broken we would be DQed. In 1993 after winning C/SA class at the Southern Nationals I was selected again for tear down and had to put the car in a designated area and Ron Cook was assigned to observe me.during the entire process. BTW Tom Rhoda who helped me tear down won that race with a 427 that I built for him. At the Spring Nationals that year I won the Spring Nationals with a.000 light and also won B/SA class at Indy that same year.

You on the other hand you got to show up for inspection an hour late with the intake and throttle body off the motor. There was no trans in your car. If you want to question or deny this I have a number of witness that will back me up. I felt very violated by this. During the inspection I had to go to my trailer for some tools. I fell off my Spree and had to go to the first aid station for some minor repair. On my way back from there I came across Bruce B and told him how you showed up. His response was " That's Bull$hit!" He then apologized to me and said that he was very busy and was unable to supervise the situation.


We protested Don's car because you have caused both combination's (2013 and 2014) to be hit with horsepower without the usual teardown. In Division 3 if a car goes quick enough for that combination to get HP Traves Miller will conducted a technical inspection. I as well as all of my fellow division 3 stock and super stock racers will back me up on this.


One last note about this protest. I was not the only one to put up the required money for this. In fact stock racers from other divisions contributed.


Enjoy your day
Mike

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Mike,


100% agree we showed up for tech inspection at about 10 minutes to 9. As I said before we had to leave the track to get an engine stand because I was told the crank shaft had to come out. As for the intake manifold and throttle body, they were 100% bolted and sealed to the cylinder heads until they told me I could take it off in tear down. I don't know where your "witnesses" or anyone else could say it was off the car when we waited for the tech inspector to come over and tell us we could remove it. The transmission was out of the car and I asked before removing it if we could as it was not part of your protest. Same goes for the radiator since we removed that ahead of time. It was easier for us to do this in our trailer since it has a lift. If this wasn't a protest we would have came with the car fully assembled. You were just asking for Rod, Piston, Crankshaft, combustion, and valve size.


A while back, earlier this season Jeff Herrington called me when he saw what Carson was running and told me that it would put HP on the 14 combination. Don took the car to his next 2 events that he wasn't even intending on going to and ran the car slower just to drop the average. So there would be no HP added at the half year review. That is what happens when another Cobra Jet racer actually talks to another Cobra Jet racer.


This is an ego driven sport, you intentionally protested the car to see if we were cheating. I know you were pushed to do this, even one person who is pretty influential with Ford. So I'm going to honor Jeff Herrington and not put HP on the 14 Combination. We intend to put the 13 motor back in the car, which actually makes more power than the 14. We could have all worked together and had an extremely fun weekend. Instead I was told at 6 PM on Thursday night after we put our car away and getting ready for dinner, that we had to pull the crankshaft out of the motor the next day. There is a morning and afternoon session for tear down. I've been through NHRA tear down 11 times at Indy alone with multiple cars. I realize you are helping to punish me for "poking the bear" but our 2013 NA Cobra Jet motor makes enough HP to out run the bear.


If you would like I would be more than happy to speak with you about this or anything else and we can put this all behind us.


Thank you,


Jim D'Amore
732-780-0770

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

What's the story on the windows?

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

I was told some time ago there are some CJ's and COPO's running approved Optic Armor windows.


http://www.opticarmorwindows.com/app...ufacturer=Ford

Re: Now that Indy is over....
 

Really. Front? Back? Side? All?