Video of Biondo's win over Fletcher's close call

[Pistol Pete]

One Way We Can Avoid This From Happening Is:

Give A 3 Hundredths Under Your Dial Leeway.

If you dial 10.00, You can go 9.97 & Still Win.
Anything More Than 3 Under You Lose.

BUT NO USING YOUR BRAKES PERIOD.

THAT IS FAIR FOR EVERYONE !!!

Glad no one was hurt or their cars got wrecked.


Just My Opinion.

[AJ Laferty]

1. Anti-lock brakes. Just another safety rule that makes sense to me.
2. Full width tires. no skinnies up front (I know that is a major paradigm shift and will be controversial).


I can stand my solstice with autocross tires on it's nose going through the lights. With the electric throttle control, it isn't consistent so I have to drive the stripe.

Jeff Laferty

[dannyboy]

Tim knows what he did and we all know his Dad will go over that car with a fine tooth comb. The very last thing Dan wants is for anything to happen to his son and also another competitor. This issue can be beaten to death. As long as there is a dial in and the completion as stiff as it is there is the possibility of this happening. Everyone needs to make sure that their brakes and components are checked weekly or prior to the next race.

Dan Chipman

Hamburger, Bachelder & Chipman

70's-80's SS

[Sal Biondo]

In my opinion, Nolan Grier said it perfect. This type of mistake has happened to many of us, including myself. I know I got away with a few, but there are some that have not been so lucky. but it is all part of BRACKET RACING, some on this forum may disagree, but this has been going on since shoe polish was applied to car windows.

Now, if only all of us could be so "lucky" to have our own experience make the NHRA news, and be plastered to social media and youtube, get viewed by probably 25,000 people by the end of today, and let me add get ridiculed, and criticized by racers and non-racers.. wouldn't that make for a great day?

Video can capture and help us understand why and how things happen, and if, in fact it is mechanical, we can get things fixed for the next time, but there are times when some highly publicized video can have a negative effect, like the criticizing of the individual in this case.

Rob, this is in no way a slam to your dedicated work, your videos are much appreciated, and we are all grateful for them. Also, glad to hear your son is doing better.

Food for thought... I remember when I was about 13 yo, dialing in the late Great Jim Harrington at a bracket race in Tennessee, and he told me, a good racer never runs it to the stripe. It took me a few years to fully understand that phrase, but if you understand what he meant, you are a true bracket racer.

Good Luck out there..

[Mickey Whaley]

Since no one was hurt in the making of this video except 4 flat spotted tires i have to say it . They almost got tangled up at the finish line!

[HR9121]

Originally Posted by Mickey Whaley

Since no one was hurt in the making of this video except 4 flat spotted tires i have to say it . They almost got tangled up at the finish line!

I was patiently waiting for this.

[tim worner]

First time I had after market breaks on my car I got on em hard a Belle Rose and blew out both front tires. I installed a proportioning valve and only blew out one tire the next time. Getting on the brakes is part of racing. Knowing how much is what to learn.

[67 Post GS]

Here's an idea. Watch the video for the hundredth time and watch how Tom got on the brakes too hard. Then learn that you shouldnt hit the brakes that hard! Easy enough? Luckily that him and the car are fine and that's what is important. Changing the rules ain't gonna do anything. Maybe we should just put pegs on these things and run them down a slot car track.

[Wade Mahaffey]

As one who builds his entire car other the mandatory factory portion, I am not in favor of an additional risk to my investment. I have been guilty of excessive braking myself, but that is unfortunately a component of the game we play. Now if it were against the rules, and enforced to the letter....I think that would be a good thing. I love the competition of racing an except the risk involved. I am retired and If I were to get hurt because somebody pushed a little to hard on the brake pedal, I would still get paid....but what about the poor bastard that can't work anymore because someone was over aggressive! What about his family, his house, his livelihood! What about the racer that can't afford a new car....or can't find a ride deal like Peter, Dan, Anthony etc, etc. All because someone got caught up in the moment. Now I understand that the good "finish line racers" may disagree, because this is a card in their hand, but an intentional act that could upset the car at high speed if slightly over done should be removed from the sport. It's funny if you think about....every racer goes on the brakes softly after a run....they do that because it's the safe way to finish the run, and minimizes the risk of upsetting the race car. Let's face it...drag race cars are not designed for maximum braking effectiveness, so why would you take the chance of over braking at over 100 MPH in a vehicle that has no design incorporated to provide a more positive outcome when hard braking. I'm sure that the Fletcher incident has been discussed within the camp, and corrections have been made as well as a review of the equipment, to eliminate further incidents. Hopefully others will use this incident as a wake up call so we all can race and have fun, while bending the bar back toward safety a little bit.

Wade Mahaffey

[Jeff Teuton]

I did that a couple of years ago. It is strange to slide sideways for several hundred feet and think 'those are sure funny lines I'm making in the track'. Just bumped the wall, got back called my body shop manager and told him we would be home in about 5 Hrs (Houston) and get me some body people. Those guys took care of me and Tuesday we went to Gainesville. Put the brakes on, not too hard I thought, but a trans failure ahead of me in the lights, which was cleaned well, and cold day in Houston in Feb I think. I wasn't hurt and Thomas wasn't either, except for a little ego repair, and all is well. It's racing folks. In my case I had a little body repair in addition to the ego. Helps to have another DP sitting there for parts. See for 2 cents I give you a dollars worth.