Race car burnt at Motor Mile Dragway

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Phillip marvetz

That totally sucks, I guess we all should carry a fire extinguisher in the race car just in case. When I teched in last Saturday the tech guy informed me my M2000 helmet will be done at the end of this year. There goes another $150 for no reason.

From what I'm reading a fire extinguisher wouldn't mean squat.He seems to have been trapped in the car.
That ***** hole of a track should be closed and the staff prosecuted to the full extent of the law if the emergency crew was that inept and the equipment useless.
Phil,don't you think you life is worth a lousey $150?After all a Snell/M 2000 has been in use for a long time.
I had a tech guy tell me a few years ago,when he saw my helmet was a Snell
certified helmet that he was amazed how many guys with fast cars still cheap out and use M helmets.I don't know if there's a real difference.I know you pay more for a Snell approved one.

[Ed Wright]

I put a fire extinguisher in mine when IHRA started requiring them a few years ago. An NHRA tech guy told me I needed to take it out, that if I could get it out quickly it could come loose if I ever flipped the car and it would beat the crap out of me (just clothes to burn if that ever happened). So, IHRA I put it in, NHRA I put it in the trailer. What he told me makes sense, best to have permanently mounted fire bottles and plumbing. I don't.

[chris3racing]

Ed, fortunately he was not trapped in the car; however, if the useless "fire truck" had been operational he might not have lost his whole car. My point is NHRA, IHRA, etc makes us meet all of these safety rule; however, a track can get by with no safety equipment or personnel.

[Bob Don]

Originally Posted by Ed Fernandez

From what I'm reading a fire extinguisher wouldn't mean squat.He seems to have been trapped in the car.
That ***** hole of a track should be closed and the staff prosecuted to the full extent of the law if the emergency crew was that inept and the equipment useless.
Phil,don't you think you life is worth a lousey $150?After all a Snell/M 2000 has been in use for a long time.
I had a tech guy tell me a few years ago,when he saw my helmet was a Snell
certified helmet that he was amazed how many guys with fast cars still cheap out and use M helmets.I don't know if there's a real difference.I know you pay more for a Snell approved one.

Ed - The "M" class helmets are Snell approved, just a different classification. Although the "SA" class is designed for auto racing, the "M" is also accepted by NHRA. This is from the Snell website:

What are the differences between the SA, M and K standards?

The SA standard was designed for competitive auto racing while the M standard was for motorcycling and other motorsports. The K standard was released to accommodate helmets used in karting. There are three major differences between them:

1.The SA standard requires flammability test while the M and K standards do not.
2.The SA and K standards allow for a narrower visual field than the M standard (Some SA and K certified helmets may not be street legal).
3.The SA and K standards include a rollbar multi-impact test while the M standard does not.