Pros to race to 1000'

[John Warehime]

Another quick fix, so the rich and powerfull don't need to spend money on shutdown areas, and Pro teams don't need to build new engines, or limit power. The number of fans will decrease.

[Evan Smith]

A racer gets killed and the PRO racers group and NHRA are trying to come up with a solution to prevent this from happening again, and some racers do nothing but bitch, you should be ashamed! The NHRA stated this was temporary until a better plan can be made. Knocking 320 feet and 20-30 mph is actually a huge deal in those cars and quite frankly, I don't think it will hurt the "show" that much. Sure it is not the classic 1,320, but the average fan goes to a race to smell and hear the nitro and the will get that. You really think the extra 320 feet is going to kill the sport? Those cars cover so much ground at 300 mph that it's just a second or so of less time on the track. This is being done to save lives!

I was at E-Town and do you think the fans that got sent home after racing was cut short enjoyed that? If this brings less oil downs and closer racing, maybe it will be good for the sport.

I just wonder why folks have to be negative every time NHRA does anything. Why is that? If NHRA racing is so bad either bracket race, join the IHRA or go fishing. I agree that not everything NHRA does is perfect or best for "us," but without the effort of the pro racers, the NHRA, and money they generate, we'd all be racing at pile-of-crap tracks with little safety, if any, or we might not be racing all.

Evan

[Woodro Josey]

I agree with you somewhat Evan, but there are a lot of saftey issues, no i didn't get killed but i was real close to it..Somehow the top ends are going unattended at a lot of the tracks and this needs to change!

[Sean Haning]

I agree with Evan. Its not a perfect solution, but if it is handled properly and the tracks would dilligently rectify any shutdown short comings then it is in the best interest of the racers. If things go unchanged then it does little. They did say it was temporary, so we'll see. NASCAR acted quickly after the Earnhardt accident, and implemented safer barriers. Hopefully some of that technology can be put to good use in our shut down areas.

[Evan Smith]

Woody,

I agree with that 100%. There should be a standard system of halting a runaway car that is tested and works. This system should be in place at all NHRA tracks. A remote car can be used for testing at an actual track or test facility. No doubt, the NHRA should invest in developing and testing a suitable system. It seems like when cars hit the sand trap with some speed scrubbed they come to a stop with minimal damage, yet when they go in at full speed they get launched. Look at Force's crash years ago, Del Worsham, etc. Most systems, even the basic net, can be about $5,000, and I'm sure most racers would kick in to any track that doesn't have one.

If the nets on a carrier can stop a multi-ton aircraft at speed, we should be able to stop a run-away racecar in a reasonable manner. Unfortunately, like in most forms of racing, it takes a death before safety takes a huge stride forward.

Evan

[Sean Haning]

Maybe we should have a cable like on an aircraft carrier with a hook to grab and slow the cars down at the stripe.

[Travis Miller]

There is already a gear ratio rule in effect for T/F and F/C. 3.20 to 1 is the ONLY rearend gear allowed and has been that way since 1998. And yes the rearend ratio in T/F and F/C has been checked on a regular basis at National events since then.

Travis

(Disclaimer: Opinions expressed by me on this forum are exactly that, my opinions.)

[Signman]

The 1000 ft deal is a band aid to gain some time to investigate and evaluate.

The well budgeted teams will just shorten the candle. The idea is to go as fast as possible and be guaranteed if it is possible to accelerate the car harder in the middle they will. You will still see a puff of smoke from burned pistons going through the finish line.

The cause of Scott's engine failure may have been the rev limiter coming in beyond 1k ft. This short term fix may take care of things for a short time.

The cause of the wreck was the chutes not deploying and the equipment that was parked behind the catch net. Change one of these two and it's possible Connie's son is still here to race.

There are plenty of measures NHRA can take to fix this. Limit the injector air intake area and blower overdrive.
One that will work is to seal the engines before first round. Run it the whole eliminator without taking the heads off. Blow it up and your out.

Somewhere between these is the answer. The average spectator is not going to know the difference between 280 and 325 accept for the number announced. It seems that most agree that the main area of focus is the starting line. Many in the stands watching are seeing a blur when sitting near the finish line.

Time to slow them down in an acceptable manner to all.

[mannymen]

All,
Did many of you notice the decrease in speeds for the FC's and TFers at Norwalk. TF's were mainly around 398-307mph (very odd). Was this purposely done due to the short shutdown area at Norwalk and will this be the norm?

[mannymen]

meant 298-307