1000 ft. tracks (2 Viewers)

[Bobby]

The drivers/owners and NHRA should come to an agreement on suitable track length, including shutdown areas. If a track cannot fit the specs, well good night. Sports evolve to exclude tracks in various ways. And it's not just attendance, press boxes, and pit area non-improvements. GET THIS: YOU MIGHT NEED TO MOVE A RACE ,NOT BECAUSE OF DOLLARS, BUT DRIVER SAFETY.

yep.

see F1 for reference on that subject.

 

[Al smith]

This thread is heresy.

1. you can slow the cars and still run nitro. I guess I'm old but I remember nitro funny cars breaking into the sixes and breaking 200. And I loved em. Look at my icon. that's from 1970.

2. 1/8 mi, 1000' ft? Unnecessary if you slow them down. Take away the blowers. take away a mag. whatever you need to do and keep the snap cackle and pop.

Nascar realized they had a serious issue in 1988 when Bobby Allison's car almost flew into the grandstands at Talladega. They brought in the restrict or plates, and put twice as many people in the stands now as they did then.

Fix it. Don't break it.



no nitro?

Heresy.

I agree bob

Bring back the funny cars of old that LOOKED like cars, decrease down force by taking off that ridiculous whale tail, stretch that pup tent of a roof to a full pillar width with side rakes equivalent of factory spec. 427 ci limit. 10/71 blower limit, One mag. One spec pump, Current heads, valve train and blocks. Use current a/fuel clutches w/no management. NO gear rule and No rpm limiter to blow things up and 100% nitro. Same drive train spec for top fuel and they will rattle bang and pop and run four ninties or five flat at 290

 

[Cymon Sez]

I agree bob

Bring back the funny cars of old that LOOKED like cars, decrease down force by taking off that ridiculous whale tail, stretch that pup tent of a roof to a full pillar width with side rakes equivalent of factory spec. 427 ci limit. 10/71 blower limit, One mag. One spec pump, Current heads, valve train and blocks. Use current a/fuel clutches w/no management. NO gear rule and No rpm limiter to blow things up and 100% nitro. Same drive train spec for top fuel and they will rattle bang and pop and run four ninties or five flat at 290

This option get my vote.

 

[Super Mod]

::: Drag Racing Online ::: Burk's Blast – Please, Not Again... - 06/23/08

 

[Muddy]

I agree bob

Bring back the funny cars of old that LOOKED like cars, decrease down force by taking off that ridiculous whale tail, stretch that pup tent of a roof to a full pillar width with side rakes equivalent of factory spec. 427 ci limit. 10/71 blower limit, One mag. One spec pump, Current heads, valve train and blocks. Use current a/fuel clutches w/no management. NO gear rule and No rpm limiter to blow things up and 100% nitro. Same drive train spec for top fuel and they will rattle bang and pop and run four ninties or five flat at 290

I could vote for that but I still think you go to the 1000' race.

 

[rocketman]

One mag one pump and just maybe you won't have to shorten the track.

 

[clwill]

I don't get all of this. This is a technical problem, you don't need to slow down all the cars, just the ones that can't slow themselves.

If smart, talented, motivated crew chiefs can figure out how to get a car to go from 0 to 330+ in 1320', then smart, talented, and motivated safety engineers ought to be able to figure out how to safely stop them in 2x that distance.

They got tired of seeing people die and made SAFER barriers that cut down IRL and NASCAR injuries and deaths dramatically. Where's the same effort in "the world's fastest motorsport"?

It's long past time that some serious time, energy, and money gets invested in the stopping an out of control race car. Just ask Del Worsham, anyone named Pedregon, anyone who's ever been in "the beach", and now anyone named Kalitta.

 

[Demon]

1000 ft is a waste of time.Leave it at 1320.For those of you who have really raced,you'll know what I'm talking about.

 

[M Jones]

Someone posted about using the cable brakes like the ones on aircraft carriers, if they were to use the nets that carriers use that I believe have the same water brake as the cables, the nets stretch but don't tear, just food for thought, sure will miss Scott, RIP, Mark

 

[Rexfiles]

1000 ft is a waste of time.Leave it at 1320.For those of you who have really raced,you'll know what I'm talking about.

huh..........I guess Jim Head "never really raced"

REX

 

[Nitrohaulic]

I agree bob

Bring back the funny cars of old that LOOKED like cars, decrease down force by taking off that ridiculous whale tail, stretch that pup tent of a roof to a full pillar width with side rakes equivalent of factory spec. 427 ci limit. 10/71 blower limit, One mag. One spec pump, Current heads, valve train and blocks. Use current a/fuel clutches w/no management. NO gear rule and No rpm limiter to blow things up and 100% nitro. Same drive train spec for top fuel and they will rattle bang and pop and run four ninties or five flat at 290

Hey now. You can't let them look like real cars! That's cutting into us nostalgia folks' niche!

 

[mole]

1320 ' track is our roots of the sport , isnt that what wally parks figured was 2 city blocks long from street racing ? . lets keep some of what we got , even if the fc's do look like corporate billboards . keep it at 1320 ! . slow the cars down , increase the length of the shutdown area , make the sand traps longer !. the majority of the tracks were not designed with the speeds we have , if the shutdown area needs to be increased.........then have bruton smith buy the occupied real estate to do so !.............no joke !!!

 

[twok4hd]

The filet migon I got on an airplane had just retired from service as a hockey puck.

Somebody earlier said why wait 5-10 years? That's probably right and 2010 is a better date but some of these tracks will need to sell their land and relocate to a new location. That's big bucks and will take some time, some won't make the transition. How are you going to feel as a fan when the tracks at say Ohio, New Jersey, Ga, Pomona etc can't hold national events?

It's time to weed out the facilities that can't handle the cars of today. If that means the tracks you have listed can't upgrade, then tough chit.... If you can't fix it, then maybe you need to see if Bruton will build you a new track. I could give a rat's ass about fans feelings if the facility can not hold an event with an acceptable level of safety. Obviously Englishtown didn't meet it.

 

[Demon]

huh..........I guess Jim Head "never really raced"

REX

Think before you post Rex.Did Jim Head post? No he didn't.My post was to the members of this board who posted.

 

[Rexfiles]

Think before you post Rex.Did Jim Head post? No he didn't.My post was to the members of this board who posted.

I posted on this board.

I have "really raced".

I am a member on this board.

If a track cannot support 1320 racing safely (which E-town did not) it should not enjoy the priveledge.

My view was the same as stated by Jim Head on ESPN2, and by the way, TPed.

I support their views.

that is called "think before you post".

REX

 

[Bobby]

::: Drag Racing Online ::: Burk's Blast – Please, Not Again... - 06/23/08

the nhra needs to do a serious amount of problem analysis on this issue.



I 'm glad to see that they are bringing in outside advice.


There are so many ideas, so many things people think of , and most of them are irrelevent. There is a cause of every accident. The root cause of this fatality is not the engine blowing up, for example, or the track being too short, or the cars being too fast. The root cause is what happened at the end of the track. What can be done better to contain an out of control race car. I don't think there's anyone that can realistically argue that the shutdown area in Etown was what it should have been.

It's simple really. They need to figure out if they can contain the cars with a safer sand trap area. If not , then they need to look at slowing them down.

But if you look at the sand trap at say, rt 66 , you know they can do it right.

Why they didn't do it right here I have no idea, but they didn't.

 

[Rexfiles]

the nhra needs to do a serious amount of problem analysis on this issue.



I 'm glad to see that they are bringing in outside advice.


There are so many ideas, so many things people think of , and most of them are irrelevent. There is a cause of every accident. The root cause of this fatality is not the engine blowing up, for example, or the track being too short, or the cars being too fast. The root cause is what happened at the end of the track. What can be done better to contain an out of control race car. I don't think there's anyone that can realistically argue that the shutdown area in Etown was what it should have been.

It's simple really. They need to figure out if they can contain the cars with a safer sand trap area. If not , then they need to look at slowing them down.

But if you look at the sand trap at say, rt 66 , you know they can do it right.

Why they didn't do it right here I have no idea, but they didn't.

A track built in the sixties with 1960's era speeds in mind.

And a concrete barrier across the shutdown designed to herd the errant object away from Pension Rd.

It is entirely separate from the road course.

Its entirely insane.

Its called a band aid.

REX

 

[Demon]

But we do not race with 1960's safety equipment.As the cars have gone faster,the safety requirements have advanced just as well.


1000 ft isn't the answer.

 

[Rexfiles]

But we do not race with 1960's safety equipment.As the cars have gone faster,the safety requirements have advanced just as well.


1000 ft isn't the answer.

Hopefully the attitudes at Glendora are not the same.

REX

 

[hellfirejim]

I think we are over thinking this issue. The problem lies with the speed of the cars combined with tracks that were built in the 60s that have no more room for expansion of the run off.

I would propose a simple solution that could done reasonable and quickly. Install another set of clocks at the 1000 ft mark. Have them be able to indicate the winner as the 1320 clocks do. Now here is the answer. When everybody else but the Pro Nitro cars run, the clocks are set like normal at 1320 ft. When the Pro Nitro run move the center reflector at the 1320 feet to 1000 feet and turn off those clocks and turn on the 1000 ft clocks ability to indiacte the winner. You now have a 1000 ft race track. Changes can be done while the rack prep is done and quickly changed back at the end of the session. All would be required is to move the reflector back to 1320 feet and turn on those clocks and turn off the 1000ft clocks.

You don't change any rules or equipment!!!!! Just a simple mod that just might save another life and still have those "needed" 300mph passes.

thoughts????

jim