Alexis DeJoria's crash. (1 Viewer)

[handsome]

Randy,

Define the word "no one" for me please.

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and just when was that car built. not trying to be rude but the first f/c i had was built in 78 and thats how it was . i think randy meant nobody builds them that way anymore or has built them in many years that way

 

[Terry]

Bill and Randy, got a question cause I need some enlightenment. Am I safe in the assumption that both Marty and Alexis DeJoria's cars were equipped with carbon brakes? If so, heres my question:
I have no experience whatsoever with carbon brakes (and I've never gone that fast either--low 8's at 160-170 bracket racing my SG car is the quickest/fastest I've gone) so I don't profess to have any knowledge of the situation. But, after watching both accidents several times, it looked to me like Marty was hard on the brakes, causing the car to bounce like I've seen many times before with hard application of FC and TAD and TF brakes. I didn't see any such reaction with Alexis' car. I have read several places that the damage to the rear end both released the parachutes and rendered the brakes useless because of coating them with gear lube.

Like I said, I don't know anything about carbon brakes, but I was under the assumption that carbon/carbon brakes were not affected by contaminations from oil, gear lube, etc because they could not absorb any contaminants...

To Bill or Randy or anyone else that can fill this cornfield dweller in on carbon brake behavior, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[handsome]

doesn't matter what the brakes are made from, if it's covered with gear oil, it's not going to stop. lubricants are designed to prevent heat and friction, and brakes are all about friction and cause heat.

 

[Randy]

Bill and Randy, got a question cause I need some enlightenment. Am I safe in the assumption that both Marty and Alexis DeJoria's cars were equipped with carbon brakes? If so, heres my question:
I have no experience whatsoever with carbon brakes (and I've never gone that fast either--low 8's at 160-170 bracket racing my SG car is the quickest/fastest I've gone) so I don't profess to have any knowledge of the situation. But, after watching both accidents several times, it looked to me like Marty was hard on the brakes, causing the car to bounce like I've seen many times before with hard application of FC and TAD and TF brakes. I didn't see any such reaction with Alexis' car. I have read several places that the damage to the rear end both released the parachutes and rendered the brakes useless because of coating them with gear lube.

Like I said, I don't know anything about carbon brakes, but I was under the assumption that carbon/carbon brakes were not affected by contaminations from oil, gear lube, etc because they could not absorb any contaminants...

To Bill or Randy or anyone else that can fill this cornfield dweller in on carbon brake behavior, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

The only thing I know for sure (which isn't much) is that her car has slotted steel front rotors. I don't know what they had on the rears.

My car has carbon on all 4 corners and we've heated them up pretty good, but we've never lubed them up with gear oil. I can't imagine that being a good thing. When Marc White drove my car in 2004 the chutes didn't open on a 255 mile per hour pass at Pomona which is shorter than Englishtown. He made the turn with no issues except the wheels were black with carbon dust. I saw Shelly Anderson run 298 miles per hour at Pomona in her TF car many years ago and the chutes didn't open. With carbon brakes on the rear she made the turn A-OK.

When carbon brakes heat up they work better, while steel brakes fade away.

When Marty started bouncing he was in trouble. If the car would have been a little more cooperative I think he might have been OK, but there was nothing he could do. Alexis had no brakes and is very fortunate she came out of it like she did.

 

[Terry]

doesn't matter what the brakes are made from, if it's covered with gear oil, it's not going to stop. lubricants are designed to prevent heat and friction, and brakes are all about friction and cause heat.

Thanks for the info, Bruce. Like I said, I was looking for the scoop from some folks who know, and I wasn't sure about the effects of contaminants on carbon brakes. Lord knows I couldn't afford them for my car!...

 

[Randy]

Randy,

Define the word "no one" for me please.

When Grant Downing at Worsham's did my car it wasn't an option.

No one would mean Downing, Plueger, Uyehara, Hadman, McKinney, Spitzer, Long, Mooers, Porter, and S&W to name a few.

I see you have a straight axle with a tortion bar front end? Who built your car and when? Looks like my altered.

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

My bad! My old '81 McKinney was as you stated, top rail blow by. But I think that the old F/C I worked on (Norm Day's) had them in the lowers.

 

[You!]

Jeez Randy, lighten up would ya? Taking yourself way too serious these days.

I was just having a little fun. Sorry, I don't do the whole "smiley face" deals!

Btw, it's a Ken Cox.

 

[Randy]

Jeez Randy, lighten up would ya? Taking yourself way too serious these days.

I was just having a little fun. Sorry, I don't do the whole "smiley face" deals!

Btw, it's a Ken Cox.

Hey Bill:

I was asking a serious question. I tried to post a picture of the front of my altered that Steve Reyes took for a magazine article but I couldn't get it to fly. Speaking of flying, when are you running?

Randy

 

[Toejam]

TA/FC's have WAY less drag than an FC. FC's have huge spoilers on the back that cup and drag the air which slows them down big time while TA/FC's are very slippery.

From what I was told Alexis' chute mounts pulled out the rear end housing and allowed the spray of gear oil you saw to coat the rear brakes. The only brakes she had left were her steel front rotors which are not nearly as effective as carbon brakes. I personally would never own a car without carbon brakes on all four corners and with their budget I hope Bob orders a set from Lamb or Strange for her next car.

I'm not sure about the car Marty was driving but (excluding the body) that is an old Frank Manzo car. He seemed to be able to scrub a lot of speed off even though it was bouncing. I wonder if it at least has rear carbon brakes.

I have NEVER heard of this happening, chutes ripping the Rear-end cover off? Has that happened in competition before? That's a first that I've ever heard of this...

 

[Toejam]

You've got that right...


While I was in college, I got to be real good friends with an instructor and his son (They are some of the best people you would ever meet). Anyway, we were at a Div.1 track racing their injected alcohol dragster, and had just made a pass. We got down to the top end, and were rolling up the chutes or whatever getting ready to tow back. Just then, the next pair came down, and here comes a dragster with the chute flopping on the ground, and appears to have no brakes.

This track has an uphill shut off, and the last turn off is at the top of the hill. After the last turn off, it goes back down hill a little ways. (At the time I had never been beyond the last turn off.) Well, he almost got it stopped at the top of the hill, but barely made it over the top, and went down to what I thought would be the sand trap. Myself and the drivers brother ran up the hill and were going to help the guy push the car back out of the sand and up to get the car off the track. Much to our surprise, when we got to the top of the hill and looked down, THERE WAS NO CAR!!!

The sand trap (gravel) was about 20 feet long, and it looks like they had a ton extra, so they had it piled up about 4 feet high in the back just before the woods. The dragster had went through the gravel, up the gravel mound, and jumped into the trees. Lucky for him, he went between a couple of the bigger trees, and the car might have needed a front half but other then that was ok. The driver was shaken, but we helped him out after a little bit. He had a brake fitting crack, and leaked fluid out.

I always think back to that day when I see a car go off the end of the track. He was not going all that fast when he went in, but the results could have been tragic. If that had been Alexis or even Marty going in at the speed they were, it would have been real ugly.

Boy does that remind me of being at the Denver Div-5 race around '98? Steve Addleman had just made a decent run for Denver about a 5.90ish?? Anyway he had No chutes! Now everyone knows Bandimere has an uphill shutdown, however he was Hauling ass! So like at most tracks you look for that Bloom of sand when they plow the Sandtraps, however Addleman had other ideas. He made the turn at the Top end at like 60 MPH! I was Like....WHOA!!! I'm watching him and all of a sudden his car just dissappears! Turns out he just found a gap between two rows of SC/SG trailers and finally got it stopped like 300' ft after the Turn-off! If that had happened at a Natl. event he would been fined HUGE I bet! Later that year at another race I asked him about that, and he said "That was a Brand new Body, and I wasn't going to put it in the sand!" Can you say "**** your Pants??"