Auto shut off failures... again (1 Viewer)

[.]

The failure of these devices to perform properly is ridiculous. Tony Schumacher and Tony Bartone were both bitten this weekend. They have malfunctioned several times in the past, causing losses that should not have happened. I think NHRA needs to remove these things until they can confirm that they function properly 99.9999% of the time. When races and/or championships are lost because of a malfunctioning mandatory "safety" device it is inexcusable.

“This one hurts,” noted team owner Rick Jackson. “This race is the biggest and most important one for this team each season. The crew performed flawless during qualifying, Tony was on his game and is driving better today than ever, but to lose because of a Safety Device failure is simply unacceptable. I understand the purpose for the device; however, we are not the first to be effected by the malfunction of this sort. It is a real shame, not only for us, but most importantly the fans of Drag Racing to have a race and possibly a World Championship decided by this type of failure.”

SAFETY DEVICE FAILURE ENDS BARTONE?S INDY | HOT OFF THE PRESS

 

[Raconteur]

This ain't the first incident this season...

 

[.]

This ain't the first incident this season...

Yeah, that's what prompted me to start this thread. Do you have any idea the number of failures of these devices so far this year? Once is too many, but this is getting ridiculous.

 

[Gordon]

I agree wholeheartedly that losing a race as a result of a failed safety device is an absolute travesty. However, each and every one of us has been on this very site discussing how saddened we were following the loss of one of our heroes and many of us discussed a veritable plethora of ways to make these cars a little safer. In my mind, that makes this a catch-22, of sorts, for NHRA.

If they remove the device and we lose someone to another tragedy, they'll be crucified for the decision.

If, on the other hand, they leave it mandatory and continue to work to improve it but cost a racer or two a round of racing or a qualifying pass along the way, well... see the topic of this thread.

My thoughts? It absolutely sucks that a few racers have lost races as a result of this device. But racers have lost races for less in the past. Broken throttle cables, no used tires to put on the car, etc. Even if they are not able to make the system fail-proof, I'd still rather see a racer lose an occasional round rather than their life. And for the record, I do believe they will improve the system over time.

 

[timebombkal]

Maybe it had something to do with the car blowing up the engine the 2 runs before that one.