Boom! (1 Viewer)

[mick]

these nitro explosions happen in every section of the run, they were still enormous many years ago
when fuel volume was much lower.....they happen to all the teams, some more frequently than
others.....they happen when someone peddles it, then the next person peddles the same and gets
away with it....pretty scary watching these motors let go....338's in topeka were really cool.
two grenades in new hampshire not so much.....part of the sport, but wish they were way less
frequent.

 

[ScojoDak]

Terry McMillen can be a "technical advisor" on the subject. Haven't seen a boomer like that in a while. Launched the manifold too.

 

[DG]

Wendland found some positives in the carnage.

“All the rods are in the motor. That’s a testament to CP Rods. The Rods did not break, even under that kind of pressure, hydraulically. It forked the hell out of them. We could not get them out of the cylinder, it forked them so much. But it’s still connected to the crankshaft. It spread them so much they wouldn’t come out the sleeve. The rod had to be taken out at the top, where the piston is, and then shoved back down. But it stayed together. They took a beating and they were still in there,” Wendland said.

 

[ironpony]

There's a good interview with Don Garlits in the June issue of the PRI magazine where he mentions the "horrendous explosions" problem

Not sure if it was the same interview but Garlits also said terrorists could use nitro to build a bomb and then all nitro racing would be shut down by Homeland Security

 

[stitcherbob]

leave it to the gov't and terrorists to equally ruin a good thing

 

[ironpony]

400 lbs, that would be less than 1 drum.

 

[Muddy]

You can thank Tim McVeigh and the Okla. City bombing for that. He mixed among other things nitro and amonian nitrate to blow up the federal building in OKC. Now nitro is very regulated and you can no linger buy pure ammion nitrate for your lawns.

 

[Mike]

To me the DHS is regulating what they don't understand. A drum of diesel fuel contains much more energy than a drum of nitro. That's the reason we have to run so much volume to make power. I can go buy as much diesel fuel as I want and no one will notice. This is ultimately what happened in OKC because no one would sell him nitro. If someone wants to do something bad enough, they will find a way. In the end, the racers protected themselves. I don't see anyone regulating diesel fuel in that respect...too much money involved. The DHS just took more of our taxes and the credit for protecting us.

 

[barry]

My apologizes to Mike (and to PRI and to Don Garlits) as it looks like I totally screwed up your post with my reply post. WTF guys..does everything have to be a quest to drag politics or government into everything? I sure as hell hope you guys bring drag racing into all your political conversations. It would be great for the sport.

 

[Mike]

Ha, it's just conversation. Guys like Eugene and myself can't talk drag racing all of the time. We need something else to distract us. Unfortunately politics can easily do that. As for Terry's explosion and all explosions, they need to happen less frequently. I know firsthand how much it sucks when it happens!

 

[Nunz]

Considering the crazy amount of power and cylinder pressures in today's fuel motors, I don't think the number of big boomers is that high. I'm thinking as a percentage of overall runs made. Maybe I'm way off, I'm sure someone will know.

 

[mick]

no clue....it's part of the sport....blower restraints will occasionally fail, FC bodies will disintegrate, and TF parts will blow rear
tires and collapse wings......wish it didn't happen as much either.....not sure what the answer is. fuel volume was much lower
not too many years ago and the grenades were just as bad....herbert at winters / oswald in ford probe houston i think?
probably not much nhra can do about it except make sure everyone is driving as smart as possible.
the only question i have is.....at what point is the fuel volume too high for 2 plugs/cyl. to lite and stay lit?
nunz talks about 'percentage of overall runs made without catastrophic damage'......what about percentage of runs made
where all cylinders are lit for entire run?, and then go back about 15-20 years and look at same percentage?
have the twin magnetos improved inline with increase in air and fuel volume? (my guess they have?)

 

[ironpony]

IMO, Garlits, from some of the latest interviews I have read/heard is pushing an agenda to do away with nitro and go to electric racing.....................no politics involved from me, Garlits stated it in HIS interview, drawing ALOT of attention to NITRO.

 

[Nunz]

I'm a HUGE Big fan, since I was a toddler. But electric drag racing will never, ever fly, at least as any kind of spectator sport. Especially as a replacement for fuel cars. Can you go any farther in the opposite direction? I'm not saying they're not fast, but there's zero fan appeal, IMO anyway. If God forbid, we lost nitro, there are many other classes that could take over as headliner, starting with, alky cars. Again, JMO.

 

[Cliff]

Nitro goes away, and you'd have blown alky with nitrous. What kind of explosion would that make? I have seen some really nasty nitrous explosions. One Pro Mod racer at Vegas a few years ago, the man with the El Camino. Had a monster nitrous explosion on the starting line & looked like a bomb went off! The whole front of the car was wiped out. It's interesting to me that a nitrous explosion can cause the same basic damage that nitro does.

 

[.]

Nitro goes away, and you'd have blown alky with nitrous. What kind of explosion would that make? I have seen some really nasty nitrous explosions. One Pro Mod racer at Vegas a few years ago, the man with the El Camino. Had a monster nitrous explosion on the starting line & looked like a bomb went off! The whole front of the car was wiped out. It's interesting to me that a nitrous explosion can cause the same basic damage that nitro does.

It's not the nitrous that causes the big boom, it's the extra fuel. All nitrous basically does is cool the intake charge and allow more fuel to be shoved in.

 

[DrRocket]

When Formula 1 went to Turbo V6 hybrid engines, the cars got a LOT quieter. Fans, and a lot of drivers, really raised a stink about it. Still are.

 

[cdag]

Terry McMillen can be a "technical advisor" on the subject. Haven't seen a boomer like that in a while. Launched the manifold too.

That pic was Houston '16.

 

[Gordon]

I'm probably in the minority, but the explosions don't necessarily bother me. Sure the down time needed for clean up is a bit tedious, but my feeling is that each and every driver, crew chief, crew member, NHRA staff member, track staff member, photographer, videographer, journalist & fan, with very few exceptions, understands the inherent dangers involved, not just in drag racing, but in all forms of motorsports. In many cases it's part of the draw.

Is a .500 CID nitro explosion any worse than what happened to Scott Dixon during the Indianapolis 500? How about the "Big One" that happens with regularity at almost all of the restrictor plate races in NASCAR? A quick stroll through the earliest days of CH3NO2 racing will show much more tragic results than we're generally accustomed too today. When was the last time we saw a fire that burned a race car to the ground like the early days?

Yes, sadly, we are still occasionally faced with the ultimate tragedy, and yes, it's painful and it sucks. But drivers and crew chiefs go right back to pushing the edge to see how quick & fast they can go, often during the same event... and fans line up to witness it. Parts fail & human beings make mistakes. I think the sanctioning bodies do a fantastic job striking a balance between allowing for technological advances and innovation while at the same time advancing safety when and where they're able to do so.

I'm certainly not so morbid that I show up to a race hoping for a crash or an explosion, but they don't bother me too much when they occur (assuming nobody gets hurt, of course) - it's the risk taken while seeking the reward.

 

[Reese]

The thing that worries me about the explosions is as soon as it starts sending pieces into the stands and hurt a fan they will do drastic changes and hurt the sport. I pray no driver, crew, or fan never get injured because of flying debris caused by these explosions.