Courtney's crash (2 Viewers)

[Jeff]

If Courtney can't go, Ashley is the back up plan. There was an article on Fox Sports about this earlier today.

Link... http://www.foxsports.com/motor/stor...ury-update-john-ashley-funny-car-crash-081016

 

[SoCal Racer]

Well I've been quietly agreeing with Brent because that has been my observation as well. [WARNING: OPINION AHEAD]
I have nothing against Courtney, but think there are some fans for whom the Force girls can do no wrong, and as such don't really notice some of the on-track incidents. But I do think Courtney is the best of the three. Ashley was more prone to driving over her head than any of the Force girls. [/OPINION]

So why Ashley? (Yeah, I know. The whole marketing "girl power" thing....) Why not put Mike Neff in the seat? Ol' Zippy is a proven race winner..... My 2 cents. Flame away - I have a firesuit!

 

[RM FAN]

My two cents...I don't know if she has a history of driving over her head, I haven't seen her more or less in trouble than any other driver out there.

With respect to this specific race, I believe the competitor in her took over. She knows she's up in smoke and knows that if the car recovers it's almost a certainty she drives around Diehl. The fact that he only ran a 4.93 bears this out. She sees that he didn't streak away and most likely thought the car would hook up and catch him. I'd think that if I were in her situation I'd do the same thing.

If she were racing a DSR or JFR car that was streaking away, I don't think she stays in it so long.

Could not agree more. She is a young driver trying to win who is still paying her dues. And as for me a Force fan, I stopped being a Force fan back in 96 when he put together his dive team.
Hey Brent what about Brandon Bernsteins crash or did the statue of limitation run out on his too?

 

[Justin@NRE]

Courtney did what probably any driver would do if they could still see their opponent in eliminations. Problem was the car just wouldn't hook up. Unless you're in the seat, you don't know what led to the decisions being made, and Courtney has enough experience with the car whipping on her when she goes into smoke that if she honestly felt it was going to do what it did, she wouldn't have tried to leg it like she did. Did she drive over her head a bit?
Probably, but how else are you going to learn what you or the car are capable of? Hell, I had a really experienced TAFC driver in first round at a divisonal years ago have the foam gasket pop out between the block and intake on the back of the motor just past half track.. He stayed in/pedaled it with oil spraying everywhere, smoking the tires like a drift car, went through the lights sideways and got the round win. When asked why he stayed in it... "I never saw the other guy, but I could hear him.." Crowd loved it, track owner said "You gotta come back and do that again!!!", Division Director was far less amused since the cleanup shut the race down for at least an hour.. lol.

It's one thing smoking the tires way down track when you're already at speed. Momentum wants to keep you moving straight ahead. Smoking the tires when the car is really trying to accelerate the hardest from a low vehicle speed is when the crazy moves usually happen and even traction on both tires is critical. Even traction is not only critical for acceleration, but when they lift to settle the tires. If one tire bites and the other doesn't, the steering wheel is just something to hold on to at that point.

 

[mikebcurve]

Talk about an ax to grind. Why are we bringing up individual incidents from forever ago? Brent was referring to seeing Courtney crossed up more than others-not one occasion. Besides Im sure Brandon Bernstein would admit inexperience contributed to it. I would say he got really good after that. We should all light up the torches and search for Brent. I think he is a witch

 

[stitcherbob]

"Race fans are accustomed to seeing Funny Cars pointed every which way on the dragstrip. When they’re not pointed toward the finish line, they can be found zigzagging around their lane (and sometimes the other). We’ve seen them bank off of guardrails, fly through the air, and even wind up pointed the wrong way up the track."

http://www.nhra.com/blog/dragster-insider/2012/8/14/dale-emery-a-life-of-pure-hell-wild-rides

 

[stitcherbob]

Oh these inexperienced drivers....never know when to lift...

 

[stitcherbob]

what about Brandon Bernsteins crash or did the statue of limitation run out on his too?

 

[mikebcurve]

Oh these inexperienced drivers....never know when to lift...

A funny car sure seems more violent when they're out of control now. I guess they should with all that extra power.

 

[Silly Savage]

I don't recall any other drivers recently having as many problems as she has had while pedaling it. I'm not saying she's a bad driver, it's just curious how many times she's been way out of shape compared to everyone else out there.

Unlike Wilkerson?

 

[DrRocket]

Oh, man. Has it REALLY been 13 years since that happened??

Ouch.

 

[Butch]

Just remember driving a flopper 20years ago was way different then it is today.
Thing's happen much quicker today then back in the day.

 

[glofria]

To be fair, Ron Capps stated driving a nostalgia funny car is more challenging and more fun for him. You don't have things like clutch timers to assist you, you have to shift a gear and some have pedal clutches. And you certainly don't need to be pushed to the water box or up to the starting line like the do now.

Jack Beckman flipped a nostalgia funny car on it's lid at Sacramento some years ago.

 

[Butch]

I can't understand why all the bashing. How many people being negative had sat in a fuel car on race day? The drivers main goal is to go from point A to B and get there first that's all she was trying to do. comments about how many runs she has made or her driving over her head are uncalled for. John like any other father wouldn't let her drive if he didn't think she was capable. Over the years I have seen some of the best of the sport crash with a lot more experience than she has names like Glidden, Garlits, Beadle, Bernstein, John Force, Wilkerson to name but a few across several classes I could go on but I think you get the point.

 

[M Jones]

Well said Chuck,

 

[stitcherbob]

didn't Beadle go off track through the grass and get back on the strip to win his race somewhere?

 

[FABMAN]

didn't Beadle go off track through the grass and get back on the strip to win his race somewhere?

No, that was Earnhart !!!!

 

[turbo ken]

It happens to the best of them

 

[fixitdad]

This is a pretty cool right up
http://theracingexperts.com/john-force-apology.php

 

[vegasnitro]

No, that was Earnhart !!!!

It has always bothered me that is referred to as "the pass in the grass". He was in front before he went into the grass and he was in front after he came back on the track, he didn't pass anything. It was pretty spectacular in any event, and it was probably as mad as you ever saw Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, he was usually pretty even keeled.

Nowadays if a car gets in the grass they got the front splitter so low that it turns the car into a plow and tears the front end of the car up, might as well put it on the trailer after that instead of racing on.