Fastest Speed Ever! (1 Viewer)

[Sean D, shondoo]

Not many agree with me on this. No restrictions, 1380 feet. It is the Crew Chief and the Driver's job to get from the start to the finish as quick as they can and still get it stopped before the sand pit. It is not going to happen, but it was nice when the innovators could work to be the baddest, quickest, cars on earth.

I made no friends when I said that the initial move to 1,000' was a knee-jerk reaction, but without continuous monitoring of the rules by the sanctioning body, the cars would've eventually ran out of racetrack at some point anyway, and they would probably be at that point right now if they were still at 1320.

Sean D

 

[PJ]

So 60' longer than a quarter mile?

DUH it's supersized

 

[mgty3whlr]

When the initial mandatory 1000ft was in place, I was talking to a T/F person (no name disclosed) and when I asked, Do you lift at or before 1000ft. That person said no.

 

[Bubba]

When the initial mandatory 1000ft was in place, I was talking to a T/F person (no name disclosed) and when I asked, Do you lift at or before 1000ft. That person said no.

But I'm certain they lift before 1,320 feet.

 

[ironpony]

moving at that speed they probably are lifting at 1320, whereas before it was 1620 reducing shut down even more. It is amazing that more people are not injured/killed at the speeds they are running today, that is a true testament to how safe the cars are and the safety implemented by the sanctioning body.

They are passed the limits of some of the equipment (tires) at this point and need to do something to slow them down. Even if the equipment is made "safe" the probability of a catastrophic occurrences happening "regularly" is getting very high.

 

[mgty3whlr]

Ken, I wonder what the MPH and E.T are now at 1320? You know that they have the readings being that they still have the timers reading for the other classes. Just curious.

 

[mgty3whlr]

I remember years ago when T/F was still running 1320 (1/4 mile) The Kalitta team was on a hot streak and mentioned that after the traps, they estimated their rail running 340 or 350 mph. I can't remember the exact #.

 

[None]

So 60' longer than a quarter mile?

Sorry. Magic fingers. 1320

 

[ironpony]

I am going to say if they went back to 1/4 mile they really would not be going faster, based on the gearing and rpm limit they can only go so fast. The teams have maximized for 1000' and if they went back they would have to slow down the timers to max out at 1320', if they kept the set up the same as it is right now they would be on the limiter for 320' in theory. I am sure y the time they hit the chutes they probably have increased in mph some, that would be interesting information.

Where is Alan Rienhart when you need him???

 

[vegasnitro]

I agree they would be slowed down if they went back to the full 1/4, but only initially. They were throwing down low 4.50s at over 320 like they were nothing in Australia a few weeks ago, and they still run the full 1/4. The crew chiefs would do what they always do, find a baseline and work from there to see where they can shave off time. Within a year we would all be saying "Holy S$%^t" at the speeds and the times if they went back to the 1/4. Then something bad would happen and everyone on here would say "See, they should have stayed at 1,000ft" or "I told you the cars are too fast".

 

[Cliff]

There would be limits if the cars would go back to the full 1/4 mile. 1. Tires 2. Shut off area 3. How many G's can the human body take, both acceleration & deceleration. Don Garlits & Joe Amato are among those who had to get out of racing because of retina detachment, & I think it was the deceleration. For the sake of arguement, suppose you could run a fuel car with a screw blower & had the tires that could handle the speed. How long before you could run 400 in the 1/4 mile? How would you stop the car at that speed? What would it do to the driver, stopping from 400 in a short space? Also just for the sake of arguement, suppose the distance is shortened to 1/8 mile? 2.90's at 300 are a given. So how long would it take before they were back to the same speeds as 1000'?

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Ken, I wonder what the MPH and E.T are now at 1320? You know that they have the readings being that they still have the timers reading for the other classes. Just curious.

Based on last weekend's numbers they were gaining 45 mph from 660 to 1,000ft
That's 340 ft - 45mph. GAIN. SO FROM 1,000 TO 1320 IS 320 FT SO LETS SAY THE GAIN 40 MPH, THAT PUTS THEM AT 378 MPH IN THE QUARTER.

 

[T.Smith]

Based on last weekend's numbers they were gaining 45 mph from 660 to 1,000ft
That's 340 ft - 45mph. GAIN. SO FROM 1,000 TO 1320 IS 320 FT SO LETS SAY THE GAIN 40 MPH, THAT PUTS THEM AT 378 MPH IN THE QUARTER.

Actually no, things leveling out quite a bit at that point, i think another 7 - 15 mph is what you would get.

 

[RM FAN]

My question is what happens when either Goodyear or the insurance or both say slow them down under 300 mph or we are through supporting you? There are still some who think with lots of changes we could go back to 1/4 but we all know that will never happen. At least half the tracks would have to close due to restrictions.

 

[vegasnitro]

There are still some who think with lots of changes we could go back to 1/4 but we all know that will never happen.

THIS.

The days of NHRA big show quarter mile nitro racing have been over for almost a decade now. They aren't coming back.

 

[Nunz]

Chris, nothing stays the same. I miss a lot of the good old days, but is there any part of life where that doesn't apply? Would everyone have been happy if somehow, after KB ran 300 in '92, time stood still and performances remained the same for 25 years? That would be like Groundhog Day (the movie), yet in essence that is what everyone is asking for. I still think big show fuel racing is badass, even at 1000 ft., along with everything else the sport offers today.

 

[ironpony]

Goodyear will be the deciding factor IMO, the forces acting on the tire are tremendous. The speeds they are obtaining now are beyond what the tire can "safely" handle.The tires grow 48"s during the run.

 

[vegasnitro]

Chris, nothing stays the same. I miss a lot of the good old days, but is there any part of life where that doesn't apply? Would everyone have been happy if somehow, after KB ran 300 in '92, time stood still and performances remained the same for 25 years? That would be like Groundhog Day (the movie), yet in essence that is what everyone is asking for. I still think big show fuel racing is badass, even at 1000 ft., along with everything else the sport offers today.

UGH. I mis-typed my response above, it will be edited for clarification.

What I meant to say was:

"The days of NHRA big show QUARTER MILE nitro racing have been over for almost a decade now. They aren't coming back."

I am fine with the way the racing is now. It is fast and exciting as it has ever been IMO.

 

[.]

Bobby Bennett of CompPlus posted on his FB page the other day that a GoodYear engineer told him the tires are rated pretty high. No specific number posted, but they're not worried about them.

 

[justafan]

My question is what happens when either Goodyear or the insurance or both say slow them down under 300 mph or we are through supporting you?

I certainly hope this doesn't happen. With the alcohol cars pushing 280 mph and Antron running 299.13 mph in the 1/8th in Q3 at Topeka.

Bobby Bennett of CompPlus posted on his FB page the other day that a Goodyear engineer told him the tires are rated pretty high. No specific number posted, but they're not worried about them.

This is good news, IMO.