insight into the nitro situation (1 Viewer)

[Rajunz]

Hi, Pat! Long time no posts! I never got the opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed watching your son on the broadcast--man is he a storehouse of knowledge--I'd love the opportunity to visit with him sometime!

My wife and I got to visit with Randy one Saturday evening in Ennis, he was working on the Lucus Alcohol Dragster team at the time. We kept asking him about different people in racing and who was cool and who wasn't. When we asked about Whit, he just laughed and said "I love Whit, Whit's only problem is he likes the taste of his shoes too much"! We got a big kick out of that, and always remembered how cool he was to us.

 

[RAPID]

And BTW, Schumacher is sending a truck of nitro to Bowling Green for the Reunion. Who says he doesn't give a d--- about drag racing.

Thanks Pat, and I agree with all that was said about the segment on Randy was very good viewing I thought.

Hey Pete M,,,give me a call or a PM please.

Rapid

 

[*******]

And the " Dark Side " legend continues to grow. LOL I think Don should wear a Darth Vader suit on the starting line at the next race. That would be cool.

You go Don, your the man. Tell Mr. Gray to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

 

[Kelly]

I think Don should wear a Darth Vader suit on the starting line at the next race. That would be cool.

Definitely an option for the Vegas 2 race!

 

[none]

The correctness of information posted on sites is impossible.
On Insidetopalcohol.com an employee of Torco is quoted as saying they haven't ant nitro for sale.

Lee
Nitroclovers

 

[Suzie Q]

This is going to be interesting the way this plays out!

I have all the nitro.......na-na-na-na-boo-boo!!!

 

[Pete]

Personally, I believe Don should stick to his guns and not sell his supply to VP. He is under no obligation to do so! Its like your neighbor coming over and asking for gas for his lawn mower, which you have and paid $2.79/gal for 5 months ago....and he offers you $3.35/gal now. Its YOUR perogative. He can say you weren't a nice neighbor, but again you are not obligated to do so. VP (Mr. Gray) should have had the foresight to see a problem looming in his supply and order in advance. Everything that is transpiring could have been avoided if VP did their homework. I don't think their manufacturing plant just decided to shut down. In business, most reputable suppliers forewarn their customers when a planned shutdown/production cease is going to occur. Its only VP's fault if they ignored the memo.

Gray can say what he wants about Don, but IMO he is just pissed at himself, his company and is trying to deflect the heat.....especially the heat he's going to feel in a couple of months when the supply runs out.

Good luck to all parties involved!

 

[Treeshaker]

The correctness of information posted on sites is impossible.
On Insidetopalcohol.com an employee of Torco is quoted as saying they haven't ant nitro for sale.

That statement is true, Torco does not have any nitro to sell, but it is not because of a shortage of nitro available. Torco had just barely enough to cover the field at Rockingham. They have not been able to receive the four containers full that were on order due to circumstances. Someone else has stepped up to procure the nitro and it is available at IHRA events.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes. New alliances are being formed and some normal sources are going to be history. There are caches of nitro available, you will see some old players coming back into the nitro business and some new players emerging. Stay tuned "as the drum turns" continues.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

That man is saying ‘no, I don’t give a f#@% about drag racing.”

“If he did, he would’ve already sold me the nitromethane.”

I think Don should reply to this with something like "But, I thought I was the man!"

 

[RAPID]

Thanks for the info Virgil.

Rapid

 

[none]

Thanks, Virgil!
"As the Drum Turns", do we have to wait for next week's adventure, or was that the season finally and we must wait for next season's adventures?
Lee
Nitrocloverss

 

[Nick Name]

Bottom line. VP has a contract to exclusively supply nitro at NHRA national events. As soon as the first event happens where VP can't supply nitro, the contract would become void.

Then new alliances can be made.

 

[nope]

This is not the first time NHRA has tried fixing the supply of Nitro. In the late 50's-early 60's the only way you could buy Nitro was through their "appointed one." In SoCal, it was Tony Capana(sp) and he would not sell you 100%, per NHRA mandate. The only way you could buy it was to use your company's PO and you had to be in an industry that used this product just in case they checked on you. I believe the first domestic supplier was Commercial Solvents. I think they sold out to Dow Chemical a few of years after the big explosion in Texas. Someone else may remember the big meeting in Hawaiian Gardens during NHRA's first Nitro ban.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Bottom line. VP has a contract to exclusively supply nitro at NHRA national events. As soon as the first event happens where VP can't supply nitro, the contract would become void.

Then new alliances can be made.

Wouldn't that be an interesting announcement. "The final round will not be run due to no nitro."

If the VP guy was on hand, you could add "Because Don Schumacher doesn't give a f%&*#@!!! about drag racing!"

 

[onfire]

This is not the first time NHRA has tried fixing the supply of Nitro. In the late 50's-early 60's the only way you could buy Nitro was through their "appointed one." In SoCal, it was Tony Capana(sp) and he would not sell you 100%, per NHRA mandate. The only way you could buy it was to use your company's PO and you had to be in an industry that used this product just in case they checked on you. I believe the first domestic supplier was Commercial Solvents. I think they sold out to Dow Chemical a few of years after the big explosion in Texas. Someone else may remember the big meeting in Hawaiian Gardens during NHRA's first Nitro ban.

There used to be a Commercial Solvents plant in Terre Haute, IN. We ran a junior fuel car back in the early to mid 70's, and we bought our nitro in 5 gal cans for little more than the cost of the container. It was good to have an "in" back then.

Late......................Mitch

 

[Raconteur]

In Drag Racing Online

Nitro shortage? Depends on whom you ask... In Drag Racing Online.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Based on a little reading I've done, nitro is most commonly made by heating propane to 350-400 degrees Celsius, then injecting nitric acid. What would prevent anyone from home brewing the stuff? Are there any chemists here?

nitration: Definition and Much More from Answers.com

......and then is distilled to recover each of the four nitroparafins—nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

Wow, look at what one of your byproducts is.

Nitropropane - Overview - Power Adder - Tech - Hot Rod Magazine

 

[Nick Name]

It would be bad enough to have a meth lab in the neighborhood, how about a neighbor who was making nitro in his garage.

 

[none]

It would be bad enough to have a meth lab in the neighborhood, how about a neighbor who was making nitro in his garage.

I guess it would be OK as long as he made enough to supply all who wanted it!

 

[mike cummings]

Based on a little reading I've done, nitro is most commonly made by heating propane to 350-400 degrees Celsius, then injecting nitric acid. What would prevent anyone from home brewing the stuff?

I'd have to say common sense. I would not feel comfortable heating propane 350-400 degrees without the proper training and equipment.

I looked up a MSDS on propane and saw it has a flashpoint of -156F (-104C). I also saw this item about storing the containers:

Cylinders should never knowingly be allowed to reach a temperature exceeding 125°F (52°C).

PROPANE MSDS

nah, I think I'll pass on making my own home brew of nitro, but let me know how it works out for you.