Is anyone else absolutely appalled by this? (1 Viewer)

[Jon C]

Re the Urs Erbacher incident last week.

European Drag Racing News

Wayne Dupuy is basically saying that Urs' boomer at Houston was caused by the teeth being stripped off the bottom crank gear, causing the cam to stop in its tracks. He goes on to say it was the same problem which lead to the Tony Pedregon explosion at Pomona.

Apparently, it was a known problem with that componant from a known manufacturer, but 'We're not really in the regular clique of racers over here, so we hadn't heard about the problem. Most of the other guys talked about it after Tony's deal and they've fixed the problem. We just weren't in that loop, so we learned about it the hard way'

WTF? A known weak part, and no one thought to tell every single individual on the planet with a fuel car about it? Just because people don't move in the right circles, they dont get to hear about a major safety related parts issue?

'We just weren't in that loop, so we learned about it the hard way'

So, learning the hard way destroys a 120,000 dollar race car, damn near kills a very talented and affable driver just because SFI, NHRA and the other racers cannot be arsed to pass this information on?

What on earth is going on?

 

[fifty50]

If that's the case you're absolutely right,every fuel racer should have been notified of this. All the talk about improving safety and something like this is not reported? Absolutely inexcusable.Thank God Mr. Erbacher is ok. Just a darn shame to destroy a race car when it seems it could have been avoided.

 

[Mooseman]

Wonder if thats what caused the kalitta accident , did they ever say what caused that?

 

[Toejam]

I find it hard that any Crew chief is out of the Loop! These guys all know each other, stay in the same Hotels/motels at most races. And anything related to engine failures gets around rather quickly! And any engine failure such as Urs' or Tony's gets everybody's attention from crew members to crew chiefs. There's got to be more to all of this!

 

[Draw 3D]

I find it hard that any Crew chief is out of the Loop! These guys all know each other, stay in the same Hotels/motels at most races. And anything related to engine failures gets around rather quickly! And any engine failure such as Urs' or Tony's gets everybody's attention from crew members to crew chiefs. There's got to be more to all of this!

Gotta agree with Joe, also, isn't Dupuy's brother also a CC and would probably keep his own brother "in the loop"?

 

[yoda]

WayneO's out of the loop? please....

He's one of the guys that makes up the loop... Come on Jon- you have to admit being a fuel tuner is a pretty small fraternity, and being a person that buys parts for a professional nitro team is even a smaller group. No need to throw SFI, NHRA or anyone under the bus on this one

 

[Joker]

I also have a hard time believing that. Like everyone else said, his brother was a crew chief at the time, they talk to each other, word spreads fast, etc.

 

[T.Smith]

We never heard about a faulty part....so much for the loop.

 

[Jon C]

WayneO's out of the loop? please....

He's one of the guys that makes up the loop... Come on Jon- you have to admit being a fuel tuner is a pretty small fraternity, and being a person that buys parts for a professional nitro team is even a smaller group. No need to throw SFI, NHRA or anyone under the bus on this one

It's Wayne's quote, not mine. Did you read the link on Eurodragster.com?

 

[john]

I am absolutely appalled by this.

 

[yoda]

It's Wayne's quote, not mine. Did you read the link on Eurodragster.com?

Yeah, I read it... wayno's knows he's in no way out of the information loop- and for him to say that he is makes me think about his history of tuning for other folks and what he must have done to think he fell out of that pocket...

The man HAS had some "incidents" in his tuning career... (No disrespect intended to those we have lost)... This **** isn't easy to do- that's why we all don't do it. But some have had it occur more often than others with different techniques, different tuning styles as well as a different approach as to how much hammer swing it takes to drive a nail.

 

[clwill]

I'm only appalled by the need to blame someone else...

 

[You!]

It has nothing to due with a faulty part, it's the way it is installed. If done incorrectly / in a hurry, this can be the result.

 

[Randy]

It has nothing to due with a faulty part, it's the way it is installed. If done incorrectly / in a hurry, this can be the result.

Bill:

It's not an installation issue. This has been a problem with TF/FC's for a while. They are not pressing gears on the front of the crank with a couple of woodruff keys like the old days. One of the later deals is an integrated gear made as part of the crank.

RG

 

["Chuck"]

I dont know anything about Blown Nitro, but Im calling bluff on Dupuy's comments....Theres no way that he would not know about "faulty" parts nor do I think that any of those gears were blamed manufacture wise...Thats just my opinion though. I think that blow up was more of the case of a random mechanical failure that sometimes can happen in Nitro racing....Nobody got hurt and thats the MOST IMPORTANT PART!

 

[Mooseman]

I am no expert but when they showed the team in the pits after the big boom the block didn't look in all that bad shape .

If the crank gear sheared its teeth then the cam would have stopped moving which would have kept the cylinders with a misture of permanitly open and closed intake and exhaust valves causing the engine to not be able to get rid of the exhaust or get more intake , then it would have hydrauliced the cylinder heads and blown the blower of because of the rapid increase in cylinder/manifold pressure . Same thing would happen if you broke a rocker arm just on a much smaller scale because losing the cam does it to every cylinder .

I am no nitro tuner but knowing the basic principle of an internal combustion engine I am sure thats what happened . It doesn't make who the tuner is or how good they are , if the cam stops moving not much you can do about the explosion after wards

 

[Nitrohelper]

I dont know anything about Blown Nitro,.....
.... blamed manufacture wise...!

No need to state the obvious .....the gears were known about last season ,they were made in Mexico.....

 

[handsome]

am i the only one that realizes that when you are trying to make that much power in just a few seconds that parts and pieces may and will fail. nothing is guaranteed to last forever. every time somebody makes one part stronger something next to it will possibly fail. **** happens. just be glad nobody got hurt and if a week link was discovered , it will be addressed.

 

[4d]

it appears a weak link was discovered last season

 

[Triple Nickel II]

So, learning the hard way destroys a 120,000 dollar race car, damn near kills a very talented and affable driver just because SFI, NHRA and the other racers cannot be arsed to pass this information on?

SFI doesn't certify crank gears.