JFNHRA (1 Viewer)

Bob Reese... nice pictures. There should be one more of your "color" stripes though. That's the one that takes into account the low rear tire pressure and the fact that the tire is leaning and the tire track will be even further inside the body than your yellow stripe when the car is turning back towards it's lane.

Again, it's not Force's fault that he just happened to do this between the blocks. I seriously doubt he planned it this way. Had his "swerve" been a few hundred feet sooner or later we wouldn't be having this discussion. He would have booted a red block and lost both round win points and penalty points for crossing the line.

The real issue here is the loose way NHRA's rule is written and enforced. There are effectively four (4) different ways a you can be disqualified for getting out of your lane on a pass. If you touch the wall (1) with anything on your car, your disqualified. If the pass involves the centerline, you're disqualified if your body (2) or header (3) hits a block. But if you don't cross where there's a block, you get about a foot more before your "tucked in tires" (4) cross all the way over the width of the white line. So apparently the header, body and wing can go way over the white line and it's still a legal pass.

Question: IF both cars did exactly what John Force did at the exact same point on the track and at the exact same time and hit each other... who gets the win?
Or are they both disqualified even though they both just made a legal pass? It's probably time to tighten up the way the rule is written.
 
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It was almost the best race of the year. Had all the elements except for a left lane that had little chance. I know they worked hard on it but in the end, it wasn’t competitive.
 
the rule is fine. if you hit a block, you're dq'd. if you do what john did between blocks, you are lucky. no tire track on line. end of story.
.............. also watched topwater tony's video/s, in fact i watch all his videos from every race he attends. they are great. he has 4 or 5 from the nats., including one showing off-track
stuff that is my favorite.
 
I enjoyed the race very much, in my opinion, it may have been the best race of the year so far. It had everything you wanted in a drag race, upsets, close races, emotions (Angelle talking about Louisiana, Laughlin choking up over winning a round win in Top Fuel) a low budget team winning Funny Car and of course, controversy with Force and the center line incident.
As I stated in a previous post, I would've bet money he crossed the center line. But that was from the comfort of my Lazy-Boy, I didn't walk the track like an NHRA official and said he didn't cross, then he didn't cross. End of story.
I'm not a Force fan, but I got to say the guy can handle a funny Car.
It was a one lane racetrack
 
IF NHRA wanted to avoid centerline controversies , a few extra centerline markers, and or a centerline camera might be a good start.
I could see how some teams not liking that idea, bigger chances of body damage, what would you suggest?
Just spitballing ideas...
 
From the right side video it looks like Forces tire tracks didn't cross the line and NHRA's crew called it right. Too bad they didn't have the video that Bob Reese posted here to play on their big screens and on Fox at the time. Still, the officials got it right.

However, my question still stands...
What do you think NHRA would do if this happened during eliminations?
If both cars were to do exactly what John Force did at the exact same point on the track and at the exact same time and they hit each other... who gets the win?
Or are they both disqualified even though they both made a legal pass?

First or worst rule? How long do you think the discussion would be if they were both very close to doing their "body over the line" dance at the same time?

Hope it never happens but as Forest Gump said...
 
That’s not even the best pic. Just before that the whole right rear was over the line. Like Andy said, if there’s not drive to the rear tires, the “black tracks” can stop...there should be a single, solid line does the middle, period. You touch it, your DQ’d...way too many variables out there now
If the tire is not making a mark how would the single line catch that
 
Did you notice that John Force ended up 2nd in points for the start of the Countdown? JR Todd, Tasca, Capps and Force were behind Hagan who caught China19 and didn't even get qualifying points. Capps goes on to RU and is now the point leader going into the Countdown.
Todd, Tasca and Force all lost 2nd round and apparently Force's little points during qualifying put him ahead of Tasca and Todd.
Had Force been DQ'd after the officials line debate was over, he would have ended up 4th because he would lose both the round points plus the DQ penalty points. By inches...
Anybody hear Todd and Tasca's comments?
 
It was almost the best race of the year. Had all the elements except for a left lane that had little chance. I know they worked hard on it but in the end, it wasn’t competitive.
Actually it was the right lane that was brutal until the finals where three of the four pro winners came out of the right lane. All four competitors with lane choice took the left lane in the final and only Torrence won from there.
 
Brittany didn't have lane choice and she was in the right lane. Steve T had left lane.
Wilkerson won a great race over Capps and Wilkerson was in the right lane.
Pro Stock right lane won with a holeshot.
 
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That centerline rule has never made any sense to me...you so much as tick the outer wall, you're DQ. Should be the same on the inside - you touch the line = DQ. John's fortunate.
Logic makes sense but it’s not practical to adjudicate on. Tire tracks is the only ‘proof’ as to whether the car crossed. Sure, when he’s so far over it’s obvious to see but when it’s close, you can’t, hence why the rule is for the rubber crossing not the headers/bodywork.
 
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