Larry Dixon news... (2 Viewers)

[I was NITRO BREATH]

never understood why dixon would want this ''lawsuit waiting to happen '' 2seater. the saddest part is larry dixon one of our great drivers is not in a top fueler racing

 

[Murrieta Mad Man]

They should have looked Larry in the eye while peeling off the Cert sticker, rolled it up and thrown it away. No sticker, no cert.

 

[Dragracer]

NHRA makes the rules. If you want to play in their backyard you have to play my their rules whether you like it or not. If Larry wants to play, find a sponsor and go racing, nobody is keeping him from doing that. He would be welcomed.

 

[Dragracer]

It would'

They should have looked Larry in the eye while peeling off the Cert sticker, rolled it up and thrown it away. No sticker, no cert.

It wouldn't have made any difference anyway, the sticker wasn't valid.

 

[DrRocket]

NHRA's problem with this seems to be that it's' a top fuel car. All the other ride along dragsters I could find with a quick search were 9 second top dragster style cars.

Larry says "NHRA officials “expressed enthusiasm for this idea,” when he first talked to them. Those officials then probably talked to the corporate legal team about what Larry was proposing. It's my guess the legal team's heads immediately exploded. "No #$%&ing way!!! You don't want any part of this! If someone gets hurt or killed, even if it's not at an NHRA event, we'll get our butts sued! And they will probably win! You gotta shut this whole thing down! You need to kill it for good!"

Hence:
“As you were told by NHRA officials on multiple occasions, NHRA has not and will not approve a two-seat top fuel dragster for a variety of reasons,” the notice stated. “The two-seat top fuel dragster concept presents serious safety concerns that have not been satisfied and that we do not believe can be satisfied.”

Also:
In the NHRA’s April 2018 decision on Dixon’s appeal, the organization stated Dixon “could not compete in NHRA as a driver or team owner unless he would ‘ensure’ that the two-seater dragster would not be operated anywhere in the world, with it being ‘the committee’s strong recommendation’ that he ‘dismantle’ the car,” according to the complaint.

It's obvious, the NHRA simply want this car and concept to completely "go away." Period.

It's also obvious that Larry has decided that the two seater is part of his package. If he can't bring the car to NHRA tracks, even if to just show it, then it's a non-starter. As far as he's concerned, if the car is banned, then in effect, he is "banned."

 

[stitcherbob]

The NHRA dropped the ball years ago in not trademarking (and whatever else legally needed) to claim "TOP FUEL" as theirs. All the sanctioning bodies treated it like "you have a Chevy, I have a Top Fuel dragster". If they had owned the rights to the classification, then I could see them preventing Larry from doing his thing. But like Xerox and Scotch Tape, the name is used all over to describe the cars that exist in similar form, even if they need to be adjusted to match race (Australian or FIA Top Fuel vs us ...same rules?) Every commercial for the NHRA shows fuelers blowing up etc. so they are fighting hard to protect something they don't really own. Their image seems to be "excitement right up to that point, but not over, where we have to announce that another driver died". They became circus acts.

I really think they should come to an agreement with Larry to run his car on lower power and at major NHRA events where the Safety Safari is there and maybe he could lower the price so more could enjoy the ride.
And the NHRA could have contests to put ordinary folk in the car for maybe a half track blast they would never forget.

 

[Pete]

When are people going to see that this is a MAJOR liability, especially if its run at an NHRA member track. As I stated this before, they could have handled this behind closed doors and not in the public forum, but I'm sure it was too late once the genie was out of the bottle.

 

[mick]

they have the 4wides. maybe they should have the 2x2 wides......fans with a couple bucks can bid and buy the second seat.....sign their life away. maybe the 'passenger'
can operate the parachute. dsr will have new business making double enclosed cockpit chassis.....double winner interviews!......all kidding aside, it's too bad larry and nhra
are in this odd position. i wish larry would have been able to put a deal together a few years back and be out there competing today. not so easy anymore.

 

[Nunz]

When are people going to see that this is a MAJOR liability, especially if its run at an NHRA member track. As I stated this before, they could have handled this behind closed doors and not in the public forum, but I'm sure it was too late once the genie was out of the bottle.

I'm a huge Dixon fan, and agree with Pete and others that this could have been handled before it ever got to this point. A little food for thought, has anyone really stopped to think if it's smart to have a 2 seat TF car? I mean, 250 to the 1/8 (I think that's what Larry was targeting?) may be a turd of a run for a TF car, but that is still extremely fast! One can certainly see the NHRA's hesitance in blessing this thing.

 

[dboxell]

Not really related to Dixon, but NHRA killed Jr Dragbike racing, citing insurance reasons.
But still allow Jr Dragsters to run, same age group. Jr Dragsters is how several upcoming drivers got to where they are.
We were hoping the same with Jr Dragbikes here in the US.
They were never ran under the NHRA banner but at NHRA tracks, that is where the problem arose.

 

[ironpony]

Not really related to Dixon, but NHRA killed Jr Dragbike racing, citing insurance reasons.
But still allow Jr Dragsters to run, same age group. Jr Dragsters is how several upcoming drivers got to where they are.
We were hoping the same with Jr Dragbikes here in the US.
They were never ran under the NHRA banner but at NHRA tracks, that is where the problem arose.

I know of one child killed in a Jr dragster, have there been others? not sure if it was NHRA.

 

[mikebcurve]

I know of one child killed in a Jr dragster, have there been others? not sure if it was NHRA.

No it was Australia. Poor girl. It's the only one I've heard of.

 

[ironpony]

IIRC it was the first pass she ever made.

 

[Ramjet]

Jr Dragsters & two seater T/F dragsters are not apples & oranges - they are apples & hand grenades. At one time we ran as many as 7 Jr's at once through the 90's & early 2000's in all the classes. While it is true that a kid can get hurt in a Jr. ANY kind of accident is few & very far between. Many kids get to learn about Drag racing - work ethic - team work and have a lot of fun. I am more than sure that it is the safest area in the sport having had kids make more than a thousand passes without an incident. Several of them have gone on to Super Comp - Nostalgia Cars & Bracket racing & yes a few have gotten hurt, but it was on Dirt Bikes - not Drag Racing. There is NO comparison in the liability of running a Jr. Dragster and any T/F car no matter who is driving or how many seats it has. If a Jr. Dragster "throws up" it is possible to get 12 Oz. of oil on the ground at best between 40 & 85 MPH in the lights depending on the age group. The thrill seeker in Larry's deal is the cushion between the driver and the bomb behind him. What could "Possibly" go wrong? Yes - Even though it was a long time ago I have driven Top Fuel and Fuel Altered's with never thinking that "I" would get hurt - But do have some scars and lung problems from fires and can see where NHRA is overly Anal about any thing with Nitromethane in it. They are skating on thin ice now with Nitro. We have to take a little test & sign up just to get Nitro for our "Cackle" T/F car at the track. It's surprising that some "Activist" hasn't brought a law suit about the fumes never mind a crash. If the rider in that thing was in a wreck or explosion and someone got hurt he/she would be named in the sure to be lawsuit also.

 

[ironpony]

I did not mean it as a comparison it was just whaat popped in my head when I seen Jr bike.........

 

[DrRocket]

The thrill seeker in Larry's deal is the (pin)cushion between the driver and the bomb behind him. What could "Possibly" go wrong?

You know, until you wrote this, that aspect hadn't even occurred to me. Yeah, in a catastrophic failure, the passenger will absorb the better part of the force (And fire) involved.

I AM a Dixon fan. Always have been. But, the more I think about this, the more I think it isn't such a hot idea.

 

[RM FAN]

You know, until you wrote this, that aspect hadn't even occurred to me. Yeah, in a catastrophic failure, the passenger will absorb the better part of the force (And fire) involved.

I AM a Dixon fan. Always have been. But, the more I think about this, the more I think it isn't such a hot idea.

Not to mention you put someone in a ride like this that has never experienced this kind of G's on there body and who knows what happens. Maybe Larry can get Scrubbing Bubbles to sponsor his car and provide products to clean the second seat?

 

[stitcherbob]

The thrill seeker in Larry's deal is the cushion between the driver and the bomb behind him. What could "Possibly" go wrong?

Do you mean like this?

love the comment at the end

 

[PJ]

The lawsuit would be interesting but I doubt it makes it too court. There would be too much at stake for NHRA IF they were to lose, so I foresee a sealed out of court settlement. While I fully agree they have the right to allow/not allow a vehicle at their event, to suspend a guy over vehicle on display at a car show was too far and it sounds like their appeal process is a sham.

 

[Larry]

NHRA needs to write certs for two seater chassis but they won't without a cut . Just like no competition for developing new tires as long as one maker has a lock on them .