Nhra Releases Findings (1 Viewer)

[Comp6992]

I run competition eliminator, so I'm as big of a gear head as any. Given all of the options, I think they should look at the fuel cars only running 1000ft. Don't cut the cars back, cut the race back.

What's a top fuel or funny car gain in M.P.H. in the last 320 ft? Anyone?

Lon

 

[Toejam]

Why NO mention the blunt Trauma Scott suffered impacting the concrete wall and Crane?? If safer shut down area is the goal shouldn't that be number 1 mention? What a joke!

 

[Jim]

Why NO mention the blunt Trauma Scott suffered impacting the concrete wall and Crane?? If safer shut down area is the goal shouldn't that be number 1 mention? What a joke!

Geez Joe - How eff-ing graphic do you want a press release to be?
When they reconstruct an airplane crash they don't generally go into the ghoulish detail - Criminy, WE don't need that level of detail to learn something that will be worthwhile in preventing a similar occurence in the future.

 

[Muddy]

I'm glad everyone is pleased with the NHRA statment but I work with politicians on a daily basis and and I think this statment would bring tears of envy to any politician worth their salt. What a bunch of BS. Sorry I'm so cynical but I've seen this type of statment many times in the past and it usually means very little

 

[Super Mod]

I'm glad everyone is pleased with the NHRA statment but I work with politicians on a daily basis and and I think this statment would bring tears of envy to any politician worth their salt. What a bunch of BS. Sorry I'm so cynical but I've seen this type of statment many times in the past and it usually means very little

I wouldn't get too excited yet either. Wait till they see the potential bill for all of this. Could end up being a split of eighth mile and quarter mile national events depending on the current design of each track.

 

[M Jones]

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't a tf funny car hit around 280 at half track, don't think 1,000 foot tracks would slow them down under 300 to much, but would give them 320 more ft to slow down, stuck throttle at that distance would still be to short, find a way to catch the cars no matter what happens at any length track, just my thoughts

 

[Mikey]

Hopefully you will never see a day where eighth mile is a reality. It would be a sad day in all of drag racing. Anyway there is no way to completely fix the problem. These funny cars are on the brink of disaster everytime they start up. You will never be able to make drag racing 100% safe sport it just cant be done. Unfortunatly Scott was lost in a terrible accident, but given the situation he was in there is no safety system that would have saved his life.

 

[Toejam]

Geez Joe - How eff-ing graphic do you want a press release to be?
When they reconstruct an airplane crash they don't generally go into the ghoulish detail - Criminy, WE don't need that level of detail to learn something that will be worthwhile in preventing a similar occurence in the future.

Sorry Jim, I was referring to the Main reason Scott is gone! Bob Vandergriff hit the Nail on the head "The only thing missing from E-Town's shut down area was a pool of sharks!" Rules and standards for shut down areas should be goal #1!

 

[Papa Duck]

An F18 weighs somewhere in the area of 25,000 pounds, according to Wikipedia. So if the military nets will stop an F18, they surely will stop a racecar. And from a cost standpoint, perhaps the NHRA purchases said net, and carries it with them from track to track??

I think two different eras are being confused. The Navy used catch nets before they started building carriers with angled decks. The fences prevented a landing plane from hitting planes and crew forward of the landing area. When they started building the angled decks the landing procedures changed. A landing plane goes to full military power when it hits the deck so that it can get back into the air if it misses the wire(s). The fences they used to have never had to stop an F/A18 or any of the more recent fighters at the speeds that they are now landing.

 

[Triple Nickel II]

Why NO mention the blunt Trauma Scott suffered impacting the concrete wall

Perhaps that is because (according the the NHRA statement) he didn't strike the concrete wall.

Re-read it and you'll see they only mention the catch-net pole and the crane.

 

[farmje]

I would think there is a good chance that he was unconscious Bobby. I am very interested in seeing if the ear-bud sensors from the Ford blue-box can provide any useful data in that area.

Jay, this line was intriguing to me:

Brakes. Research will be conducted to explore whether there is a way to increase brake efficiency when cars lose downforce due to the loss of the body.

Does that mean that Scott was on the brakes and they didn't work properly? I don't quite know how to take that statement...

 

[PJ]

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't a tf funny car hit around 280 at half track, don't think 1,000 foot tracks would slow them down under 300 to much, but would give them 320 more ft to slow down, stuck throttle at that distance would still be to short, find a way to catch the cars no matter what happens at any length track, just my thoughts

actually the net gain would be 640ft

320 of less accelleration + the 320 of more braking distance. Yes on the tape measure it will read only 320 but the benefit would double

 

[Jrod]

that's cause a concrete wall was never hit. pole, tv boom, and woods thats it.

not sure where your getting the other info from but its not correct.

Why NO mention the blunt Trauma Scott suffered impacting the concrete wall and Crane?? If safer shut down area is the goal shouldn't that be number 1 mention? What a joke!

 

[team23rulz]

1/2 mile shutdowns and 300ft of sand/gravel should become manditory...I don't think slowing the cars to only 300MPH would make a big difference...we've seen cars stop before the gravel without chutes...so the brakes on the cars are pretty good...but if the shut down is too short, then it doesn't matter how well the brakes work...

there seems to be a real issue with funny car bodies...explosions on funny cars are way more violent then on top fuelers...and that is an issue that i think NHRA is really missing...also mounting parachutes to the chassis instead of the body is another thing that I think should be looked into...

i have a lot of different ideas in my head, but obviously i'm just a spectator...i do have real concerns though...now that my bro-in-law is driving top fuel...i have really been paying attention to a lot of different things...you can never solve all the problems...because sometimes you just don't know the problem until it presents itself...so those are a few of my ideas and opinions...hopefully they mean something to someone...because i want nothing more than this sport to be as safe as possible!

R.I.P. Scott Kalitta

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

I'm really confused about this idea of slowing the cars down. Isn't it true that the Pro Stockers have as difficult of a time getting their cars stopped on tracks like Pomona as the fuelers? From what the Pro Stock racers I have spoken to that is the case. Keep in mind they're going through the traps at over 100 MPH less than the fuel cars.

 

[d'kid]

I think two different eras are being confused. The Navy used catch nets before they started building carriers with angled decks. The fences prevented a landing plane from hitting planes and crew forward of the landing area. When they started building the angled decks the landing procedures changed. A landing plane goes to full military power when it hits the deck so that it can get back into the air if it misses the wire(s). The fences they used to have never had to stop an F/A18 or any of the more recent fighters at the speeds that they are now landing.

Yes, they will erect the barrier if their is a malfunction with the tailhook and and closest feet dry strip is out of range. The Net has caught more than a few 14's, 18's, the old A-6...

d'kid

 

[Meeks]

Sorry Jim, I was referring to the Main reason Scott is gone! Bob Vandergriff hit the Nail on the head "The only thing missing from E-Town's shut down area was a pool of sharks!" Rules and standards for shut down areas should be goal #1!

Maybe they should...but I cant understand why all the racers are pissing and moaning when they ran full length down the track before the accident and AFTER the accident. If they are going to complain about the damn shut downs and throw the blame at NHRA and/or the track for this then they should have made the message clear and not ran. All this crap after the fact about how dangerous it is...why are you running then? Sorry but the double standards are ridiculous. NHRA didnt owe anybody that report so be thankful we got it...

 

[Mikey]

Scott was simply a victim of circumstances, you need not look any further than that. Lets get down to what really made this whole mess, motor blew up abput 1000' this is something you can not plan for. The first explosion supposedly knocked him out although how would you really know. Anyway shutdown areas have never been a problem, or at least not one that is spoken of a lot. There were too many things that went wrong to try and fix it. But the NHRA will come up with some safety feature that will "fix" everything, but some other falacy will rear its ugly head. You will never fix anything; its sad to say and i mean no disrespect but Scott Kalitta was merely a victim of circumstances.

 

[Rexfiles]

that's cause a concrete wall was never hit. pole, tv boom, and woods thats it.

not sure where your getting the other info from but its not correct.

Just a question Jerrod.

Aside from speaking to people that were in the beer consession that actually saw a tremendous amount of debris go immediately to the left and hit the woods on the other side of the left lane (and if you view the replay you will see the same thing), it follows the trajectory of the curve in the wall to a T.

While I was not standing at the shutdown I did speak to a couple that saw this and the man said he saw the rear clip hit the basket and then trees.

I understand this is heresay, but why do I see the same thing on replay over and over.

90% of all debris arc's to the left.

I understand that the pole may have been hit to some degree, by some parts/pieces, but that still does not explain what I can see and what I heard shortly after by eyewitnesses.

Not looking for a p!ssin contest, but right now 2+2 seems to equal 5.

REX

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Scott was simply a victim of circumstances, you need not look any further than that. Lets get down to what really made this whole mess, motor blew up abput 1000' this is something you can not plan for. The first explosion supposedly knocked him out although how would you really know. Anyway shutdown areas have never been a problem, or at least not one that is spoken of a lot. There were too many things that went wrong to try and fix it. But the NHRA will come up with some safety feature that will "fix" everything, but some other falacy will rear its ugly head. You will never fix anything; its sad to say and i mean no disrespect but Scott Kalitta was merely a victim of circumstances.

I'm sorry - your post is BS. Short shutdown, short sandtrap, inefective net, posts, walls, camera platform all in the way of an out of control car. Hopefully, NHRA can start with the worst case scenario (which this was) and provide a safe track. If not, drivers need to refuse to race.