Nhra Releases Findings (2 Viewers)

[Rexfiles]

hahaha i love how some people think you can fix everything. Here is how we fix it, have no end to the track just let the drivers coast for like a mile after the finish line; that way you would never have this problem again. I say we figure out a way to get cars to run on water that way they would never explode in a huge fire ball. You people floor me, its effin drag racing not knitting, stuff is going to go wrong no matter how "safe" you think it is

MOST OFFENSIVE POST OF THE YEAR NOMINEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No.

How about TWO MILES.If it will SAVE A LIFE

Or how about more than 97' of sand/pea gravel after a short shutdown anyway, concrete, steel, and trees.

Jerk.

REX

 

[Bobby]

My brother raced against a guy who had an accident and died from his injuries, we were friends of the family. The weeks that followed were painful enough for the family, and people who had the balls to walk up to the family and tell them "This is what really happened" were just added grief and heartache.

There's no excuse for that. How does one account for that kind of callousness. I don't know. However, I don't see what that has to do with this board.
If the moderators of this board think we shouldn't be talking,speculating, asking hard questions, let em shut all of these threads down.
I 'm sure NHRA would love that. All due respect Jenn. I can't imagine anyone saying things like that. I 'd like to feel like our outrage can make a difference. Maybe I 'm just dreaming.

 

[__]

Read the NHRA press release and just saw Graham Light's interview. Seems like they're "looking into a lot of things." Forgive me but I've heard that before. I wise friend once told me, "Don't tell me about what you're gonna do. Tell me what you did."

 

[Rexfiles]

There's no excuse for that. How does one account for that kind of callousness. I don't know. However, I don't see what that has to do with this board.
If the moderators of this board think we shouldn't be talking,speculating, asking hard questions, let em shut all of these threads down.
I 'm sure NHRA would love that. All due respect Jenn. I can't imagine anyone saying things like that. I 'd like to feel like our outrage can make a difference. Maybe I 'm just dreaming.

So we hold their feet to the fire until something is actually done to fix such things as insanely constructed shut down areas.

I do not think it is possible to keep one of these motors from self destructing, however the venue should be capable of protecting lives AT ALL COST.

I agree with Vandergriff 100%

I protest with my wallet, and yeah, NHRA has got thousands if not tens of thousands over three and a half decades out of me and people I have turned into lifelong fans. Dozens of them.

I'm gonna' stop the $$$$ until more than talk is done.

Never give up.

REX

 

[Jenn]

I 'm sure NHRA would love that. All due respect Jenn. I can't imagine anyone saying things like that. I 'd like to feel like our outrage can make a difference. Maybe I 'm just dreaming.

How much money are you personally going to invest and/or hold out until you get things safer? Are you going to use that information to spend 100 bucks, 10,000 or 1,000,000 to do it? Or are you just gonna dream and talk about it?

 

[Rexfiles]

How much money are you personally going to invest and/or hold out until you get things safer? Are you going to use that information to spend 100 bucks, 10,000 or 1,000,000 to do it? Or are you just gonna dream and talk about it?

What if ALL of us here said and did the same..........enough is enough??

I for one believe that a single soul can make a difference.

So did the man you quote in your sig.

REX

 

[Jenn]

What if ALL of us here said and did the same..........enough is enough??

I for one believe that a single soul can make a difference.

So did the man you quote in your sig.

REX

I'm all for that, and I also know there are a lot of spectators who haven't been so much as inside a car for much more than a photo op, much less down the track to suddenly become safety experts to demand the report.

I'm just asking that speculations are kept down until a full report is obtained, for respect of the family. I've been too close to that side of the stick, and I know how much it hurts to hear the speculation of people who suddenly become experts after reviewing the videos a few times.

Seeing that the NJ Police will have submitted their report in time, and it's public access if you go in and pay the fee, I'm confident somebody will get a full report done by professionals.

 

[Rexfiles]

I'm all for that, and I also know there are a lot of spectators who haven't been so much as inside a car for much more than a photo op, much less down the track to suddenly become safety experts to demand the report.

I'm just asking that speculations are kept down until a full report is obtained, for respect of the family. I've been too close to that side of the stick, and I know how much it hurts to hear the speculation of people who suddenly become experts after reviewing the videos a few times.

Seeing that the NJ Police will have submitted their report in time, and it's public access if you go in and pay the fee, I'm confident somebody will get a full report done by professionals.

Jenn,

With all due respect, I knew what I saw at the exact instant I saw it was very, very bad.

And I also remember several voices of people sitting by me when they saw the Jumbotron image.

They were screaming.

And I felt very ill. Like fainting.

Not because of any other reason than the same that Paul Miller, who was there also, told his dad. He knew what was at the end of that track. As I did. It was instinct.

And we are hearing it now from more and more racers.

Vandergriff, Head, TPed, to name the most vocal.

They are not quiet anymore.

I am not going to sit by and let them do this all alone.

I, nor any others here are getting graphic, nor want to know any goulish details, and believe me I actually know a couple.

I will not spill that out here, ever.

The shutdown area was bad, and the racers need the fans support to help them in this grave time, all the voices that care to tell the powers that be that what happened is unacceptable.

If this is let go.........and people shut their mouths and be quiet, and spend their cash freely like nothin' at all happened, that would be wrong, in my book. And I agree with my friend Bob, that the NHRA would love for this to be quiet.

Jenn, I somewhat see where you are coming from, at least I'm trying, but as long as we are respectful here (which for the most part we have, except for one or two) I see no reason not to press the issue. We are not screaming from mountaintops.

We will just have to agree to disagree on this.

Regards

REX

 

[Rexfiles]

I'm all for that, and I also know there are a lot of spectators who haven't been so much as inside a car for much more than a photo op, much less down the track to suddenly become safety experts to demand the report.

I'm just asking that speculations are kept down until a full report is obtained, for respect of the family. I've been too close to that side of the stick, and I know how much it hurts to hear the speculation of people who suddenly become experts after reviewing the videos a few times.

Seeing that the NJ Police will have submitted their report in time, and it's public access if you go in and pay the fee, I'm confident somebody will get a full report done by professionals.

One final thought Jenn.

The NJSP regulates racing in the state of New Jersey.

OK

So if deficencies exist, that possibly that bureau let go or slide on some things, even just a little.........

Is it remotely possible it may not be in their interest to let ALL the truth be known?

I'm not saying that they will, but have we all of a sudden come to completely trust whatever the gov't hands down to us?

Will it all of a sudden become etched in stone fact? Gospel?

I'm by far any type of tin foil hat wearing "the truth is out there" nut job, and once we get that report, I do not think much more will be said by the sanctioning body or any other officials, and I am sure that any one at the NHRA, E-Town, or state officials........ would want nothing less than Scott alive and well.

But will it be the truth? Address the facts so this is prevented in the future?

God, I hope so.

REX

 

[SAS]

What we say carries little weight , the shutdown area caused the loss of life.
It is the men and women that sit in the drivers seat and the team owners that will have to put the pressure on to make changes. You can make your own cars safer, but it is the NHRA that will have to make the track safe.

 

[downtime]

I simply hope that NHRA can put the ego in the closet, call the IHRA guys, and put together a multi sanctioning body team to determine a standardized best practices for all tracks, regardless of sanction or location, in regards to design, layout, capacity, and specifications.

I would hope that PRO, regardless of its strengths, weaknesses, or charter, would step up as an interested third party and be part of the solution as well.

I would like to see NHRA, IHRA, and PRO work together as is the real purpose of a multi organization trade association to better the sport of drag racing, whether it be in Australia, Japan, England, the USA, or wherever...

Common goals and objectives such as increased safety of facilities could be spearheaded by this multi orgaonizational group of industry experts, complimented by sponsors of events and the teams, and enhanced by utilizing the skills and expertize available from a worldwide base of participants and experts within other industries whi have an interest in drag racing and knowledge pertaining to the improvement of our sport.

This is not rocket science. Even the significantly unregulated computer industry can have IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Symantec, HP, CA all together at the same table for ongoing strategic meetings for the benefit of the industry, along with little guys like me, and big players like EDS and we all work for the common goal of improving the industry.

This working together idea... "Partnering" I have heard it called... Seems to work in medical, accounting, IT, legal, construction, and other professions.... Why not drag racing?

All of us, as participants, spectators, and competitors, on all levels, and as human beings have an obligation to be of assistance (if we are able) to point out a potential hazard or problem.

I will not debate the tragedy that took Scott Kalitta away. I will comment that honoring our friends, family, heroes, that are no loger with us by moving ahead in the direction increasing safety and demonstrating through action our committment to the sport we enjoy, regardless of sanctioning body or level of committment, would be an apporpriate and lasting gift our fallen friends would appreciate.

As a small time racer in search of a sponsor I have neither the resources or experience necessary to provide answers to the details. However as a former high level member of more than one professional trade organization, I do have expertise in facilitating productive and focused effort (and positive results) from organizations, corporations, and individuals who would otherwise be in competitive situations.

I suggest this type of endeavor is but one way to accomplish many goals and hope it may be considered as an alternative to the normal course of operations in which costs are too high, the time frame is too long, and the results could have been improved.

 

[Bobby]

How much money are you personally going to invest and/or hold out until you get things safer? Are you going to use that information to spend 100 bucks, 10,000 or 1,000,000 to do it? Or are you just gonna dream and talk about it?

You know, there are a lot of people who think spectators dont' care about drivers, who think spectators go to races to see crashes.

I 've never, ever, seen that attitude at the drag races. I remember seeing Kosty Ivanoff roll the Boston Shaker at New England Dragway in the early 70s when I was maybe 13,14. It was one of those stupid moronic decisions by a track that caused the wreck. They used to have what looked like plumbers pipe for a 'guardrail' there. Seriously . It looked like a fence made out of pipe. I couldnt' have contained a pissed off cheetah. It was hit , a car went thru it, so to 'repair ' it, the track put in armco, JUST IN THAT SECTION.

So they made the armco rise up from the ground level instead of having a blunt end, which was smart I suppose. But not as smart as just doing the whole track would have been.

Kosty got out of the groove - and put a wheel on that armco. He drove right up it and rolled the car two or three times at half track, destroying the body in spectacular fashion. I 'd never seen anything like it.

You could have heard a pin drop.

I don't think anyone drew a breath until Kosty climbed out of that thing, and I 'll never forget the thunderous roar that came from that crowd when he did.


What's the point of all this? Well what did we talk about on the way home? How stupid the track was, and how glad we were that Kosty was ok.

I 'm not a racer I dont' have the money to do anything other than get online and say to whomever is listening, this sucks beyond belief. Spectators shouldn't be screaming in horror at the racetrack. Not today.

IF that doesn't make a difference then I 'm not going to go the track again.
I just heard dim light say the cause was the engine explosion

ya, sure it was.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

The shutdown area was bad......

Defining the ability to be able to say that from one track to another is what I think is the trick. Variables like that remind me of what some judge said about what's obscene, that he couldn't tell you what it is but, he could tell you when he saw it.

Should there be one standard that determines what a 1/4 mile, national event hosting dragstrip's shutdown area should consist of? Should it be like that the same way it is for how many parts that fall under SFI certification rules?

That's why I've asked if anyone has ever compiled on one piece of paper a comparison of all national event track shutdown areas. Length of pavement, whether it's elevated, what you go through or into after that, what's beyond that, etc. At some tracks, people can tell you what lane you don't want to run off on and where the ditches/obstacles are if you do.

Anyone who has ever raced in the right lane at Knoxville Dragway will tell you you'd better be making a right or left move after the stripe IN the shutdown area or your back tires are about to come off the ground. The bump is that bad. On an unsuspended, rear brake only car, you will quickly learn about letting it settle down and not trying to time the brakes. The lag between the time you apply them, the fluid pressure building in the lines and applying the pucks will have your brakes on while you're in the air and off while you're on the ground, making the bouncing worse.

A lot of people here may not know this but, Danny Dunn drove one of Virgil Hartman's nostalgia nitro funny cars off the end of his own 1/8 mile track in Wilkesboro. Went through trees (the starter dog on the blower pulley was jammed full of wood) and I believe landed in a creek. I think his MPH was in the 120s and that was with an uphill shutdown area.

I've seen chat on English drag racing forums and they talk about a government safety agency over there that oversees practically everything and can shut down pretty much anything they want to. If our tracks were over there, I bet they would have had an "in stone" standard for shutdown areas by now.

 

[Super Mod]

I hope this doesn't put the "nail in the coffin" for E-town. They need this national event to survive I would surmise. The NHRA said they are not going to make changes based on "knee-jerk" reactions. I hope this includes the tracks and cost they will incur to make changes.

 

[SAS]

You know, there are a lot of people who think spectators dont' care about drivers, who think spectators go to races to see crashes.

I 've never, ever, seen that attitude at the drag races. I remember seeing Kosty Ivanoff roll the Boston Shaker at New England Dragway in the early 70s when I was maybe 13,14. It was one of those stupid moronic decisions by a track that caused the wreck. They used to have what looked like plumbers pipe for a 'guardrail' there. Seriously . It looked like a fence made out of pipe. I couldnt' have contained a pissed off cheetah. It was hit , a car went thru it, so to 'repair ' it, the track put in armco, JUST IN THAT SECTION.

So they made the armco rise up from the ground level instead of having a blunt end, which was smart I suppose. But not as smart as just doing the whole track would have been.

Kosty got out of the groove - and put a wheel on that armco. He drove right up it and rolled the car two or three times at half track, destroying the body in spectacular fashion. I 'd never seen anything like it.

You could have heard a pin drop.

I don't think anyone drew a breath until Kosty climbed out of that thing, and I 'll never forget the thunderous roar that came from that crowd when he did.


What's the point of all this? Well what did we talk about on the way home? How stupid the track was, and how glad we were that Kosty was ok.

I 'm not a racer I dont' have the money to do anything other than get online and say to whomever is listening, this sucks beyond belief. Spectators shouldn't be screaming in horror at the racetrack. Not today.

IF that doesn't make a difference then I 'm not going to go the track again.
I just heard dim light say the cause was the engine explosion

ya, sure it was.

I went to every event at Epping back then, and have photos of Jungle Jim racing Kosty. I also saw the "Jade Grenade" crash there, I think the driver
died. And I recall it hit the gaurd rail, at the top end.

 

[SAS]

I hope this doesn't put the "nail in the coffin" for E-town. They need this national event to survive I would surmise. The NHRA said they are not going to make changes based on "knee-jerk" reactions. I hope this includes the tracks and cost they will incur to make changes.

We are all for safety, John Force's crash would not have been better or worse if conditions and shutdown area were perfect. Since the crash happened away from that area. But we can only hope for the sake of the drivers and the future of this sport, that the tracks are as safe as they can be. And as soon as can be.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Not related to shutdown areas but, check out the guardrail in this series of photos. I bet a more solid guardrail might have had the Mustang bouncing off and rolling.

Close call at Drachten

Another interesting link from that page.

Construction of zMAX Dragway Racing Toward the Finish Line

"Bellagio of drag strips"

 

[turbo ken]

I believe you are right. NJSP will publish there report.

I don't want to sound goulish, but if Darrel would have had his accident in NJ we would have known the cause 3 years ago.

 

[SAS]

I don't want to sound goulish, but if Darrel would have had his accident in NJ we would have known the cause 3 years ago.

I had heard it was a failure of the strut for the rear wing that entered the drivers cokpit. That resulted in insalling the shroud that is now around the roll cage.

 

[Bullet]

I had heard it was a failure of the strut for the rear wing that entered the drivers cokpit. That resulted in insalling the shroud that is now around the roll cage.

Dennis, it wasn't the wing strut that resulted in Darrell's death.