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No Enclosed Cockpit For DSR In Pomona (2 Viewers)

Do we always have to wait till someone gets hurt (or worse) before we act??
Someone comes up with a safety item, and nhra has to play "show & tell" before giving the OK.
What ever happened to "Dedicated to Safety"?? guess that was a different time too.
 
So if it enhances safety and adds 25 to 30 pounds, thus slowing the cars down, it is a win-win situation providing the additional weight doesn't impede the distance to stop the car. Add that factor to why NHRA isn't jumping the gun in approval. Maybe we'll see it by the Gators.
 
comment like "I am scared to go to pomona now" ?
then he should stay home if he is that afraid of what will happen to him.
 
Better bring a shovel to Pomona, the drama is getting deeper... a little early for the Academy Award Oscar.
 
just don't get all the disconnect associated with this story.

- canopy was ready and in jupiter for testing - was probably ready to go
before arriving in jupiter?
- all the top ten teams/players were there to see / sit / opinion / order
- the car made countless passes / it was there to inspect
- nhra tech could have been there - they weren't - were they invited?
so what if it's an IHRA track - quite the cryin'.
- technical & material data could have been provided prior to palm beach?

IMO everyone involved somehow fumbled an opportunity to debut a really
nice advancement in safety and aesthetics @ the season opener.

on the other hand it may not pass - i don't see this happening - really smart
people do not spend countless hours and dollars developing technology
they think might work, especially when there is a son involved.
 
Last edited:
Registered member said:
- nhra tech could have been there - they weren't - were they invited?
so what if it's an IHRA track - quite the cryin'.
Click to expand...

That's in in a nutshell.

Heck, there's probably a clause in the NHRA employee handbook that says "If you're ever caught at one of "their" tracks, pack your desk and go home. You're done!"
 
Registered member said:
Understood but the NHRA has a long legacy of dragging their feet with issues such as this.

Don has made everything available to everyone. Anyone can get one of these. If it's a performance advantage, then everyone gets a performance advantage.

I hope it's approved quickly.
Click to expand...

I'm fine with NHRA "approving" the cockpit. I just hope to hell they don't mandate that all TF Dragsters have to run it. To the fan it is just something that looks cool. However, without any tests showing that it is a safety item and not a performance advantage, it is another cost to low budget teams. I know, I know, I'm gonna get bombarded with the "if you can't afford to add it, you can't afford to race" crowd, but the fact is the NHRA could give 2 chits about the little guys. Guarantee that thing cost a min of $5G's. Nothing to a 3-5 million dollar team, get 2 per car. But for someone like my bud Dean Alexander, or Craig Smith, or any of the one race a year guys, that is big money. And the problem is, every season they add more crap that is mandatory. Racing is dangerous. We all know that. We should make the cars safe, and for the most part they are. But if you make them so safe that you could strap your 9 month old kid in it and it will go down the track, what's the point? I got an idea...let's make em remote control and take the drivers out. NHRA only cares about the big budget teams, they are the ones keeping NHRA afloat. But even if you are a big team, you better kiss their butts or you be on their chit list~!
 
Registered member said:
Couple of things, to my knowledge the Mono-strut was never presented to NHRA for approval. It was built and tested and it DIDN'T WORK! I was there when they tested it at Gainesville. Just ask Hot Rod Fuller (who was driving the car in testing) what he thought of it. It was simply an experiment that failed. And how this becomes NHRA's fault is beyond my comprehesion.

Second: Darr, if it is 25 lbs. heavier I can't see it making the cars quicker and faster. Unless it has aerodynamic benefits that out weigh the 25 lbs. And if it does, don't you think NHRA should figure that out before they decide to approve or reject it?

Alan
Click to expand...

Is that 25 lbs. or so taking into the consideration the fire system that will be required for the enclosed cockpit? How much does that weigh?

Rick
 
QUOTE=Bross Holland;286081]I'm fine with NHRA "approving" the cockpit. I just hope to hell they don't mandate that all TF Dragsters have to run it. To the fan it is just something that looks cool. However, without any tests showing that it is a safety item and not a performance advantage, it is another cost to low budget teams. I know, I know, I'm gonna get bombarded with the "if you can't afford to add it, you can't afford to race" crowd, but the fact is the NHRA could give 2 chits about the little guys. Guarantee that thing cost a min of $5G's. Nothing to a 3-5 million dollar team, get 2 per car. But for someone like my bud Dean Alexander, or Craig Smith, or any of the one race a year guys, that is big money. And the problem is, every season they add more crap that is mandatory. Racing is dangerous. We all know that. We should make the cars safe, and for the most part they are. But if you make them so safe that you could strap your 9 month old kid in it and it will go down the track, what's the point? I got an idea...let's make em remote control and take the drivers out. NHRA only cares about the big budget teams, they are the ones keeping NHRA afloat. But even if you are a big team, you better kiss their butts or you be on their chit list~![/QUOTE]

More Like 25K
 
With the exception of a few guys on here most have never drove a top fuel car or even warmed one up. The safety of the driver should be the only concern here period !!! no matter what the price 5k or 25K . We have lost to many racer in cars that are way too fast and not safe enough. Why not just let them wear no fire suits or wait maybe no helmets ?? John Force and Don Schumacher have done more for safety in NHRA than NHRA it's self !! Change is needed in the way NHRA is ran by non-racers and maybe if a few of the big teams sit out a race or two that could happen . Don has 7 fuel cars and John has 5 with more to come . just my 2 sense and i know most of the team owner's,drivers and team guys out there racing today would agree with changes that make it safer for everyone to make it back to the pits safe is the goal every pass !!!!
 
kind of a wasted opportunity to not show case something new. One of the allures of the Winternationals.
 
Registered member said:
just don't get all the disconnect associated with this story.

- canopy was ready and in jupiter for testing - was probably ready to go
before arriving in jupiter?
- all the top ten teams/players were there to see / sit / opinion / order
- the car made countless passes / it was there to inspect
- nhra tech could have been there - they weren't - were they invited?
so what if it's an IHRA track - quite the cryin'.
- technical & material data could have been provided prior to palm beach?

IMO everyone involved somehow fumbled an opportunity to debut a really
nice advancement in safety and aesthetics @ the season opener.

on the other hand it may not pass - i don't see this happening - really smart
people do not spend countless hours and dollars developing technology
they think might work, especially when there is a son involved.
Click to expand...
C'mon gang let's be practical here. This may be the best advancement in safety in decades, but nobody knows that for sure yet. Here's my take on what I would want to see before I approved something like this ...
  • What are the materials of construction?
  • What makes them safer / stronger / better?
  • Who has the data in support of the claims?
  • Are the materials of construction fire proof?
  • FC's have a much more open space to disperse fire, this is an extremely confined space, will it create a more severe heat / fire hazard?
  • Is the 20lb fire system adequate to prevent seriously burning a driver trapped in this capsule?
  • How quickly / easily can a driver escape under their own power if they need to?
Nobody at NHRA would want to approve something on pure statements of speculation on what this capsule could do. There is not a single documented statistic that can attest to any improved safety. It is theoretical only. If this was allowed to be used at Pomona and (God forbid) a TF driver got seriously burned because it takes too long to get them out, heads would roll and so would the lawsuits. Someone's opinion doesn't make this a safety innovation and unfortunately testing cannot replicate all the possible bad scenarios. Any of you want to be the first to strap in and possibly put your life at a greater risk because the device does not perform as expected and actually causes injury to a driver? Let's be honest here.

Other viewpoints to consider ...
  • How about the NHRA Insurance providers perspective?
  • Wouldn't you want the Safety Safari and others to have an ample supply of any necessary tools needed to remove this canopy?
  • As a driver, wouldn't you want to know that the Safari has had ample training in the removal of this canopy and opportunit to "play" with it? After all they will be the people who have to deal with it under pressure.
 
Registered member said:
With the exception of a few guys on here most have never drove a top fuel car or even warmed one up. The safety of the driver should be the only concern here period !!! no matter what the price 5k or 25K . We have lost to many racer in cars that are way too fast and not safe enough. Why not just let them wear no fire suits or wait maybe no helmets ?? John Force and Don Schumacher have done more for safety in NHRA than NHRA it's self !! Change is needed in the way NHRA is ran by non-racers and maybe if a few of the big teams sit out a race or two that could happen . Don has 7 fuel cars and John has 5 with more to come . just my 2 sense and i know most of the team owner's,drivers and team guys out there racing today would agree with changes that make it safer for everyone to make it back to the pits safe is the goal every pass !!!!
Click to expand...
Besides opinion ... where is any factual data that says this will make TF safer? How do we not know that this will be nothing more than a super confined oven or trap that cannot be easily exited from? Donnie, you interest in being a test guinea pig under the most serious emergency. If it saves 1 life under a serious crash situation, it will be praised. If someone suffers severe burns or cannot exit quick enough and looses their life inside it, everyone here would quickly jump to criticize NHRA. You all know its true.
 
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