It only counts if they have to use cleanup equipment (machines) on an oil-based substance.
Right. So… you blow the body off, crash the wall, or not, knock a hole in the engine, everyone is hugging each other and you’re lucky to get away with only a mild concussion, and you get an oil down penalty. I understand why the rule is in place, and I am curious if it has actually made any difference in the number of oil downs. My guess is YES, but there are a lot of angles to explore with this rule.
That little bit of pigmat aint doing much but catching leaks IMO lol. If a boom compromises the diaper, something is getting on the track. At speed, whatever isnt captured by the pigmat is flying out the back from air pressure.
I believe oil-down penalties help curtail oil-downs. I still hate to see a racer get fined because nobody out there goes out there to intentionally **** the track but understand why it had to happen. There was a race in Vegas (I believe Fall-2010) where I left for work during the first pro qualifying session on Saturday, worked a full eight hour shift and came home and they were still in the final session because of how many oil-downs there were. Not only containment has gotten better but the cleanup process has gotten better as well. What use to take an hour+ now takes 20 minutes to clean up. I can only think of two oil-downs in the last few years that took a long time and wrecked the track, both were rear end failures. One was a Top Dragster at Sonoma a few years ago and one of the Cuadra boys scutting the rear-end at Indy last year.
Should have been at the CHRR a few years ago, the nitro sessions started, I think it was the first pair of top fuelers, or funny cars that had a giant oil down, (synthetic oil) that was just the first, there were too many to count, it took so long for all the cleanup that I went to my motorhome and took a nap, I came back and they were still dragging the track! it took forever to clean up the track from all the constant oil downs. Back when I raced, (1970's) they just put rice hull ash on the oil downs dragged a push broom over it and said fire the next pair, that rice hull ash would get inside your goggles and kill your eyes with irritation, I left the track like so many others with itchy red eyes. Not to mention all the rice hull ash inside the car.
Prior to Indy, that was the last time Doug Kalitta failed to qualify. It was also the only NHRA final round for Dom Lagana.
