Pro Stock Penalities after Atlanta

[NGNBLDR]

Since were all on the topic of rules. See how many rule infractions you can count in the beginning of this next video. I'm glad the guy is ok but had to laugh at all the rules that were broke here. The in car camera shot is priceless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwRfH...ailpage#t=130s

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Ok that's one of the laundry list of items you said were against the rules, what about the rest? Also, take a look at Nick's post above about why the NHRA allows it (it's harmless).

Harmless you say??, yeah untill someone gets their cloths caught and is draged 200ft. Must we always wait till someone gets hurt, (or worse) before we act.

Watch the race this weekend, see how fuel cars are pushed toward the line. The rule book clearly states *car must stage under it's OWN power.*

And PS/M align the bike by lifting the rear tire. If thats not assisting in staging ........??? (Stevie Wonder could see that )

You are right PM,not all my points are rules, but they should be.
NHRA makes it manditory that a driver be IN THE SEAT when ever the engine is started. (even if the car is on stands with no tires on.)
Yet no one sees anything wrong with PS drivers sitting on the side roll bar while the car is being towed, with their head above the door opening.

A slight misjudgment - the cars door gets mashed shut - need I say more??

 

[Bob]

Harmless you say??, yeah untill someone gets their cloths caught and is draged 200ft. Must we always wait till someone gets hurt, (or worse) before we act.

Watch the race this weekend, see how fuel cars are pushed toward the line. The rule book clearly states *car must stage under it's PWN power.*

And PS/M align the bike by lifting the rear tire. If thats not assisting in staging ........??? (Stevie Wonder could see that )

I think you are confusing staging with burnout. Nobody is pushing a car into the pre-stage beems. Lifting the rear of a bike to straighten it out before pre-stage is not contributing to the bike staging under its own power.

 

[none]

Paul,

You have obviously never sat in a Pro Stock Car. You can see better out of a Funny Car. The driver can't see over the scoop, or what's next to him. They sit back in the cage and have no mirrors. If the driver was sitting in the seat and a fan walked out, he would hit them before he even saw them. And if you don't think a fan would walk in front of a racecar being towed or pushed then you really don't know what happens at the races. There are many instances of golf cart damage, or straps being broken because the driver saw something and jammed the brakes, to avoid a problem, And NONE that were caused by the driver sitting on the door bar. Not one that I know of.

I was at a Houston test session one time in an empty pit pushing the car back from the top end with the driver in the seat. He hit a trash barrel that was in the middle of a wide open space with the right front. We were on the scooters pushing him and he never saw the barrel. $1800 to fix the front end.

The drivers are sitting up on the rails for one reason and one reason only SAFETY! It sure isn't more comfortable.

Alan

 

[You!]

One year at Indy, I rode Randy Hagerty's Pro Mod Corvette back to the trailer from the top end. For whatever reason, Randy and I had switched roles that run and he was driving the golf cart. He missed the normal route and somehow we ended up going into the sportsman pits right where the vendors were set up.

There is a slight rise and subsequent drop off with a slight right turn in the road when you do that, and for what felt like forever, I lost sight of the golf cart. And he was going faster than I would have liked so I start tugging on the brake pretty hard in order to slow him down. If he had stopped or someone had stepped in front of the car, there was no way I would have been able to stop until it was too late.

Point is, like Alan just said, it is far easier to see out of a funny car from the seat than it is in a door car with a large hood scoop.

And while I'm typing this, why has no one questioned the validity of this stupid "after the run visor rule" while in a car with a windshield and side windows? What exactly are they worried about in regards to driver safety? And it would be an extremely difficult habit to break as well. I don't think Greg is even thinking about it when he does it.

 

[Professional Fan]

Paul,

You have obviously never sat in a Pro Stock Car. You can see better out of a Funny Car. The driver can't see over the scoop, or what's next to him. They sit back in the cage and have no mirrors. If the driver was sitting in the seat and a fan walked out, he would hit them before he even saw them. And if you don't think a fan would walk in front of a racecar being towed or pushed then you really don't know what happens at the races. There are many instances of golf cart damage, or straps being broken because the driver saw something and jammed the brakes, to avoid a problem, And NONE that were caused by the driver sitting on the door bar. Not one that I know of.

I was at a Houston test session one time in an empty pit pushing the car back from the top end with the driver in the seat. He hit a trash barrel that was in the middle of a wide open space with the right front. We were on the scooters pushing him and he never saw the barrel. $1800 to fix the front end.

The drivers are sitting up on the rails for one reason and one reason only SAFETY! It sure isn't more comfortable.

Alan

Alan, thanks for that explanation. I always wondered why they rode outside the car like that. Now I know!

 

[NGNBLDR]

Trust me, sitting on that X braced bar is not comfortable at all. Like stated above, you can’t see out of those cars very well at all. I will say I like how Jeg is now towing his car around. I believe it all started with some of the Pro Mod racers. They are using a push bar attached to the back of the car and having the golf cart push the car. the driver now can see everything in front of him when sitting on the X brace. You can now pull the car out of the pits and you can’t run into the back of the golf cart anymore (Jason) lol

 

[JB3]

I think you are confusing staging with burnout. Nobody is pushing a car into the pre-stage beems. Lifting the rear of a bike to straighten it out before pre-stage is not contributing to the bike staging under its own power.

Saw it at least 6 times in TF and FC during ESPN3 qualifying last night. Crew pushed the car right up to the waiting crew chief. Then just rolled a few inches into the beams.

Paul is right ... the action is unsafe and wrong.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Mr Orme, You are mistaken sir. I just saw part of the Q show and the cameras clearly showed: Cruz, Courtney, Alexis, and Wilkerson being pushed by one or two crewman AFTER the burnout and the body lowered. John Force also had a crewman walk around the rear of his car, but the camera cut to Neff at the front fender.

To me that is the start of the pre-stage procedure. After the body is down and the driver starts forward, he is indeed staging the car.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Paul,

You have obviously never sat in a Pro Stock Car. You can see better out of a Funny Car. The driver can't see over the scoop, or what's next to him. They sit back in the cage and have no mirrors. If the driver was sitting in the seat and a fan walked out, he would hit them before he even saw them. And if you don't think a fan would walk in front of a racecar being towed or pushed then you really don't know what happens at the races. There are many instances of golf cart damage, or straps being broken because the driver saw something and jammed the brakes, to avoid a problem, And NONE that were caused by the driver sitting on the door bar. Not one that I know of.

I was at a Houston test session one time in an empty pit pushing the car back from the top end with the driver in the seat. He hit a trash barrel that was in the middle of a wide open space with the right front. We were on the scooters pushing him and he never saw the barrel. $1800 to fix the front end.

The drivers are sitting up on the rails for one reason and one reason only SAFETY! It sure isn't more comfortable.

Alan

If a driver can't see to safely drive thru the pits at 20mph.....then he should NOT be in the car at 200mph.

 

[none]

If a driver can't see to safely drive thru the pits at 20mph.....then he should NOT be in the car at 200mph.

Yup, you're right. What with all the cross traffic on the dragstrip and all. While we're at it, let's ban burnouts, since the drivers can't back up with out help. let's get rid of all these unsafe cars and we can drag race bubble wrapped Prius' to the 60'cone, until someone get's a bad shock, then I guess we'll just have to quit all together.

Alan

 

[Treeshaker]

Why do the in-experienced want to dictate how some one else should do their job?

A vehicle is not considered to be staging until the first beam is lit. What is the danger of pushing a car from the rear when it is in a forward gear?

Have you ever actually looked at the rear quarter panel of a pro stock car? What are the crew man's cloths going to get caught on?

You definitely have never been on a motorcycle with a large rear tire because then you would know how hard it is to maneuver them a slight amount to one side or the other. The rider already went to the READY area thinking he/she was in line but wasn't, so it is much easier for a crew man to lift and move the bike's rear to align it with the strip. Nothing unsafe at all about that maneuver. Same with adjusting wheely bars in the READY area.

I can see that you have no understanding of the difference of moving a vehicle through the pits populated by many spectators and the racing surface. Experienced professionals gave very good explanations and you still didn't understand.

Racing today is as safe as it has ever been. Rules, and non rules have evolved mostly through experience. And, sadly, some of that experience came from individuals being seriously injured or losing their life. But moving the walls back, planting grass, or changing procedures that have been developed to be more safe for the people involved is not a path we should venture down.

 

[Wayne]

Thank you Virgil!!!

 

[NGNBLDR]

Yup, you're right. What with all the cross traffic on the dragstrip and all. While we're at it, let's ban burnouts, since the drivers can't back up with out help. let's get rid of all these unsafe cars and we can drag race bubble wrapped Prius' to the 60'cone, until someone get's a bad shock, then I guess we'll just have to quit all together.

Alan

Alan, I think your right. I guess we won't have NASCAR racing anymore either. Even though there are 43 of those cars on the track at the same time all going 200 mph. You couldn't drive one to WalMart and back without getting into a wreck and or just hitting something. People! These cars are made for one purpose and one purpose only! Racing! There not designed and or built to navigate around the pits. I think it's time to change topic!

 

[mike]

. I think it's time to change topic!

How about this...remember when Pro Stock cars used to look way better than their street car equivalent?

 

[.]

Since were all on the topic of rules. See how many rule infractions you can count in the beginning of this next video. I'm glad the guy is ok but had to laugh at all the rules that were broke here. The in car camera shot is priceless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwRfH...ailpage#t=130s

Can't see it. I think the link got messed up when you copy/pasted the URL.

 

[d'kid]

How about this...remember when Pro Stock cars used to look way better than their street car equivalent?

They still do... but then, a 59 Nash wagon looks beter than the junk (blobs) on the showroom floor today, and those were Fugley cars, mom had one, and she also had a '56 chevy...

d'kid

 

[mike]

They still do... but then, a 59 Nash wagon looks beter than the junk (blobs) on the showroom floor today, and those were Fugley cars, mom had one, and she also had a '56 chevy...

d'kid

I dont know about that...that stock bodied Cobra Jet Mustang looks a damn sight better than the amorphous blobs in Pro Stock....same with the new COPO Camaro and its Pro Stock counterpart. But I'll give you the Dodge ;-)

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Yup, you're right. What with all the cross traffic on the dragstrip and all. While we're at it, let's ban burnouts, since the drivers can't back up with out help. let's get rid of all these unsafe cars and we can drag race bubble wrapped Prius' to the 60'cone, until someone get's a bad shock, then I guess we'll just have to quit all together.

Alan

Who said ban burnouts?? I said ban the guy standing in front of a car under power comming at him. And YES a driver can and should back himself up, and pre-stage & stage his car / bike.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Why do the in-experienced want to dictate how some one else should do their job?

You definitely have never been on a motorcycle with a large rear tire because then you would know how hard it is to maneuver them a slight amount to one side or the other. The rider already went to the READY area thinking he/she was in line but wasn't, so it is much easier for a crew man to lift and move the bike's rear to align it with the strip. Nothing unsafe at all about that maneuver. Same with adjusting wheely bars in the READY area.

I disagree on both points. I see danger, you don't, they are both just our opinions.
Enjoy the races.