Safety concern

[clwill]

Dragsters have been pulling forward under their own power just fine for years. Why now, with 8,000+ HP do they all of a sudden need help.??

If I remember correctly, Alan Johnson and co. started this with the Army car a few years ago with the intent of minimizing heat in the clutch system. And since they won a lot, people started to copy it.

 

[Dave]

Oh Paul, this is so silly - nothing is gonna happen. Nobody's gonna get hurt or killed. You're just over-reacting. Don't worry, everything will be fine.

I suppose next you're probably gonna start going on about some strange possibility of a rear wheel breaking off of a Top Fuel car - and hurting or killing somebody. That's never gonna happen - everything will be OK.

You worry too much.











Paul, incase you haven't picked up on my sarcasim, I'm laying it on pretty thick. You're absolutly right about this, but as you can see from how my opinion was treated in my earlier posts, this ain't gonna fly around here.

Dave

 

[.]

If the NHRA stops allowing pushing/pulling cars on the starting line, then they should also stop:

Wiping tires after the burnout
Lifting/lowering funny car bodies after the burnout
Adjusting the idle while running
Reaching under the body to arm data acquisition equipment
Reaching under the body to turn on air bottles
Adjusting wheelie bar height before staging
The use of centrifugal clutches since the driver can NOT disengage them with his foot if RPM raises above idle
Etc

All activities mentioned above are just as dangerous as pushing the car in my opinion. Where do they draw the line?

 

[Rajunz]

...........and don't forget tying a shop rag around leaking fuel fittings!

Yes but, when we see something wrong should we not try to prevent trouble?? Dragsters have been pulling forward under their own power just fine for years. Why now, with 8,000+ HP do they all of a sudden need help.??

Come on Paul, you act like you didn't even participate in the previous thread..................Virgil spelled it out in plain english why it's being done.

I guess we need the traffic here on the Mater so let's keep another thread going, but why don't you try this instead???

E-mail NHRA with this same question and ask them if they are waiting for a tragedy before they react.

 

[suzukiray]

If the NHRA stops allowing pushing/pulling cars on the starting line, then they should also stop:

The use of centrifugal clutches since the driver can NOT disengage them with his foot if RPM raises above idle
Etc

They can still push in the clutch pedal to disengage the clutch! Ray.

 

[.]

They can still push in the clutch pedal to disengage the clutch! Ray.

If the engine revs up on a car with a centrifugal clutch, it will engage..... even if the driver is pushing down with his leg. In fact, the pedal will lift his leg.

Example: Tony Pedregon's deal at Indy when he ran over Dickie and another crew member.

YouTube - Tony Pedregon Dickie Venables Indy 2005 bad accident Stagging to fuel funny car Nitro

 

[wilbur]

...........and don't forget tying a shop rag around leaking fuel fittings!

Come on Paul, you act like you didn't even participate in the previous thread..................Virgil spelled it out in plain english why it's being done.

I guess we need the traffic here on the Mater so let's keep another thread going, but why don't you try this instead???

E-mail NHRA with this same question and ask them if they are waiting for a tragedy before they react.

You nailed it Lance, I thought they closed the site down. This place was like a ghost town. Paul is right, someone will lose a limb, before they even look at it. But as noted, there is a list of other no no,s happinin out there. Hey Paul, thanks for starting the thread. Later, Mike.

 

[T.Smith]

I say spectators should be banned from the pit area, because standing near one of these cars when being started is one of the most dangerous things you could do.

I always find it interesting when someone wants to give an opinion on race car safety, when the closest they come to a car is from their couch, the ropes or the grandstands.

Some also give an opinion just because they really just want to bash NHRA.

 

[Huge]

I say spectators should be banned from the pit area, because standing near one of these cars when being started is one of the most dangerous things you could do.

I always find it interesting when someone wants to give an opinion on race car safety, when the closest they come to a car is from their couch, the ropes or the grandstands.

Some also give an opinion just because they really just want to bash NHRA.

I was wandering when some one was going to bring that one up. Things can get ugly fast if something goes wrong on the start up.

 

[hotrod]

Everything about racing is dangerous. It's just part of it.
I still think that they should design a catch net that can be dropped on the starting line in case a car comes back to the line under power. I know..I know...I sound like a broken record. But, I was saying this long before Shelley died. I first started thinking about it when Garlits almost headed back to the line after his blowover. I still think that was a close call.
You can't prepare for everything but I think there are inevitabilities that can be prepared for.

 

[Huge]

Everything about racing is dangerous. It's just part of it.
I still think that they should design a catch net that can be dropped on the starting line in case a car comes back to the line under power. I know..I know...I sound like a broken record. But, I was saying this long before Shelley died. I first started thinking about it when Garlits almost headed back to the line after his blowover. I still think that was a close call.
You can't prepare for everything but I think there are inevitabilities that can be prepared for.

I seen that Garlits car in his museum last tuesday.

 

[Dragracer]

In the late 60's Lou Baney who was running the purple Yeakel Plymouth T/F car was standing along side the engine waiting for the engine to warm up on the starting line at OCIR. You used to check the engine heat by putting your hands on the heads so he was leaning over the engine. The car lurched forward and caught Lou under the left rear tire with most of his body on the hot headers. It seemed like a long time, I am sure it wasn't, to get the car turned off and rolled off Lou, all the time he was trapped on the hot headers.
Lou was very badly burned from this and was in the hospital with severe burns for quite a while.

There are many things that can, and sometimes do happen that are unforseen with these monster cars - nothings perfect and freak accidents can happen. There are also rules that could be put into place to assure that some of them won't happen and those rules would not cost racers any money. I could list out pages of these rules but nothing is going to happen until someone from a big name car is injured or God forbid killed. That's the way NHRA worked in 1959 and thats the way they work today.

 

[Bross Hawg]

Good question. To me there is no good reason for this. If fact I believe there is something in the rule book about a car having to do everything,(burnout-stage) under its own power.

Read the rule book again...it says cars will "Stage" under their own power.

If I remember correctly, Alan Johnson and co. started this with the Army car a few years ago with the intent of minimizing heat in the clutch system. And since they won a lot, people started to copy it.

Keeps heat in the clutch to a minimum. Do the same thing every run and stay consistant. And like was mentioned, when a team is winning, it isn't long before everyone else starts doing what they do.

They can still push in the clutch pedal to disengage the clutch! Ray.

You ever been in a car with a centrifugal clutch? Good luck with that one...you better have Arnolds legs...lol.

If the engine revs up on a car with a centrifugal clutch, it will engage..... even if the driver is pushing down with his leg. In fact, the pedal will lift his leg.

Example: Tony Pedregon's deal at Indy when he ran over Dickie and another crew member.

YouTube - Tony Pedregon Dickie Venables Indy 2005 bad accident Stagging to fuel funny car Nitro

Bingo.

Everything about racing is dangerous. It's just part of it.

And that, just like every other "extreme" sport is one of the things that makes it exciting. The potential for danger is there every run.

 

[vegasnitro]

I say spectators should be banned from the pit area, because standing near one of these cars when being started is one of the most dangerous things you could do.

I always find it interesting when someone wants to give an opinion on race car safety, when the closest they come to a car is from their couch, the ropes or the grandstands.

Some also give an opinion just because they really just want to bash NHRA.

Hey ... my couch is only 8 or 10 feet away from the TV ... and TV tells me everything I need to know

In all seriousness, to my untrained eye, just doing a quick head count, it does seem like there are more people on the starting line these days than even 5 or 7 years ago. I am assuming the crews give all the newbs the run down of what they should and shouldn't do and where they should or shouldn't stand. I don't know what the answer is, I am sure there are a bunch of smart people with the teams and NHRA that look at this issue from time to time. The only I can say is keep your head on a swivel, be diligent and vigilant and the vast majority of the time everyone will be ok.

Wait, I just had an idea. I could have a 3 day safety course for all folks going to the starting line, from the comfort of my all-knowing couch while watching TV, of course. I would charge a nominal fee and even print out a certificate of completion for the course which then would be turned over to NHRA and team owners. THIS COULD BE THE BEST IDEA I EVER HAD. I am calling Tom Compton right now! (This idea copyright and trademarked by me. No use of this idea without written consent of me. No warranty is expressed or implied. No couches were harmed with the formulation of this idea. This idea was filmed before a live studio audience.)

 

[Jenn]

wait, i just had an idea. I could have a 3 day safety course for all folks going to the starting line, from the comfort of my all-knowing couch while watching tv, of course. I would charge a nominal fee and even print out a certificate of completion for the course which then would be turned over to nhra and team owners. This could be the best idea i ever had. I am calling tom compton right now! (this idea copyright and trademarked by me. No use of this idea without written consent of me. No warranty is expressed or implied. No couches were harmed with the formulation of this idea. This idea was filmed before a live studio audience.)

lmao!!!

 

[mick]

just a few years ago, backing tf'rs out from under canopy was common
before firing, providing fans even closer proximity to engine; now this practice
seems to have ceased.
anyone know if this was a safety concern? and if so, recognized by who?

 

[nick name]

One of the first rules I learned seems to be broken pretty consistently these days. The rule is that you never, EVER turn your back on a running race car.

Second, and just for what it's worth, the ADRL heavily enforces a rule that no crewmember can be in front of a car during a burnout (like in the Pro Stock "matador" deal). I've seen a bunch of cars waved on down the track without being allowed to stage due to that rule. People are slowly learning.

 

[Old Guy Rookie]

Hey ... my couch is only 8 or 10 feet away from the TV ... and TV tells me everything I need to know

In all seriousness, to my untrained eye, just doing a quick head count, it does seem like there are more people on the starting line these days than even 5 or 7 years ago. I am assuming the crews give all the newbs the run down of what they should and shouldn't do and where they should or shouldn't stand. I don't know what the answer is, I am sure there are a bunch of smart people with the teams and NHRA that look at this issue from time to time. The only I can say is keep your head on a swivel, be diligent and vigilant and the vast majority of the time everyone will be ok.

This was exactly one of the point I was trying to formulate into a post that was going to be labeled as observations. There just seemed to be a lot of extraneous people on the starting line who didn't have anything to do with the race at hand, i.e. owners, wives/girlfriends, team videographers, teammates, special guests, etc. To that, I wasn't exactly sure that standing directly behind the car when it launches was a good idea either.

The other point was taken directly from the video Bross posted, I surprised that NHRA hasn't mandated safety equipment for the crew on the track. Safety Safari wears safety gear and they're not even on the track most of the time; but, crew working on the car at the line wear nothing other than their crew shirt. I think the guy in the video even mentioned that the header almost hit his head when it ran him over, so I'm surprised I haven't seen any helmets other than the "JegsCam". (I'm avoiding the obvious reference to NASCAR and the gear pit crews wear, since this isn't NASCAR.)

I'm not advocating any rule changes, but like I said they're just observations. I believe the idea about safety in inherently dangerous surroundings is to limit your exposure to those inherent dangers to a minimum. If I worked with alligators, I'd only want to put my hand in its mouth only when it was absolutely necessary to accomplish whatever my mission was.

 

[Speedy_Sticks]

Well just compare NHRA safety rules with other FIA track events in Europe, need I say more. As for the crew being suited up, people may think that is some weird spinn off from the NFL! Their not the fittist folks in the world, just look at pit crews in NASCAR, F1 etc. Perhaps they need fitness tests to see if they can fall over without braking a limb!

I can tip over backwards out of my wheelchair without hitting my head on the floor, because I know to keep my head forward to prevent it hitting my head on the ground. Others who do that might not know what to do if they weren't shown or practiced first. I fall over about 4 times aday at home and get up without a problem, because I grew up with my disability. I used to be able to cope with going on roller coasters, but now know my body can't cope so don't go on them now. Maybe a what if approach to all aspects of safety in the NHRA from starting line perceedures to teams providing oxegen masks to those who might struggle with nitro warmups. Then the NHRA would gain respect and the cudos of being one of the best racing series for safety around.

NHRA needs to think if it needs quality of the series rather than the quanity of what will take to get the most viewers and more pit crew than you need. It worked in the 80's?

 

[Rollout96]

Wait, I just had an idea. I could have a 3 day safety course for all folks going to the starting line, from the comfort of my all-knowing couch while watching TV, of course. I would charge a nominal fee and even print out a certificate of completion for the course which then would be turned over to NHRA and team owners. THIS COULD BE THE BEST IDEA I EVER HAD. I am calling Tom Compton right now! (This idea copyright and trademarked by me. No use of this idea without written consent of me. No warranty is expressed or implied. No couches were harmed with the formulation of this idea. This idea was filmed before a live studio audience.)

LMAO!!! You're a genius Chris!!!