Randy
Nitro Member
Yesterday several of us were discussing the Robert Hight situation. Included in our group was one of the more prominant FC chassis builders who also races his own car from time to time. The discussion centered around hitting the wall after the finish line.
The general opinion was definitely safety first. Secondly was worrying about who would race the next round. Who decides how hard a car hit after the finish line and how do you tell in a 10 minute glimpse that the integrity of the frame may or may not have been compromised? As Dave Reiff said, Forces crew would kill him if he said "stop" in the pits because emotions run high and sometimes wisedom is swept under the rug.
An example was cited of a certain team that had what appeared to be a minor encounter with the wall after the finish line. The car was serviced and brought back to the line for the next round. At clutch lock all heck broke lose when the frame twisted under the load of the engine torque. If the driver would have hit the wall he's sitting in a frame the may not have the strength to save his life because in the heat of battle no one saw the break in the frame. The "break" was hidden under a loom of computer lines.
While crossing the center line after the finish line is necessary to exit the track and/or happens when chutes drag the car around, hitting the wall is another story. These aren't NASCAR's, bumper cars or shifter carts. Drag race vehicles are fragile automobiles which are not meant to contact anything. So...
The opinion of a majority of the group was that NHRA should revise the rules to include the outer boundary (guardrail) as an infraction for the entire length of the track, not just the quarter mile. If the driver touches the wall ANYWHERE, he or she is out.
This would remove any discussion about mutli chassis teams bringing out back-up cars or putting anyone in John Force's position trying to please sponsors while painfully trying to determine if the car is safe enough for his son-in-law or daughter to drive it. No question. You hit the wall, you're out. Take it back to the pits, have the crew strip it down. get it checked out, fix or replace it and get ready for the next event. The driver in the other lane goes to the next round.
I think John Force was put in a bad position over this. A conflicting rule (safetywise) put him there. He leaned in the car and told Robert "DO NOT LEAVE" the starting line. That should never have happened. I would have been p*ssed, too.
Then you have Scott Kalitta on the losing side of that race with a car that just needs a fresh clutch pack and a set of rod bearings to make the next round. Bottom line is, you must maintain control of your car during the entire drag race process. Start to finish. In one piece these cars are dangerous. Why have it any other way?
I used to drive my own car. I've had several drivers in my car since I quit driving. I can't tell you the enormous resposibilty you feel having someone else driving your car. I'm more worried about my driver than I used to be about myself when I drove.
At Topeka, Force was looking in the eyes of his son-in-law and father of his first grandchild while seated in a car he knows is junk that is the baddest hot rod on the planet and he was scared for him. I say take a very emotional decision away from the teams with a no-hit rule. I thought it used to be the rule a long time ago anyway. I wonder when it changed?
Simple solution in my opinion.
RG
The general opinion was definitely safety first. Secondly was worrying about who would race the next round. Who decides how hard a car hit after the finish line and how do you tell in a 10 minute glimpse that the integrity of the frame may or may not have been compromised? As Dave Reiff said, Forces crew would kill him if he said "stop" in the pits because emotions run high and sometimes wisedom is swept under the rug.
An example was cited of a certain team that had what appeared to be a minor encounter with the wall after the finish line. The car was serviced and brought back to the line for the next round. At clutch lock all heck broke lose when the frame twisted under the load of the engine torque. If the driver would have hit the wall he's sitting in a frame the may not have the strength to save his life because in the heat of battle no one saw the break in the frame. The "break" was hidden under a loom of computer lines.
While crossing the center line after the finish line is necessary to exit the track and/or happens when chutes drag the car around, hitting the wall is another story. These aren't NASCAR's, bumper cars or shifter carts. Drag race vehicles are fragile automobiles which are not meant to contact anything. So...
The opinion of a majority of the group was that NHRA should revise the rules to include the outer boundary (guardrail) as an infraction for the entire length of the track, not just the quarter mile. If the driver touches the wall ANYWHERE, he or she is out.
This would remove any discussion about mutli chassis teams bringing out back-up cars or putting anyone in John Force's position trying to please sponsors while painfully trying to determine if the car is safe enough for his son-in-law or daughter to drive it. No question. You hit the wall, you're out. Take it back to the pits, have the crew strip it down. get it checked out, fix or replace it and get ready for the next event. The driver in the other lane goes to the next round.
I think John Force was put in a bad position over this. A conflicting rule (safetywise) put him there. He leaned in the car and told Robert "DO NOT LEAVE" the starting line. That should never have happened. I would have been p*ssed, too.
Then you have Scott Kalitta on the losing side of that race with a car that just needs a fresh clutch pack and a set of rod bearings to make the next round. Bottom line is, you must maintain control of your car during the entire drag race process. Start to finish. In one piece these cars are dangerous. Why have it any other way?
I used to drive my own car. I've had several drivers in my car since I quit driving. I can't tell you the enormous resposibilty you feel having someone else driving your car. I'm more worried about my driver than I used to be about myself when I drove.
At Topeka, Force was looking in the eyes of his son-in-law and father of his first grandchild while seated in a car he knows is junk that is the baddest hot rod on the planet and he was scared for him. I say take a very emotional decision away from the teams with a no-hit rule. I thought it used to be the rule a long time ago anyway. I wonder when it changed?
Simple solution in my opinion.
RG
Logical, sensible, well thought out, and it puts safety first and keeps teams out of a decision process that could cost a life, a career, or a job. Clear and simple. Maybe I am missing something but I suggest calling/emailing/writing NHRA and simply making the suggestion.
