So, what was the infraction?

[Gone Dead Train]

NHRARacer.com - Statement of Action Against Participant

nhraracer.com

 

[z28]

NHRARacer.com - Statement of Action Against Participant

nhraracer.com

good question

 

[mike]

good question

he probably had his good luck charm in his pocket

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

@Bobby Bennett have you heard anything?

 

[Cliff]

At least he didn't have to pay a fine.

 

[TSK]

That 20 point deduction probably hurts worse than a monetary penalty.

 

[J]

Steve torrence is now the points leader,sounds a little shady that it doeant say what it was...

 

[Bobby Bennett]

@Bobby Bennett have you heard anything?

Working on the story now. I agree, if NHRA had been more forthcoming in their statement it would have prevented speculation.

 

[Scoe]

There's this.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1636764250512261120

 

[Bobby Bennett]

NHRA DOCKS SALINAS 20 POINTS FOR RULES INFRACTION FOLLOWING GAINESVILLE WIN | Competition Plus

NHRA issued a statement on March 16, 2023, declaring Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Top Fuel champion Mike Salinas committed a rules infraction and, while he'd been declared the winner, was docked 20 points. The infraction, which isn't clearly defined on nhraracer.com, was described by...

competitionplus.com

 

[qualified17th]

"It's your fault that we gave you false information so you're gonna be penalized for our mistake"

Huh?

 

[Jeff]

That is messed up...
If it is just a few lbs, probably would not have made a big difference. No details on the amount of the weight mistake by nhra? Effed up...

 

[*******]

20 points at the first race of the year with the countdown BS reset isn't going to even be remembered in 6 months.

 

[mick]

so he wins being light? takes the money and gives back 20pts.?........i'd do that all day long

 

[qualified17th]

20 points at the first race of the year with the countdown BS reset isn't going to even be remembered in 6 months.

It could. 10 point increments between each position after the reset going into Reading.

So in theory, if he ends up finishing Indy within 20 points of the team in front of him, and then ends up losing the championship by less than 10 points (which happens pretty regularly)... he'd have every reason to be pretty friggin pissed

 

[Just Paul]

"According to a source, incorrect information was reportedly conveyed to the team, which led to a mistake..."
"The NHRA tech department made a mathematical error in weighing the car...,"

I read the article a few times to make sure I read it right. It doesn't sound like just a simple under weight issue, it was cause and effect.

I'm sure this was just a simple mess up and have no inside info but I can imagine it playing out as simple as this.

Mike wins a round and gets held for an interview on top end. I'm sure in the quick turn around times last weekend, if that happened, they will for sure send the car back to the pits without the driver. I think NHRA has a chart of drivers weights for this type of scenario. So they weigh the car, and look up Mike's info and add them together. Minimum weight is 2340. To keep things simple, lets say NHRA tech says mistakenly the overall weight is 2360. So it's 20 over. Since they are 20 over, the crew takes 10 pounds out to leave some room for error. Lets say the weight was actually 2345, not 2360. Now with the 10 pounds out, and the math done correctly next time they come across the scales, they come up with 2335 which is under.

OR- Another hypothetical, I'm pretty sure some tracks have scales that are not long enough for a fuel dragster. So they measure with the back wheels on, then the front wheels on, and come up with the overall weight. Same thing applies with the above scenario from there.

I could be totally out in left field, but it's the only 2 examples I could think of where somebody would need to do any kind of mathematics to come up with the weight, not just roll the car on, have the driver stand with the car on the scale, and you get the number.

 

[Pete]

If NHRA said it was a mathematical error, they probably weighed at some point on race day and was given an inaccurate weight, probably on heavy side. Therefore maybe the crew chief decided to remove some ballast to get closer, which caused the car to come up light after the finals. If in fact NHRA admits its an error on their side, then rescind the penalty, fix the issue and lets move on

 

[Pete]

OR- Another hypothetical, I'm pretty sure some tracks have scales that are not long enough for a fuel dragster. So they measure with the back wheels on, then the front wheels on, and come up with the overall weight. Same thing applies with the above scenario from there.

I would bet this is what happened. On Millican's YouTube he mentions front and rear weighing...

 

[TSK]

OK, so NHRA relays incorrect information to Salinas' team, yet Salinas is penalized because they took NHRA's word. In what world is that justified?
If I didn't know better, I'd think the people making the decisions at NHRA are about as inept as the officials in the Southeastern Conference when it comes to Alabama doing anything wrong.
(If you've kept up with Alabama basketball this season, you'd know to what I'm referring. But, that's subject for another thread.)

 

[.]

"According to a source, incorrect information was reportedly conveyed to the team, which led to a mistake..."
"The NHRA tech department made a mathematical error in weighing the car...,"

I read the article a few times to make sure I read it right. It doesn't sound like just a simple under weight issue, it was cause and effect.

I'm sure this was just a simple mess up and have no inside info but I can imagine it playing out as simple as this.

Mike wins a round and gets held for an interview on top end. I'm sure in the quick turn around times last weekend, if that happened, they will for sure send the car back to the pits without the driver. I think NHRA has a chart of drivers weights for this type of scenario. So they weigh the car, and look up Mike's info and add them together. Minimum weight is 2340. To keep things simple, lets say NHRA tech says mistakenly the overall weight is 2360. So it's 20 over. Since they are 20 over, the crew takes 10 pounds out to leave some room for error. Lets say the weight was actually 2345, not 2360. Now with the 10 pounds out, and the math done correctly next time they come across the scales, they come up with 2335 which is under.

OR- Another hypothetical, I'm pretty sure some tracks have scales that are not long enough for a fuel dragster. So they measure with the back wheels on, then the front wheels on, and come up with the overall weight. Same thing applies with the above scenario from there.

I could be totally out in left field, but it's the only 2 examples I could think of where somebody would need to do any kind of mathematics to come up with the weight, not just roll the car on, have the driver stand with the car on the scale, and you get the number.

Just thinking out loud here..... But to go along with what you're saying, I've seen wind cause problems when weighing a car. Especially cars with large wings designed to provide down force when air flows over them. I could imagine a scenario where the car weighed slightly heavy (with a slight wind present) then the team removes a few pounds..... then the next time the car is weighed, it ends up slightly underweight. (with no wind present) Just a thought....