Tony's words from CompetitionPlus:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...sive-photos-let-the-2012-nitro-testing-begin-
SCHUMACHER URGES CANOPY APPROVAL - Tony Schumacher has had an opponent's car spin around and crash into his. "His nose came around and my blower belt came off or he's in my cockpit," the U.S. Army Dragster driver remembered.
Another time an opponent had a mishap, and according to Schumacher, "his mags were bouncing over my tire."
As if that weren't enough, Schumacher said, "I've hit two birds" while blasting down the dragstrip.
So a bulletproof, carbon fiber / Kevlar canopy is a truly real help from the dangerously odd and possibly lethal foreign objects that could find their way into his driver compartment. He clearly thinks this new iteration of the allowed-then-disallowed canopy over his dragster cockpit is the answer -- "It's the smartest thing you can put on a car until we figure out something smarter," he said.
So he's urging the NHRA to stop considering the canopy, or shroud, as an aerodynamic advantage and start recognizing it as a legitimate and logical safety feature for the sport's headliner class of cars.
"The capsule's not going to make me win a race. It's going to extend my life. That's what that thing's for," Schumacher said.
"A few years back, we were all uncomfortable -- when they were going to the quarter-mile still, cars were breaking in half for no apparent reason. You couldn't get in the car and not feel uncomfortable. I sit in this car," he said, pointing to his U.S. Army Dragster as assistant crew chief Neal Strausbaugh hovered over the cockpit during preseason testing at Jupiter, Fla., "and I have a level of comfort I have not had in a long time. Every driver should have that. I lost some good friends [to racing accidents] -- don't want to lose any more."
While the NHRA alleged last fall that at least one team owner presented performance-enhancing aspects of the innovative piece that cost Don Schumacher Racing a small fortune in research and development, Tony Schumacher adamantly denied the charge -- then and now.
"It [makes the car] 25 pounds heavier," Schumacher said. "We've got to do a lot of things to make the car go faster. We've added weight -- and added safety in every way."
Singling out the shroud, he said, "That is not for speed. It's not for decoration. It's for safety."
He said DSR invited all racers to come and see it and ask questions, even welcomed them to sit in the car and simulate how it would feel if it were mounted on their own race cars.
"[Connie] Kalitta wanted two right away. [Steve] Torrence wants it. [John] Force and Joe Amato came and looked at it. Everyone said this is the coolest thing out there," Schumacher said. "I don't care even if it looks ugly. The fact is I feel safer."
He said he finds it laughable that people remark that "Big Daddy" Don Garlits improvised something like that years ago. But, the seven-time champion said, "Yes. So did Darrell Gwynn. They showed up at the same race with it. But it was just a piece of Fiberglass, a piece of Plexiglas. This is a whole pod. This things comes off in one section."
He deflected criticism about fire, too.
"People say, 'What if you're on fire?' It's a high-pressure area. It's not low-pressure. Air come sup the front. you’re pushing air through it. Fire should not be able to push up inside of it. I have a three-pound fire extinguisher system in it, like the Funny Cars have. IF I'm upside down and IF I'm on fire and IF it won’t open and IF I'm knocked out and IF Safety Safari takes the weekend off and If my fire bottles don't work, I might get hot," Schumacher said.
"But guess what. There's always a way," he said.
He said the shroud isn't perfect, especially from a cosmetic standpoint. I like the look, but I don't like the fact you can't see my helmet anymore. And you can't see the look in someone's eyes before he runs," Schumacher said. "But it's not about that. It's about keeping me safe."
He emphasized that "this car goes 330 miles an hour. I put on a firesuit. I get in a roll cage and wear a seat belt -- NOT because it's the safest machine in the world but because it's a very fast race car and there's a risk. I understand that.
"I've broken cars in half, and I don't want to be on fire," Schumacher said. "But I trust in my safety equipment. It's SO much better than it used to be, and I watch Funny Car drivers climb from their fires all the time."
And he had some stern advice: "Put on the right equipment. Buckle up correctly. Wear the right devices around your neck. Wear the right helmet. And play ball. That's it. If you don't want to do this, play ping pong. Man, there are other jobs."
But it's clear that even though he realizes drag racing has its inherent dangers, he doesn't think it's too much to ask for the NHRA to allow his and other teams to protect the drivers as much as possible."
