Tony Pedregons Comments on ESPN2 (2 Viewers)

[AC]

It is a very sad day in racing after losing Scott. No racer wants to see another racer lose his life. Unfortunately these things do happen and the other racers need to move on. Tony P seemed very upset by the NHRA on his interview yesterday. Is it time for some major changes to the fuel cars and tracks they run on? I was at etown yesterday, i am glad i left before this tragic event.

But when i heard what happen i knew it would not be pretty. What upset me the most and made me very mad was this same exact thing occurred last year at a lucas oil divisional at etown. Thankfully the alcohol racer was ok, but the sand pit and net did not do its job and threw the driver in the woods at the far end of the property (before people come on here and say i am putting etown down that is not the case, i have been going to etown,racing at etown since i am 17 (17 years), it's a home track to me, a favorite track me). I saw the alcohol car when it was taken away, it is a miracle this alcohol racer lived.

I just feel more precautions can be taken to insure the safety of the drivers. I am not putting the blame on anyone or saying things could be different because we don't know what happen in that cockpit, what i am trying to say is that it's time the tracks and safety equipment meet the technologic advances that the cars have made. I know there are alot of issues with old tracks trying to expand their shut down areas and may be the cars are going to fast. As a spectator would you know the difference if the car was doing 300 instead of 330?

i didn't want to write this and post this but its been on my mind since hearing the bad news yesterday.



RIP scotty you will be missed and a safe race to all that will race in his name!!

 

[mastertone]

I heard his comments too. Sounds like he wants someone to blame. If you think the track is too short, don't race on it. I do believe the NHRA needs to slow these cars down. Hell they were almost more fun to watch when they ran 5:50's! They were just as loud and and thrilling to me. I remember being impressed by a 6:20 top fuel run! And pro stock was for damn sure more fun when they ran 9:90's and they actually looked like the cars on the street!(i'll get beat up for that one). Does anyone have a real solution to this not happening again? A 2 mile shutdown maybe?

 

[vegasnitro]

Tony P's comments will carry much more weight than mine, but even Tony P admitted he had not seen the tape and could be commenting prematurely.

Would I know the difference between 300 and 330? Probably not, but Scott was not going anywhere near 330. You can't control every variable all the time. What we can do is learn, move forward and do everything we can to prevent this from happening again. The changes will not happen overnight, but I am sure Scott's death will not be swept under the rug or be in vain.

EDIT: Content Edited

 

[AC]

Tony P's comments will carry much more weight than mine, but even Tony P admitted he had not seen the tape and could be commenting prematurely.

Would I know the difference between 300 and 330? Probably not, but Scott was not going anywhere near 330. You can't control every variable all the time. What we can do is learn, move forward and do everything we can to prevent this from happening again. The changes will not happen overnight, but I am sure Scott's death will not be swept under the rug or be in vain.

PS did anyone else wanna punch Cruz Pedregon in the face besides me? Using the platform as a sponsor plug and chance to whine about not getting his last shot at qualifying was WAYYYYY out of line.

Yeah Curz was whining but he was addressing the question that was asked to him. He should have said who cares we lost a friend etc.. he did carry on a little to much

 

[Muddy]

I've said this before on here and each time I get lynched, but here goes again. Change the race to 1000'! What does that do? It provides 320ft. of additional room to stop. It slows the cars down to around 300. It helps make safer tires. It..well the list goes on but the bottom line is if thay did it, sure we would all talk about how great it was when the track was 1320..for a year or two. But the bottom line is it would save lives, money and make drag racing safer.

 

[Randy]

Does anyone have a real solution to this not happening again? A 2 mile shutdown maybe?

After we lost Shelly Howard there was talk of implementing a remote interrupter switch on the cars, similar to what monster track racing has. I'm not exactly sure of the ramifications of such a system, and I don't know how much it would have helped in this situation, but it would have at least shut the car off and given it an opportunity to lose some speed prior to hitting the sand.

 

[Jim]

Hey, Let's cut the guys some slack.

Tony hadn't seen the tape - Cruz was, clearly, a mess.
One of your associates (I suspect all these guys are close - in a way) gets killed and somebody sticks a camera in your face, How are you supposed to react? Emotionally? Would you be on auto-pilot? How articulate or measured would your comments be? All the interviewees held together better than many of us would have.


BTW: ESPN2 was doing it's job and they handled the awful situation in the best wat possible.

God-speed Scott.

 

[Muddy]

No disrespect meant but that car had a DEAD engine and that's what caused the fire and all the problems that followed. I don't think a remote shutoff would work in a nitro car and might make things worse.

 

[AC]

Hey, Let's cut the guys some slack.

Tony hadn't seen the tape - Cruz was, clearly, a mess.
One of your associates (I suspect all these guys are close - in a way) gets killed and somebody sticks a camera in your face, How are you supposed to react? Emotionally? Would you be on auto-pilot? How articulate or measured would your comments be? All the interviewees held together better than many of us would have.


BTW: ESPN2 was doing it's job and they handled the awful situation in the best wat possible.

God-speed Scott.

jim i am not going to cut them any slack because i think Tony was right in saying what he did, he is a racer but deep in his mind he looked very concerned and he should, we dont want to keep losing racers and seeing people get hurt.

 

[AC]

No disrespect meant but that car had a DEAD engine and that's what caused the fire and all the problems that followed. I don't think a remote shutoff would work in a nitro car and might make things worse.

i agree john, i dont know how well the remote switch will work, may be a remote switch to pull the chutes or something, but most times the motors are done when these things happen.

 

[handsome]

lets try to show some respect and not start jumping on soap boxes with all the " I know what to change" threads. life at 300 has risks. life has risks everyday nomatter what you do. god speed Scott, and lets pray for the kalitta family.

 

[Jim]

i agree john, i dont know how well the remote switch will work, may be a remote switch to pull the chutes or something, but most times the motors are done when these things happen.

Although I have the show on TIVO, I only saw the accident the one time.

It appeared to me that the chutes deployed but quickly shredded (burned?) off, which is a situation I've observed from time-to-time.

Shouldn't the fabrics (or, at least, the "cords") be fireproof?

 

[Rick Rzepka]

I've said this before on here and each time I get lynched, but here goes again. Change the race to 1000'! What does that do? It provides 320ft. of additional room to stop. It slows the cars down to around 300. It helps make safer tires. It..well the list goes on but the bottom line is if thay did it, sure we would all talk about how great it was when the track was 1320..for a year or two. But the bottom line is it would save lives, money and make drag racing safer.

my god do something!!! no more 330!!!! i cant take the hurt i feel for these guys

 

[Rexfiles]

I was at E-Town Saturday with my bud who I was taking to the races (his first) and we were sitting at the 1000' mark during the last pro session.

I'm NOT one to blame or point or whine, so you will get absolutely none of that here. Any speculation is up to the rest of you, and there is absolutely NO shortage of that here.

Your mileage may vary, but as usual, I don't give a rats ass.

What I saw was horrifying and traumatic and I thought and felt as though I was going to be sick or ill in some way.

Scott was on a VERY good run. As he passed us I thought we were going to see a 4.80 something come up on the board.

I would estimate at about 1100' the car exploded, and I mean so violently that I was stunned at the ferocity, and that is comparing to the hundreds of races I have attended in the last 32 years. What is seen on TV or the net cannot convey the devastation.

The car disappeared from view and I looked to the screen and saw the view from the end camera behind the net.

I was at that moment..........I cannot describe what I felt........pure horror, Scott's car, basically chassis with the front part of the body shell still on, fire enveloping the drivers cockpit, the only word I can use......... is...... HURTLING towards......... CONCRETE!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never seen a racecar go into sand anywhere that fast. Probably 200mph.

The car absolutely VAULTED the sand and the camera went dead.

We then saw what you could call a "mushroom cloud" rise from the end of the track.

I knew inside then and there it was non survivable. I had already had too much sun and felt my heart race and physically felt like I could not breathe for a moment or two.

I felt like I wanted to know but had the odd feeling that I knew. Just knew.

We waited for awhile and even went to the Kalitta pit to wait for some miracle or some sliver of hope.

The funny cars started coming back and going back to their pits and I saw not one smile or not even very much spoken between crew members.

I saw Toliver enter the DHL pit and go up to Conrad, turn around, and the look on his face was all it took.

People were on their cell phones and the ladies were holding each other and crying.

I always thought Scott was a great guy, and always been a fan of the whole Kalitta operation.

I'm not going over the top here when I say (and I know all too well, this is not about me, and the family and friends of Scott are suffering much, much worse) that that was my worst day at the races ever. I wish I had stayed home. I cannot get what I saw out of my head or off of my mind.

When I lay down at home last night I said a prayer for Scott and family and wept.

Time will pass, and the memory will surely become less painful, but for now my mind is not completely straight, and the pain is real.

God keep and hold you in his arms Scott, and God Bless and Comfort all his family and friends and crew and fans of this Great Sport.

RIP.

Rex

 

[Toejam]

It's situations like this that kinda make me wish for the days before the Internet! Everyone automatically goes into panic mode demanding wholesale changes to the sport!

 

[joe fuchita]

Rex . . . must of been hard to write, thanks for taking the time to share your experience . . . take care.

 

[James]

Seriously? He was barely doing 300 across the stripe. Leave the tracks at 1320' and lengthen the shut down areas one way or another. What's behind those woods at e-town? i havent been there since 1994,whats to stop them from making the shutdown area longer at e-town?

This is just my opnion so take it as that you crazy people on this board.

my god do something!!! no more 330!!!! i cant take the hurt i feel for these guys

 

[Jenn]

PS did anyone else wanna punch Cruz Pedregon in the face besides me? Using the platform as a sponsor plug and chance to whine about not getting his last shot at qualifying was WAYYYYY out of line.

EDIT: Punch in the face was harsh way of putting it by me ... but it did make me say WTF is he doing/saying to the TV. I like Cruz and would never actually punch him in the face.

Yes, if there was an Advanced Autoparts near by me, I would not buy from them. That was an crappy thing to say at the time.

 

[megadeth]

I personally think he was unconscious because everyone who races there knows the shut off length is one of the shorter ones Pomona is another.
Scott was experienced to know he was moving way to fast and I didn't see any indication that he made any attempt to apply the breaks he maintained the speed all the way to the end.
Either way and no matter what will be speculated there is a wife and two son's whose life has been changed forever and it just makes me sick. I can't even imagine the grief they must be going through.

 

[Rexfiles]

Seriously? He was barely doing 300 across the stripe. Leave the tracks at 1320' and lengthen the shut down areas one way or another. What's behind those woods at e-town? i havent been there since 1994,whats to stop them from making the shutdown area longer at e-town?

This is just my opnion so take it as that you crazy people on this board.

Pension Road.