Troxel's Wild Ride...

[DrRocket]

David, I don't think so. Turn 1 goes off the end of the strip. Even the new turn 1 I don't think she could have made.

When the car fired back up, she was off the track and at a 90 degree angle to the racing surface, (left at Pomona, right at BIR) and went dead straight ahead.

OK, that's different. I thought the car barked off before she made the turn, she horsed it around before it picked up some speed.

I know about the wall (I'm a flag & communications worker for SCCA events there.) but don't they take that wall out for the Northstar Nats? (Old habits die hard!)

I know for the two road race events, there's also racing going on at the strip. (They come over to watch the Trans Am races.) And that wall IS there then, but I thought someone told me last year that wall came out for the August event so it CAN serve as an escape route.

 

[Mooseman]

I allways figured the cars being pushed off the track was a 1000 foot thing is that right? I mean they allways used to just turn off the track into the shutdown area themselves and get out of the way themselves.

 

[big guy]

Dont they require a mag kill switch on all fuel cars. I know NHRa used too.If so why was it not hit???

 

[TF CREW]

Dont they require a mag kill switch on all fuel cars. I know NHRa used too.If so why was it not hit???

yes they do. But if there is enough heat in the motor it can ignite....

you should see what happens if you run a head stud back down in the block to fast if there is any nitro in the hole.

 

[.]

but I thought someone told me last year that wall came out for the August event so it CAN serve as an escape route.

That was probably me. I remember going down there on the golf cart to specifically see if the wall was gone..... it was.

As for Melanie's deal.... She was already stopped on the track (if I'm not mistaken) and the ATV was pushing her off. If this happened at BIR, she would have already been turning onto the return road. Turn one of the road course as an escape route would be irrelevant at that point.

 

[Toejam]

I allways figured the cars being pushed off the track was a 1000 foot thing is that right? I mean they allways used to just turn off the track into the shutdown area themselves and get out of the way themselves.

William, at Vegas just about anybody that used both chutes stopped about 400-500' before the turnoff. All of a sudden you saw everyone using just one chute and making the turnoff on their on power. Guess NHRA told them to...

 

[MM]

William, at Vegas just about anybody that used both chutes stopped about 400-500' before the turnoff. All of a sudden you saw everyone using just one chute and making the turnoff on their on power. Guess NHRA told them to...

No that's the teams not giving them a chance to say there is oil on the racetrack.

 

[Toejam]

No that's the teams not giving them a chance to say there is oil on the racetrack.

Huh??

 

[MM]

Huh??

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

 

[Gutter Brain]

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

Mike, I thought you knew you were supposed to check your logic when you logged into the Mater.
That does make sense.

 

[yoda]

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

Mods-where's the "Like" button?

 

[DrRocket]

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

So, it's "Git!" while the "Gittin is good?"

 

[elvis]

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

Sort of like "Leaving ahead of the firing squad" logic. I like that....

 

[Toejam]

If you stop on the racetrack you have a greater chance of putting oil down and getting fined and losing points. It's better to make turn, hook up, and get out of the shutdown area ASAP.

On a Clean Pass I can see that, but if there's any Smoke or Head Gasket Flash or anything whether you make it off the track or not. They are going to check it out.

 

[jm]

A bit off topic but... a few years ago, a top fueler waiting to be pushed into
the box blew a head or valve cover off, and broke a crewmembers leg. I also
heard a story that Dave Hiratas father caught a head in the chest when the car was not running.
Does anyone remember this and what would cause it? It would seem the pit
warmup would have been at least 1/2 hour prior.
Scott Weis/Palmer comes to mind...

 

[MM]

On a Clean Pass I can see that, but if there's any Smoke or Head Gasket Flash or anything whether you make it off the track or not. They are going to check it out.

They check the track after every run, but if the car pushes a head gasket out or the driver feels it kick a rod out in the lights, it's even more a reason to try to make the turn and get out of there quick instead of stopping on the track and increasing the odds of dropping oil. It happened to us in Englishtown.

 

[TF CREW]

A bit off topic but... a few years ago, a top fueler waiting to be pushed into
the box blew a head or valve cover off, and broke a crewmembers leg. I also
heard a story that Dave Hiratas father caught a head in the chest when the car was not running.
Does anyone remember this and what would cause it? It would seem the pit
warmup would have been at least 1/2 hour prior.
Scott Weis/Palmer comes to mind...

it was Weis, it was not Palmer!

 

[RAPID]

yes they do. But if there is enough heat in the motor it can ignite....

you should see what happens if you run a head stud back down in the block to fast if there is any nitro in the hole.

HA HA, I watched that from across the way in Pulde's pit,,,,glad he was OK.

Rapid

PS, What do I win for remembering?

 

[Nitrowilly]

Dave Hirata's mishap was due to a little fuel that leaked into a cylinder before the warm up. All it takes to blow a head off is a teaspoon or two of nitro in an afuel car. Due to the high compression of an afuel car they can hydraulic with the starter.

 

[You!]

Happened on JD's car at Sears Point sometime back too.