Chili
Nitro Member
That fellow mater and top fuel driver Travis Shumake who lost his shoes.
Virginia Nationals at VMP-June 21-23
- Thread starter NitroLuver
- Start date
65 Goatboy
Nitro Member
Was thinking the same thing yesterday. But even the best parts can fail when playing with 11,000 hp.
z28
Nitro Member
alot of things had to go wrong for it to turn out that bad. The safety restraints in the cockpit saved him. That first hit in the left wall would have killed him years ago.
Litefoot
Nitro Member
Hi Larry, it happened to me, both shoes, then shocks, pretty sure it was pushing Bill back, he got me once with a throttle wack, looked down at him while pushing back and saw that look that you knew you’d had it, crew had to guide back to push Trk, couldn’t see, sure miss that crazy one of a kind custom painter, RIP Wild BillBeen there done that,LOL. But the Funniest was the late Bob Brooks (Brooks rods) was backing up up Dennis Taylor at Bakersfield. He first lost one shoe, picked it up then lost the other shoe, then lost BOTH socks. You had too been there I was.
Larry Sutton---
none
Nitro Member
I'm glad you yelled at me, always nice to meet new people who have a passion for racing.
Alan
NitroLuver
Nitro Member
- Thread starter
- #66
I was standing there finishing up a conversation with Clay about seeing him in shorts (picking on him, he's a good sport). By the time I noticed it was you who had walked by, your back was to me. But yea, due to the background noise and the fans I did end up yelling pretty loud. You had a startled look on your face, and I felt kind of bad. Thanks for understanding.
I'll catch ya next year upon NHRA's return. And yes, as just as a fan, I am a bit passionate and love the environment.
NitroLuver
Nitro Member
- Thread starter
- #67
Just random thoughts and comments about the weekend.
1) Man, it was freaking hot. A lot of folks don't realize VA can get very hot with stifling humidity. Just came a bit earlier than usual.
2) I did not like the way the pits were laid out this year. Clearly above my pay grade but haulers and such were laid out differently from years past and the pits were really spread out. I'll have to write a letter to management LOL (just kidding)
3) I swear from the finish line to the top end is way longer than the actual racing service. I wonder if they'd ever go back to 1320 for tracks with longer run offs. Bet the tuners would love having to have different setups for that. (sarcasm).
4) Mission Foods display/tent. Be careful walking by, those guys literally almost throw bags of corn chips at you LOL. I swear I walked out of there with like 10 unopened bags from the whole weekend. They were good guys. Because I was there all weekend, I walked around a lot and stopped and chatted for a bit. Good guys. The chips are shaped like motorcycles and funny cars. Pretty cool
5) Speaking of walking around a lot. I'm fortunate as it relates to the heat. Living in the area I guess I'm used to it and it really doesn't bother me that much. Don't get me wrong, rather have had it be 80 degrees and no humidity. But I take a backpack cooler with a bunch of water and food and just walk around all over the place including the sportsman classes. Find some shade by a hauler and take a break. My watch said I took like 32000 steps on Saturday.
6) From all the walking around. Oddly enough I find it a bit relaxing. I just walk up and down the pits countless times and just look around into the various pits. Thier's always something new or interesting it seems if you look for it.
7) Outside of watching on TV and learning the never ending tid bits about drag racing. I've gotten most of my "knowledge or education" if you will, from the pit crews. I do know better when or when not to ask a question if they are preparing for the initial days opening round or in between rounds on elimination day. But they will take a moment to answer a question. Or sometimes they see the look on my face as I'm looking at something and they see the wheels turning in my head. They will come up and ask me if I have a question.
8) I think John Force's unfortunate accident is the first time I've experienced a body destroying engine explosion (Kablooie???) in person. That's something one doesn't experience every day.
Guess that's it. Looking forward to next year already.
1) Man, it was freaking hot. A lot of folks don't realize VA can get very hot with stifling humidity. Just came a bit earlier than usual.
2) I did not like the way the pits were laid out this year. Clearly above my pay grade but haulers and such were laid out differently from years past and the pits were really spread out. I'll have to write a letter to management LOL (just kidding)
3) I swear from the finish line to the top end is way longer than the actual racing service. I wonder if they'd ever go back to 1320 for tracks with longer run offs. Bet the tuners would love having to have different setups for that. (sarcasm).
4) Mission Foods display/tent. Be careful walking by, those guys literally almost throw bags of corn chips at you LOL. I swear I walked out of there with like 10 unopened bags from the whole weekend. They were good guys. Because I was there all weekend, I walked around a lot and stopped and chatted for a bit. Good guys. The chips are shaped like motorcycles and funny cars. Pretty cool
5) Speaking of walking around a lot. I'm fortunate as it relates to the heat. Living in the area I guess I'm used to it and it really doesn't bother me that much. Don't get me wrong, rather have had it be 80 degrees and no humidity. But I take a backpack cooler with a bunch of water and food and just walk around all over the place including the sportsman classes. Find some shade by a hauler and take a break. My watch said I took like 32000 steps on Saturday.
6) From all the walking around. Oddly enough I find it a bit relaxing. I just walk up and down the pits countless times and just look around into the various pits. Thier's always something new or interesting it seems if you look for it.
7) Outside of watching on TV and learning the never ending tid bits about drag racing. I've gotten most of my "knowledge or education" if you will, from the pit crews. I do know better when or when not to ask a question if they are preparing for the initial days opening round or in between rounds on elimination day. But they will take a moment to answer a question. Or sometimes they see the look on my face as I'm looking at something and they see the wheels turning in my head. They will come up and ask me if I have a question.
8) I think John Force's unfortunate accident is the first time I've experienced a body destroying engine explosion (Kablooie???) in person. That's something one doesn't experience every day.
Guess that's it. Looking forward to next year already.
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We all know nhra stopped letting cars solo when another car is stopped on the track (after the FCC ordeal).
My question is, why don't they have a quad staged at the starting line for such instances?
Chad Green, for example. He had to shut off, get out, etc. Mike Smith had to shut off in the other lane., then re-fire and take the light for the win.
Now if a quad is staged on the starting line, they can scoot down and push Chad off the track (first turnoff) and take roughly the amount of time it takes nitro cars to be ready to pre-stage (and not shut anyone off)
My question is, why don't they have a quad staged at the starting line for such instances?
Chad Green, for example. He had to shut off, get out, etc. Mike Smith had to shut off in the other lane., then re-fire and take the light for the win.
Now if a quad is staged on the starting line, they can scoot down and push Chad off the track (first turnoff) and take roughly the amount of time it takes nitro cars to be ready to pre-stage (and not shut anyone off)
robinjackson
Nitro Member
See Clay's recent YouTube on this very subject, esp. Alan's explanation.
