Regulations, reglations,regulations - everywhere you turn you hear about REGULATIONS. Hell EVERY one of those drivers, pit moguls, and crew KNOWS whats in the game. If they don't then they don't belong there. Its a gamble, and its part of the allure. Its racing, not happy fun circle jerk. Scott's death is tragic, and we should lament his passing. And finger pointing and monday morning conjecture doesn't do that. If the drivers feel collecitvely that something should change, it should be up o them and only them, as they are the ones in the hole shoot. Hell the way everybody sound, why don't we just hook up some electric cars with 4 way airbags to the line. Of course there may be an incident of high voltage surge, so maybe thats not a good idea either.
" I think if every driver could see what Eric’s race car looked like after that accident, none of them would resist any of these changes, not one. " John Medlen,Nitro/FC Crew Chief,and father of the late Eric Medlen. http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3087&Itemid=24
I agree with you there. I would really hate to see them slow the cars down. Or build new tracks to support the speed.....I am sure something will come of this traggic accident, we will just have to wait to see what it is.
I saw Alcohol Funny Cars,and Pro Mods,on TV a few weeks ago. Running on the 1/8 mile. Disappointing show.
Yep, the wrong thing happen at the wrong track. I agree with Jim Head - he said if they (NHRA) are going to make them race at these older tracks, they need to shut them down at the 1000 ft mark. But, even at one of the newer tracks with a longer shut down area - this situation would have been real bad.
The track shutdown area is to short, don't know if an extra 300 feet of pavement would have saved him but they need a longer sand trap or an effective way to stop out of control cars. I did see today that one race team (can;t remember who) has wired thier chute pull to the burst panel in the front of the car. If the burst panel goes the chutes get pulled by the panel. Smart Idea.
Several asked what frame Scott was using - I believe it was a new "safety frame" from John Force Racing. And to those pointing fingers of blame, (1) Scott knew the risks, (2) that's why it's called a racing accident. Unless you've examined the car in detail, and studied all the videotapes - you need to pipe down.
?????????? ok anyway , as was said about the aircraft carriers and safety nets etc. It still sounds like the facility should be required to improve safety measures in order to have NHRA sanction a race there. Unfortunatly society reacts after tragedy stronger than before. Look at how many years they have run there without a serious accident therefore making them believe everything was adiquate. Now that this has happened , we will see many changes come about. Its kind of like a home security system. you don't think you need one til you have been robbed, so then you have one installed. Hindsight is always better.
There will always be some, like Force, who will identify a problem and do what ever they have to do to fix it. There will always be a larger contingent that will resist change and will resist spending time and money on things they dont see as a problem. Racers as a group have the mentality of "it wont happen to me", they have to, if they believed that they were going to be the next one to get hurt, they would never get in the car. The sanctioning bodies have to walk a fine line between safety and keeping participants showing up. Is it a perfect system, no, can it be improved, most certainly. Before there are any knee-jerk reactions, the facts must be found and a sound plan must be put into place so that any "solutions" dont create a bigger problem than they solve. If you do not believe that the NHRA is proactive in the persuit of safety all one needs to do is read the rulebook. I used to run all of the divisional and national events in Texas, but the fact of the matter is, I cannot afford to do it anymore because of all of the things that I have to replace or recertify on a regular basis in the name of safety. I understand that safety rules have to be written to the lowest common denominator and that you cannot allow the tech inspectors to have any leeway or things get out of control in a hurry and you end up with someone hurt and alot of people pointing fingers and filing lawsuits because someone didnt enforce safety rules as they were written. The fact of the matter is that the sanctioning bodies are proactive when it comes to safety. There is always some new procedure that gets put into place. The sanction bodies do not want their competitors hurt, it is just plain bad for the sport, usually because someone in the press, who knows nothing about the sport, sensationalizes his article to sell copy without ever bothering to check the facts. The other fact is that, in the highest forms of racing the competitors are pushing the limits of known reality and when limits are pushed things happen that either were not or could not be foreseen. I say let the investigators do their jobs. Let them figure out what went wrong so it can be prevented in the future. Pointing the finger of blame is easy at this point because it can be done without getting off the couch. Sorry for the rant. It just bothers me when people point fingers instead of working the problem.
During qualifying sat they showed 2 examples of pro-stock bike guys even having a hard time shutting down before the sand trap and they are only running in the 6's and have a lot less mass to slow down. I think it was at the beginning of round 3 of qual.
hate to see this happen, and things need to be changed. I think the 1320 is great, its been that away for ever. Maybe a single mag and pump would be the way to go, I have not a clue what needs to be done, but something is needed. It was hard to see what went on in the sand, but they will study the tapes and the chassis and come up with something....
It was Del Worsham and his dad Chuck that came up with this, and it ought to be mandatory. The concussion from the explosion of a motor 2 feet from your face could be enough to knock you unconscious and this would make sure the car at least got slowed down if not stopped.
What the hell people. It was a fucking accident. Why when something bad happens everyone wants to blame someone. Let it be. R.I.P. Scott and prayers to you family
Goin' faster is what drag racin' is all about. The teams develope their programs at great cost. It seems to me that if tracks want to host the big boys they need to keep up with track developement. Inertia is a funny thing. Go faster ya need more room to stop. The tracks need to add a little more real estate at the end of the shutdown, It doesn't need to be alot. At least keep up with the increase in speed!!!!
Yeah.....I don't know & don't want to push blame on anyone, but I remember Don Garlits shooting past the end of the track at MoKan Dragstrip around 18 years ago or so when he was racing the jet car of Les Shockley. Now when down overran the end of the track, his car only pushed through a small barbed wire fence.............Not a concrete wall...........Dons car just went into the middle of some farmer field.........Not a Concrete Wall. Carl Hagan
I , for one, do not beleive making the track longer would have helped anything except the fire. Haveing seen cars make it through the sand and into a cornfield only furthers my point. ( Remember the Texas Superbirds plowing adventure Wes?) It;s this simple. If You tell these guys they cannot go 300 m.p.h., they will all run 299.99. outlaw one fuel, and they will find a way to make the same power as before. pretty much any attempt in slowing them down won't work. That's the innovation of Race Car guys at it's finest. I Feel for The Kalitta family. A few years back The team I was on lost it's driver to a wreck. It just about ruined me as far as wanting to go really fast is concerned. But before that...well, we ran a class called "outlaw" for a reason. It's not the N.H.R.A.'s fault. All of the saftey regs in the world, and it will still take a catastrophic event to bring the next problem into the light. You know what they should Outlaw? Space shuttles. now THOSE things are freakin dangerous......
Quote:"You know what they should Outlaw? Space shuttles. now THOSE things are freakin dangerous......" Yeah,but they're fast! My sympathies to Scott and his family and everyone who cares.
State police investigating Kalitta crash By Keith Sargeant Asbury Park (NJ) Press, June 23, 2008 New Jersey State Police are investigating the fiery crash that took the life of National Hot Rod Association drag racer Scott Kalitta on Saturday at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. "We're in the process of investigating the accident,'' said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a spokesman for the state police. "It could be anywhere between two to four weeks depending on where the investigation takes us. We're not going to clarify any part of the accident at this time.'' An NHRA public relations official said its safety team is conducting its own investigation but declined to issue an official statement. A request to speak to Graham Light, senior vice president for racing operations, was not granted by the NHRA's communications department. Kalitta, 46, was racing alongside Tony Bartrone in the final qualifying round on Saturday afternoon in the NHRA's Lucas Oil SuperNationals when his Funny Car exploded into flames and crashed at the end of the quarter-mile track. Television replays showed Kalitta's car explode into flames about 1,000 feet down the track. His Funny Car hit a top speed of 300.73 miles per hour and crossed the line in 4.974 seconds. It's not known what kind of mechanical failure caused the car to explode mid-race, but replays showed the carbon-fiber shell, which protects the chassis and cockpits the driver, appearing to break off at least partially after engulfing in flames. The parachute device designed to brake the 7,000-horsepower race car appeared to be damaged by the flames. According to the NHRA, the parachute is "the primary breaking system'' that "can produce up to five negative G forces of stopping power.'' Kalitta cruised into the sandpit at an estimated speed of more than 250 miles per hour and appeared to launch airborne into a concrete- filled metal post positioned just beyond a curved concrete wall. Don Prudhomme, a legendary figure in drag racing, witnessed the scene and said Kalitta's car "hit a post that's virtually impossible to do'' and "went into a million pieces.'' "He had a fire, the chutes didn't slow the car up enough, he got airborne, he happened to hit a post,'' Prudhomme said. "I went down there and I looked at it, and I couldn't believe he could possibly hit this post. It's been there for years, it's a safety post. It's a catch net and something has to support it. But he hit it at such a high speed the car got airborne. "But I don't think it's the track's fault. If I did, I wouldn't be racing here.'' Raceway Park president Michael Napp said the post serves as support for the safety net that's designed to "catch a car'' if it fails to brake before the end of the track. Napp said the distance between the quarter-mile finish line and the sand trap is "probably a little less than a half-mile.'' "I don't know the exact number, but we have a quarter-mile track and probably a little less than a half-mile to stop,'' Napp said. "It used to be longer, but when they (the NHRA) took the track away to put in the gravel and safety net, which makes sense, you took some of the track away to put that there. Without that gravel there's more (track) than that.'' According to the NHRA, Kalitta was extricated from the car and transported to Raritan Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from multiple injuries. Though the remainder of Saturday's race card was postponed after Kalitta's crash, racing resumed on Sunday with the final round. An estimated 80,000 spectators took in the four-day event, including about 20,000 fans on Sunday. "Nobody should go that way said Tony, but I guarantee you Scott woke up every morning and loved driving a race car,'' Schumacher said. "No one wants to die. But we do understand this is what we do. And Scott, of all people, was a gladiator. "Race car drivers understand risks,'' he added. "It's why we do it. It's why the fans come to the stands. No one wants to see someone lose their life. But if it happens to me, understand there isn't a thing in my life that I haven't done that I want to do. If it does happen, understand that I'm doing what I love. I wouldn't be alive without it. I get into a car and that's who I am. It made Scott who he was.'' Napp, whose family has owned Raceway Park since it opened in 1965, said track officials took further precautions to ensure the safety of the drivers by setting sand-filled pales in front of the curved concrete wall and post. While Napp said he would welcome any other safety precautions the NHRA would suggest, he said repositioning the post wasn't an option. "There's things that I think that I'll keep to myself about moving the pole location,'' Napp said. "Sure, moving it is a great thing. Let's put it on the other side of the planet. But there's balancing acts about that. But I'll let them review the evidence that they have and come back with suggestions. "Look, we have to leave the poles where they are. They have to stay there in order for the nets to work effectively. So now maybe what we do is protect the poles better. There were days when there wasn't any nets or gravel back there. So they came to us and said we need to install that. We did, and that was installed in the early '90s.'' Napp said Raceway Park is "a very safe facility,'' and pointed to the lack of a fatality in "25 years'' as proof. "Most of the facilities are similar in design,'' Napp said. "I don't believe the NHRA would run here if we weren't up to snuff. Since we're old, we've been part of the involvement of safety in the sport. I'm always open to anything about safety. "Certainly we've handled enough NHRA events to present a facility that they're comfortable with. We are a very standard facility. We're not the longest track, we're not the shortest track, we're right in the middle. I think the circumstances have very little to do with anything other than what was a very serious mishap.'' Napp said when "everything's going well'' with a race car, "there were guys that stopped without parachutes and came out fine'' on Saturday. "Who knows? The explosion, the shock, maybe not being awake, maybe he couldn't see because of the fire,'' Napp said, explaining possible reasons for the accident. "Who knows? But it's obviously a terribly sad day for the Kalitta family and we at Raceway Park share in their condolences.''
I can understand why people are upset by Scotty's death, I know I am. But from my point of view the NHRA is the safest ,most innovative group out there. I race both Pro/Stock and fuel motorcycle, and race in two other racing series besides NHRA. The other guys want me to show up and put on a show so they can get more paid spectators in the gate. Thats it ...they don't care about the state of my equipment, It's "here's your tech sticker, go run and make me money". NHRA does a full inspection and licensing check when ever I do exhibition passes. It can be a pain in the butt, except that I know that they do it for me and for you. No exceptions. In drag racing they are the pros
What the fuck...I mean WHAT THE FUCK!?!!?? It's a tragedy to be sure. The Kalittas are local heros for more reasons than racing. Driving a nitro ANYTHING has an inherant risk that ALL the drivers are willing to take. Is this really the ONLY F/C that ever went off the end of E-town? No way. Stop the blame game. Thank the Kalittas for all they've done and will doubtless continue to do for the US and for drag racing. I was on the crew of an alky car that popped the motor on the burn out and holy shit what a concussion it caused. I've seen a few nitro explosions. I'm amazed at what can happen without tragic endings but they're sure to happen at some time. What's with all this "protect them" ideology for something so risky? Why are we all of sudden so fuckin delicate when things go wrong? I too don't buy into that "he died doing what he loved" bullshit. RIP Scott. Thank you for all you were able to do for the sport. My heartfelt condolences for the surviving family.
The safety features at the very end of the track are there as back ups in the event of failures. The racers are supposed to be stopped by the time they get to this point on the track. If the driver and the car don't stop in the alloted area, how can we blame the track for providing a backup sytem. The failure was way before the end of the track. There is nothing that will stop the pain of the loss. Slower won't do it, I was there when it was 150 MPH and 9 seconds and we still had fatalities. Blame will lay at the feet of the lawyers.
Why are people so ignorant. This is why I can not read or respond to a lot of these message boards. Why come to conclusions before doing your research... With that said... My heart goes out to the family and friends of Scott Kalitta... He was a true legend along with his father Connie... Scott will truly be missed... This is the price we pay for racing. We all know that every time we strap ourselves in a car and take it to the track... no matter what safety precautions we and our subsidiaries make... Inevidably it could be our last race. "Lifes Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totaly worn out, shouting.... HOLY SHIT!!! What a Ride!!"
bottom line is drivers HAVE been complaining that the shut down is way to short at many tracks for cars doing over 250mph..........that may or may not have been a factor,I personaly believe many factors will come out in the accident
Slow down boys. Everyone has their thoughts and emotions. We all do. The first thing though is to let The Kalitta Family and Entire Team take care of burying a son, teamate, father, husband, freind, top fuel and funny car driver, and yes one hell of a champion. All of us who knew or met Scott or just saw him on TV can wait to show the rest of our emotions. We can all wait for a few days to express our opinions. I need a drink...and this one is for you Scott err...Eddie
And for those that wish to do something. Link to arrangements and addresses. http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6928&Itemid=6 Let his family know how much he meant.
Bullshit,people dont need to die in fiery crashes to legitimize this sport.Its obvious that changes need to be made,not kneejerk reactionary changes,but well thought out changes,like Force and Head have come up with.Not gonna happen overnight,but problems need addressed rather than be ignored,or drivers will keep dying.
Jim Head likes the 1000 foot idea - I think if all the other owners and drivers as well as sponsers get on board with that - then thats what we will have - BUT if we look how rare these accidents happen and maby use a crush wall with water barrier at the end of the shutdown area it would tear up the car but most likely spare a life - just my thought - jaxx
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