R.I.P. Scott. Thinking about how the sport could be safer for the Fuel Cars, why not implement a portable arresting system, similar to those on an aircraft carrier? The net could be tied into a braking device housed in two semi trailers - one parked on each side of the track. That way the whole system could be moved from track to track with the only expense to the track owners maybe being some anchoring points to be buried in concrete. NHRA could own the arresting device and move it from national event to national event. It could even house concentrated fire supression equipment on board. I run an altered - the dial-in kind that makes some of you guys leave the stands - that runs nowhere near 300 mph. Even so if I dawdle for a couple of seconds getting it whoaed down that wall of tires comes up at me pretty darn quickly. I would welcome some kind of arresting device. A few years back one of my fellow racers spit out his driveshaft on his hemi Dodge going through the lights. On exiting the car it also took his brake lines. The car went through the sand and left the property. Stuff happens.
There Land-based military airfields use arrestor systems, although they are not required for all landings. The system usually consists of two sets of gear called arresting engines with one each located on each side of the runway. These engines are interconnected by an arresting cable which is usually attached to a nylon tape which is wound on to a reel on each arresting engine. When the aircraft engages the cable, the tape reels start to turn. The arresting engines apply the braking force to the reels, which in turn slow the aircraft and bring it to a stop. The two most common methods used by land based arresting engines to apply the braking force are the rotary friction brake and the rotary hydraulic (water twister) systems. The rotary friction brake is simply a hydraulic pump coupled to the reel which applies a graduated pressure to multi-disc brakes mounted on the reel. The rotary hydraulic system is a turbine inside a water/glycol filled housing coupled to the reel. The turbulence generated in the water/glycol mixture by the turbine during the arrestment provides the resistance to slow the reel and stop the aircraft. Once the A/C is released from the cable, the tapes and cable are retracted by an engine or electric motor installed on the arresting engine. Also with the advancment in materials with cant they use a beefed up bungee jumping type cord. Have layed out on the side the with a guide system to have directional control attached to a netting across the back of the over run area?
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6956&Itemid=7 I wonder how thick the sand was,and if it was piled on top of the asphalt. Anyone think that would be enough to launch a car into the air at 200+ mph. Once in the air,the car has to go straight. Until it hits the curved wall. Then what ?
We haven't beat this horse to death yet? NHRA brags about the highest membership in all of motorsports, but if you think any opinion voiced here; or anywhere else, will have one iota of impact on what that group of shirts does, I've got a bridge to sell you. Not even the practical arguments of heat treated versus normalized chassis made any headway with that group of clowns.
maybe its time to slow the cars down and maybe even make them look like real cars again,and no way NHRA will listen to us like Ive said before their just a bunch of dogfood salesman tryin to run a sport they dont care enough about!...I would love to see the old school funny's back even if it was at 200mph...maybe this would be better than shorter tracks..and cheaper for ALL involved and a hellava lotta fun
So, do we abolish hunting when an accident occurs, or change the gun of choice to a paintball gun? Do we put 6 inch padding on a football field and change the rules to "touch-only" in the NFL when someone blows out a knee or becomes paralyzed? Heck, lets give little Johnny as many tries as it takes to pass a test so that he dosn't feel like a failure.. (wait, liberalism and political correctness have already created THAT mess!!) And that is exaclty what the blaming and whining sounds like in this thread. I think 1,000 feet or 1/8 mile would ruin drag racing. Personally I don't even pay attention to 1/8 mile...it's just not real drag racing IMO. I'll get flamed, but who cares. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater...if you can't stand the risk then don't run. I'm so sick of the pontificating at this point, what if this and shoulda that. A great race car driver is dead, it is very sad, and he will be missed. So now we fix the main problems and move on - don't reinvent the wheel for pete's sake. Leave drag racing alone at 1/4 mile and move forward already.
Why don't we just blame everyone for everything,every time something goes wrong..If you go out on the hi-way you can get killed,,fly in a plane you can get killed..no one can prepare for every possible scenario..ANYTHING involving excess speed is high risk,,and not for nothing ,,he never hit the brakes or anything,,very likely he died in the initial explosion ,,yes it sux,,but blaming and banning things will not stop what is out of ones hands.... and 1/8 mile SUCKS
Buzznut...I gotta agree with you on alotta what you said,I hate liberals to start with but most of what has been raised in my post I have been wondering about long before Scotts wreck,that was hard to watch and yeah I'd like to see the tracks safer.This is no different than the "safer barrier" idea with nascar guys.And if they looked more like real car that might slow them down.along with engine/fuel limits.....and help keep the cost of racing down and just maybe keep it from imploding,I dont know if your old enough to remember the old school funnys (60s-70s) but they put on quite a show,and thats really what the fans want to see..........IMHO
You have a valid point. Life is a terminal sexually transmitted disease. No one gets out alive. The question though, is who are these people going 4 seconds for? I don't know even one person who gives a rats ass about anything faster than 7 seconds. It all looks the same. You can slow them down and still make it competetive. 10-71 blowers, single ignition, cubic inch limits. These people are driving production race cars. They buy them pre-assembled and maintain them. Just change the production style, and the drivers and teams won't know the difference. They'll still have decals on their ass, and sponsors will have room for their billboard. Going 4 seconds in a quarter mile is just plain stupid. Garlits proved 35 years ago that the engine and 24 quarts of oil behind you is a good deal. Dying stupid ain't the same as being brave.
So by your logic people shouldn't try to achieve anything new, faster, better, stronger than what already exists? Good thing that AG Bell, Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Fathers, Tesla, Einstein, etc.. didn't have the same attitude.
Let's keep this focused on the original topic - driver safety. Much beyond that & we're into drama back & forth - it'll end up closed.
Drag racing science is a done deal. There's nothing new. All it takes is a rule change, and you have another 200 horsepower. My favorite quote is something along the lines of "If you want to build a powerful engine, then just do what the NHRA doesn't allow in the rule book." Every year the rule book gets edited. Washington, Tesla, and Einstein would probably yawn, and ask why we're not using rockets. It's mad...
No not really,NHRA already has done alot to keep the speed down,like no belly pans and for years there was a no side window rule...I see it as work with in the constraints of what the tracks and cars can handle............hopefully in the near future they will know what happened to Scott and then move forward to fix the problem IF there is one
THAT is the point that some people have tried to make. Instead of just accepting that: "racing is supposed to be dangerous,and sooner or later someone else will die", why not give the best drivers a chance to race longer ? I always thought racing is supposed be be about COMPETITION. Anything that improves competition should be good for the sport. Some think it is a product placement/rolling billboard exercise. Money talks.Others seem to think it is a gladiator death sport.
Agree 100%!!! Try getting good life insurance rates and explain to them that your not gonna die racing. Haven't set foot in a race car in 4 plus years and it took 4 phone calls from the home office and a promise to not go racing to even get in the program. They don't care how slow you think your car is the words RACE CAR send up black flags and fireworks when included in your policy. Racing is dangerous no matter how many saftey innovations they come up with and it always will be. Don't get me wrong I love racing, but I don't want my picture on the 10pm news with details on a benefit for my family, I love my family more than that. When Dale Earnhardt Sr died I remember hearing some quote from him to the effect that if you're scared of driving a stock car, cause you may get hurt, you can soak some rags in gasoline and tie em around your ankles so the ants don't crawl up and eat your candy ass. He knew the risks and accepted them and died doing what he wanted. Everyone who wants to go racing needs to sit down and take a good look at the risks involved. Go ahead and call me a candy ass, but 2 years on a circle track and 3 years auto-crossing revealed no particular talent for competition driving so I walked away. 4 years as a NASCAR official showed me some really bad wrecks and enough injuries to walk away before I had to see anyone die. Build em fast but build em safe! My 2 cents!
i think it would be hard to ever make one of these cars safe, a bomb that turns into a fireball, if i were driving i think i'd want a ejection pod like the drag boats have, and a fire proof chute, its to bad anyone has to die but i think its going to keep happening and no one can stop it. maybe it is time to outlaw top fuel, they did hydrazine.
Did anyone else hear that the guy filming for ESPN got killed in the accident too ? A racer friend of mine said he seen it somewhere.
Haven't seen that anywhere else. Did anyone at the track report seeing 2 Ambulances leaving the scene ?
"The worst thing that can happen is we don't learn anything from losing Scott," "He would be so mad if we didn't figure out why this happened and do something about it." Ron Capps - Profession Nitro Funny Car driver. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/motorsports/368158_cain24.html
Professional racers speak out: http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6957&Itemid=24
Maybe everyone could switch over to those little Junior Dragsters with the Briggs & Stratton motors . They look like fun and 1/8th of a mile would be plenty .
"The champion said he didn't realize such a chore was his responsibility." =Tony Pedregon. No offense ment, but Tony should read a rule book, or the waiver drivers sign. 2008 NHRA rule book: "The participant agrees that by entering an event, the participant has had the opportunity to inspect the event site and acknowledges that the event site is safe and suitable for racing"
you are going to have the machine at work here that will eat itself up if they start imposing more rules and slowing the cars down. In reality, it wouldnt matter... just as soon as NHRA mandated 1/8 mile or slowing em down even more, IHRA will pick it right back up.
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