Alcohol dragster?

Floyd Staggs · 07-11-2010, 04:08 PM

What happened to Mark Niver? My audiocast was down till it was over.

Mack Reeves · 07-11-2010, 04:23 PM

I'm on espn3.com and they had one go into the sandtraps when chute failed to open... It folded the front wheels around the driver compartment.. Not much being said and not sure who this is.. But still down and not sure what is happening.....

Floyd Staggs · 07-11-2010, 04:34 PM

The announcer said they would be down about 20 minutes and that was over a half hour ago.

Floyd Staggs · 07-11-2010, 05:57 PM

There is a post on Yellow Bullet that said he expired.
God speed, Mark. RIP!

AC · 07-11-2010, 06:31 PM

competition plus is saying law enforcement has stopped the show

http://www.competitionplus.com/index...ace-in-seattle

Ed Fernandez · 07-11-2010, 06:33 PM

WTF is going on with all these cars losing/malfunctioning parachutes.They're killing thes poor guys and there's no improvements in sight with a comparatively unchanged system.
NHRA better get their head out of their ***** before we lose anyone else and also the fact that the liability insurance increases will be paid by you know who.

AC · 07-11-2010, 06:38 PM

personally i think the dragsters and funny cars should have tubs in them like Formula One and the drag boats. F1 cars have hit walls at 11+g's and they walk away. Build a tub around the driver to protect them.That car rolled up like a snail or a hose, i knew when i saw it that it could not be good.

I think they also need a third emergency chute, who cares about aerodynamics.

God speed, word on the other forums is the driver did not make it.

voltdr · 07-13-2010, 01:40 PM

This was truly a sad sad day for the Niver family and all of us also. However I don't believe NHRA is at fault here. Let's remember how our tech inspection goes. All classes not just the pros. Has anyone ever had to remove interior panels, raise your car up on jack stands, or had to disassemble something on your car so a tech inspector could look at it for safety? We have all had some of these thing happen but could you imagine the uproar from the racers if you had to do this before every race or if you had to through tech again after you pulled your trans and converter changed a fuel pump or carb. Does NHRA need to check that you know how to put your car back together. Everyone would be screaming at NHRA for looking over their shoulder too much. The mounting bracket broke on Nivers car. Period. Do you take your car apart after every race and check all the welds. I know I don't. We should check more but we all assume that if it was OK at the last race it is OK now. We all know people that only take their cars out of the trailers when they are at the track, how safe is that? Do we need NHRA to verify that our cars have been inspected prior to tech? Are we now going to have to have SFI parachute mounting brackets. I can the hear the protesting now. I wonder how many people have actually pulled their chute and then know how to repack it. I used to pull my chute at least once at every event I went to. I have even stopped that. I will start doing it again. We can go on and on and on about this..... This was a tragic accident and I'm sure there will be some trickle-down changes that we will see from this. All of our safety equipment can be traced back to someone's bad day at the track. Let's just all resolve to check our equipment more and get back to racing instead of engineering things we don't have a clue about.
Sorry for the long post.
Dan Foley

novassdude · 07-13-2010, 02:42 PM

How hard would it be to have a secondary safety cable that would go thru the chute attachment points in case the main mount fails? It would add a couple of pounds but I think it would be very well worth it. sort of like the wheel retention on Indy cars.

Jason · 07-13-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by novassdude

How hard would it be to have a secondary safety cable that would go thru the chute attachment points in case the main mount fails? It would add a couple of pounds but I think it would be very well worth it. sort of like the wheel retention on Indy cars.

Now there's an idea that merits looking at! Maybe someone will design one for their car and show it off to the rest of the racing world.

BTW, if your car is required a parachute, when was the last time you actually looked at the mounting point on your own car? I'm talking about a close inspection looking for cracks in welds or metal. There is a lot of strain put on that important section each time the parachute is used.

07-11-2010, 04:08 PM	#1
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,510 Likes: 132 Liked 220 Times in 95 Posts	Alcohol dragster? What happened to Mark Niver? My audiocast was down till it was over. __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

07-11-2010, 04:23 PM	#2
Mack Reeves Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Elkin, NC Posts: 672 Likes: 168 Liked 44 Times in 13 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? I'm on espn3.com and they had one go into the sandtraps when chute failed to open... It folded the front wheels around the driver compartment.. Not much being said and not sure who this is.. But still down and not sure what is happening..... __________________ Mack Reeves 2377 STOCK & SUPER STOCK

07-11-2010, 04:34 PM	#3
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,510 Likes: 132 Liked 220 Times in 95 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? The announcer said they would be down about 20 minutes and that was over a half hour ago. __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

07-11-2010, 05:57 PM	#4
Floyd Staggs VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,510 Likes: 132 Liked 220 Times in 95 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? There is a post on Yellow Bullet that said he expired. God speed, Mark. RIP! __________________ Floyd Staggs 787 SST

07-11-2010, 06:31 PM	#5
AC Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 169 Likes: 28 Liked 64 Times in 22 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? competition plus is saying law enforcement has stopped the show http://www.competitionplus.com/index...ace-in-seattle

07-11-2010, 06:33 PM	#6
Ed Fernandez Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NOO JOISEY nexta NOO YAWK Posts: 5,879 Likes: 38 Liked 100 Times in 45 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? WTF is going on with all these cars losing/malfunctioning parachutes.They're killing thes poor guys and there's no improvements in sight with a comparatively unchanged system. NHRA better get their head out of their ***** before we lose anyone else and also the fact that the liability insurance increases will be paid by you know who. __________________ Former NHRA #1945 Former IHRA #1945 T/SA

07-11-2010, 06:38 PM	#7
AC Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 169 Likes: 28 Liked 64 Times in 22 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? personally i think the dragsters and funny cars should have tubs in them like Formula One and the drag boats. F1 cars have hit walls at 11+g's and they walk away. Build a tub around the driver to protect them.That car rolled up like a snail or a hose, i knew when i saw it that it could not be good. I think they also need a third emergency chute, who cares about aerodynamics. God speed, word on the other forums is the driver did not make it.

07-13-2010, 01:40 PM	#8
voltdr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 703 Likes: 77 Liked 92 Times in 49 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? This was truly a sad sad day for the Niver family and all of us also. However I don't believe NHRA is at fault here. Let's remember how our tech inspection goes. All classes not just the pros. Has anyone ever had to remove interior panels, raise your car up on jack stands, or had to disassemble something on your car so a tech inspector could look at it for safety? We have all had some of these thing happen but could you imagine the uproar from the racers if you had to do this before every race or if you had to through tech again after you pulled your trans and converter changed a fuel pump or carb. Does NHRA need to check that you know how to put your car back together. Everyone would be screaming at NHRA for looking over their shoulder too much. The mounting bracket broke on Nivers car. Period. Do you take your car apart after every race and check all the welds. I know I don't. We should check more but we all assume that if it was OK at the last race it is OK now. We all know people that only take their cars out of the trailers when they are at the track, how safe is that? Do we need NHRA to verify that our cars have been inspected prior to tech? Are we now going to have to have SFI parachute mounting brackets. I can the hear the protesting now. I wonder how many people have actually pulled their chute and then know how to repack it. I used to pull my chute at least once at every event I went to. I have even stopped that. I will start doing it again. We can go on and on and on about this..... This was a tragic accident and I'm sure there will be some trickle-down changes that we will see from this. All of our safety equipment can be traced back to someone's bad day at the track. Let's just all resolve to check our equipment more and get back to racing instead of engineering things we don't have a clue about. Sorry for the long post. Dan Foley

07-13-2010, 02:42 PM	#9
novassdude Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: usa Posts: 751 Likes: 204 Liked 133 Times in 49 Posts	Re: Alcohol dragster? How hard would it be to have a secondary safety cable that would go thru the chute attachment points in case the main mount fails? It would add a couple of pounds but I think it would be very well worth it. sort of like the wheel retention on Indy cars.