Another Racer Killed at E-Town

Jim B · 06-13-2010, 02:41 PM

Alan has pretty much summarized the variance in stopping the different vehicles and speeds that come into play. The bottom line on a 200+ mph pass is if the chutes don't deploy, blossom and stay attached to the car, you're going off the end hard. A brake failure in a 125 - 160 mph vehicle has a much different requirement to stop when leaving the pavement at the end. I remember going off the end at the old Pocono Drag Lodge in Pennsylvania and coming to a stop safely. The end of the shutdown area ran up the side of a mountain and was very effective for all types of vehicles. Granted the trap speeds were sub 250 mph but that was the most effective system I've seen. Unfortunately, it's not practical to retrofit an uphill runoff road to most existing facilities. The bottom line requirement lies with the sanctioning bodies. The only solution I could think of offhand would be a tailhook (aircraft carrier type) stopping reel at the very end for the faster cars. That's not as easy or simple as it sounds because the catch hook device would have to be standarized in the chassis construction and the cable reel device would require active operation by a track end crew. Car weight, speed, etc. would have to be taken into consideration to set the takeup reel drag. Existing runoffs would be maintained and used for slower vehicles (maybe 150mph and down) and the cable catch system activated for passes by the faster cars. Or unfortunately, a few deaths per year in a dangerous sport will be considered collateral damage. Time will tell. Heartfelt condolences to the family....

06-13-2010, 02:41 PM	#35
Jim B Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 100 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Another Racer Killed at E-Town Alan has pretty much summarized the variance in stopping the different vehicles and speeds that come into play. The bottom line on a 200+ mph pass is if the chutes don't deploy, blossom and stay attached to the car, you're going off the end hard. A brake failure in a 125 - 160 mph vehicle has a much different requirement to stop when leaving the pavement at the end. I remember going off the end at the old Pocono Drag Lodge in Pennsylvania and coming to a stop safely. The end of the shutdown area ran up the side of a mountain and was very effective for all types of vehicles. Granted the trap speeds were sub 250 mph but that was the most effective system I've seen. Unfortunately, it's not practical to retrofit an uphill runoff road to most existing facilities. The bottom line requirement lies with the sanctioning bodies. The only solution I could think of offhand would be a tailhook (aircraft carrier type) stopping reel at the very end for the faster cars. That's not as easy or simple as it sounds because the catch hook device would have to be standarized in the chassis construction and the cable reel device would require active operation by a track end crew. Car weight, speed, etc. would have to be taken into consideration to set the takeup reel drag. Existing runoffs would be maintained and used for slower vehicles (maybe 150mph and down) and the cable catch system activated for passes by the faster cars. Or unfortunately, a few deaths per year in a dangerous sport will be considered collateral damage. Time will tell. Heartfelt condolences to the family....