NHRA Tether Rule Update

[Jim Wahl]

Let me say first off I am for anything that makes racing safer. That said, I also must say the way NHRA is going about this smells! It smells of kickback from "approved" manufacturers. In order to achieve said kickback the current two approved manufacturers are inflating the price phenomenally. CollectorTether.com is charging $199-$249 for $30 worth of materials. I'm thinking NHRA must be pocketing about $50 or more each. It takes about 10 minutes to assemble the said parts. With 5000 race cars that will be required to install these teathers or they can't race, that works out to a quarter million bucks! Quite a handsome profit for a few clamps and some steel cable. The Lokar pieces are unbelievably over thought and complicated. The HeaderTether.com piece is much more slick and better thought out. Neither one is worth more than $50 racer price. Also as of this date, neither are SFI approved but NHRA is allowing them. I am very doubtful they will ever be SFI approved. Just another way of keeping the individual racer from making their own tether!

If NHRA was genuinely interested in correcting a problem (more people have been killed by loose Top Fueler tires) they would set a standard, much like the roll bar rules, and allow racers to fabricate their own header tethers. I will NOT be paying $200-$250 for this newest obvious NHRA money making enterprise paid for on the backs of the racer. Nor will I be hacking up my $2600 SS headers by welding them all together, this was a disingenuous alternative by NHRA. I will make my own tethers. I am fully capable, as are 90% of the racers I compete with. If they are not acceptable, I will not race with the NHRA until they rethink this deal. Scooter Peaco must be smiling somewhere right about now. Jim


.

[Mack Reeves]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

Let me say first off I am for anything that makes racing safer. That said, I also must say the way NHRA is going about this smells! It smells of kickback from "approved" manufacturers. In order to achieve said kickback the current two approved manufacturers are inflating the price phenomenally. CollectorTether.com is charging $199-$249 for $30 worth of materials. I'm thinking NHRA must be pocketing about $50 or more each. It takes about 10 minutes to assemble the said parts. With 5000 race cars that will be required to install these teathers or they can't race, that works out to a quarter million bucks! Quite a handsome profit for a few clamps and some steel cable. The Lokar pieces are unbelievably over thought and complicated. The HeaderTether.com piece is much more slick and better thought out. Neither one is worth more than $50 racer price. Also as of this date, neither are SFI approved but NHRA is allowing them. I am very doubtful they will ever be SFI approved. Just another way of keeping the individual racer from making their own tether!

If NHRA was genuinely interested in correcting a problem (more people have been killed by loose Top Fueler tires) they would set a standard, much like the roll bar rules, and allow racers to fabricate their own header tethers. I will NOT be paying $200-$250 for this newest obvious NHRA money making enterprise paid for on the backs of the racer. Nor will I be hacking up my $2600 SS headers by welding them all together, this was a disingenuous alternative by NHRA. I will make my own tethers. I am fully capable, as are 90% of the racers I compete with. If they are not acceptable, I will not race with the NHRA until they rethink this deal. Scooter Peaco must be smiling somewhere right about now. Jim


.

Very well said!!!

[63corvette]

[QUOTE=Jim Wahl;400025]
If NHRA was genuinely interested in correcting a problem (more people have been killed by loose Top Fueler tires) they would set a standard, much like the roll bar rules, and allow racers to fabricate their own header tethers. I will NOT be paying $200-$250 for this newest obvious NHRA money making enterprise paid for on the backs of the racer. Nor will I be hacking up my $2600 SS headers by welding them all together, this was a disingenuous alternative by NHRA. I will make my own tethers. I am fully capable, as are 90% of the racers I compete with. If they are not acceptable, I will not race with the NHRA until they rethink this deal.
Jim

I had lunch with some racing friends this last week and two of them stated almost exactly the same thing. No more NHRA racing events until this new rule is changed to allow us to fabricate our own. It seems more principal of the way it was handed down than the cost to them. Probably the cost was part of it also.
I hope NHRA takes a look at comments like these and realizes that they are running off their loyal customers by doing silly things like this.
It will only take someone making a long tow to an event somewhere early next year and being turned down at TECH over the tether issue to really get things stirred up.
My 2 Cents
Rick Cates