Alcohol dragster?

[Frank Castros]

It seems to me based on the recent events this year NHRA management seems more clueless then ever before.
Must more lives be lost before they get it. How does an official like Graham Light make a statement like he did to the Pro Stock guys and get away with it?
Does NASCAR blatantly compromise the safety of their racers or spectators?
NHRA apparently does not care about anything but lining their pockets.

[SSDiv6]

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.

Very difficult. Read my earlier post.

[Hagen Gary]

Originally Posted by SSDiv6

Very difficult. Read my earlier post.

After reading every one of your post, I fail to see how you addressed this man's Idea. I also have come to the conclusion that either you lack reading comprehension skills, or you twist what people say on this board just so you can look down your nose at them. You did it to me on a different thread, now here. How about you go read your earlier post, then read this man's 5 more times. Thanks

[W J]

There will always be equipment failure emergencies and/or health-related emergencies while in the process of making a pass down the 1/4 mile....we surely will never be able to prevent that. Whan we CAN do, is INSIST that the governing body and the track owner/operators provide us with the SAFEST POSSIBLE emergency high speed scrubbing/car and driver containment area at the very end of these race tracks.... In my opinion, this is not being provided at some of the National Event hosting tracks, as well as many other sanctioned tracks across the country. With all the heartache and tears that have recently been shed, isn't it finally time for the governing body to address this killer problem? WJ

[kwm]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/0...n-pacific.html

[Carl Juliano]

I saw it on the webcast, his chutes deployed, but detatched from the car instantly!, he then went thru the sand and hit the first net hard!, so hard the chassis appeared to "fold up"!, it stayed tangled in the first net. I found out he died from his injuries....R.I.P.
Seems like the nets need to be examined, or replaced with another type of catch system. Its gonna get interesting now. I dont think length of shutdown had anything to do with this one.

[MUSTANG3637]

isn't it weird that all the improvement to the sand trap area that was to be safer doesn't seem to be working. sure it's keeping the cars within the track but doesn't seem to have much give. i feel bad for the 2 families in the last few races. r. i. p.




jeff d.

[Tim H]

Terrible news ... R.I.P.

[Rusty2211]

This is really sad. I feel for the family and crew of Mr. Niver. I was at Atlanta Dragway a couple of years ago when a similar incident occurred. That was the first time I ever saw a hearse show up at a dragstrip and I hope it’s the last. I do have a question. Why do the chutes not fall off of Fuel cars? Are the requirements for the mounting points more substantial on the fuel cars?

A few observations:
1. The mounted points and any related hardware needs to be doubled in size/thickness immediately.
2. These cars need a 3rd parachute incase the first set fails.
3. Any or all of the chutes need to be able to be deployed by a 3rd party in case the driver becomes incapacitated.
4. The netting systems need to be re-designed. They work great for door cars (except for Woodrow’s), but not for dragsters and funny cars (or motorcycles). If you think about the physics of hitting that net at that speed and the parts that can come into contact with the driver, it just does not make sense. There has to be an alternative.

The last time I checked there has not been any NASCAR driver’s killed since Dale Earnhardt and these guys are crashing into stuff at 200MPH all the time. The reason is not luck, but that NASCAR decided to spend the money for the R&D and upgrades to protect the drivers. Has NHRA crash tested anything into one of these netting systems and studied the results?

[W J]

Another fatality today sadly proving that accidents involving non-deploying chutes--- or chutes detaching from car upon deployment needs IMMEDIATE attention. Cars hitting the sand traps at high speed appear to be skimming over top of the sand and slamming into these un-safe nets resulting in un-survivable impacts.... How many lives have to be lost before changes are made to both improving racecar chute systems and emergency slowing (traps)and containment(net) systems? Maybe non-flammable large containments of small foam cubes or blocks would work better than these deadly net systems....just my thoughts on another sad raceday. WJ