Funny Car Cage...Safe or not?

[Another Friendly Racer]

Incredible photo Wade. I hope people do not wait for a rule change to take action when needed.

[FireSale]

From the photo, the foreword section of the cage is keeping his head from kissing the wall. Not a good trade off in my opinion.

It's not just a dragster issue, either. Funny car cages show up in GT cars with front wheel drive conversions and the /SM cars, too. All the SG and ST cars have them.

Dale

[FED 387]

looking at other pics of that car crash it appears for some reason the front wheels jerked upward and that caused the car to get out of shape---while moving around the WHOLE *** end of the car from the back of the trans rearward the frame broke apart--- not sure if welds broke or the crash caused that separation but it appears the driver might of had his belts too loose also--he definately looks to be ahead of the rollbar but definately not totally behind it--FED 387

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by FireSale

From the photo, the foreword section of the cage is keeping his head from kissing the wall. Not a good trade off in my opinion.

It's not just a dragster issue, either. Funny car cages show up in GT cars with front wheel drive conversions and the /SM cars, too. All the SG and ST cars have them.

Dale

Padding is a requirement in the rule book.

ROLL-CAGE PADDING
Roll-cage padding meeting SFI Spec 45.1 mandatory anywhere
driver’s helmet may come in contact with roll-cage components.
See General Regulations 4:11.

[FED 387]

I dont think it is a padding issue here its more of the shape of the area that is padded-- a large flat/blunt surface or a small 2 inch round/sharp tubesurface--- the contact point on the round tube is probably 1/2 inch to maybe 5/8 inch whereas the flat padded area contact point is more likely many square inches(8-10)

[Drew Olson]

The problem with most new style dragsters is convenience. These guys are buying big cars for resale value. There is no need for a 24" wide dragster. Anyone who knows me knows I am a big ol boy and I fit well in a 23" wide car. There is no reason a 200# guy needs a 24" car. These 24"-26" cars are big even on me. My dad crashed his comp car in Memphis in 01 and it was a 20" cage and again he is not exactly a small guy with a 20 suit on he was in there pretty good. the car rolled several times hitting the cage directly on the track several times. Did he get his bell rung yes did he have injuries like the guy in the pic no. No accident is the same but I don't think that we would be getting the broken hips, legs, ribs ect if cars were built to fit like the old days. But the short answer to your original question I personally think fc cages are extremely effective if built properly.

[Don Eckel 111]

Pictures can be deceiving and impacts create insane forces, but it appears that there is way too much room inside that cage. It also looks like he has moved a lot further forward in the car on impact than he should have. It's difficult to see the padding on the other bars of the cage as well. IMO, funny car cages, as with any other piece of safety equipment, are only effective when designed and used the right way. When I am strapped in my car, I cannot move my upper body forward at all. Leaving your belts loose is just giving you a running start toward severe injuries.

[Wayne Scraba]

More than a dozen years ago while I was sitting in an airport lounge waiting for a flight, I had a lengthy conversation with the late Jim Deist. Jim was convinced we had it all wrong when it came to roll bars (period). His point was a driver's helmet could easily come in contact with the roll bar hoop, simply because the hoop is too close (to the helmet). He elaborated on the normal stretch in a belt/harness in an accident (its a lot), even when they're cinched tight. A funny car cage only made it worse, even with all of the "padding" in the world. Basically, the driver's head gets rattled around in a crash in such a case and that's why people die or have serious head injuries. Jim was a pretty smart Kat and I suspect he was right.

Anyway, I no longer have a dog in the fight (race cars), but I think it's very important this gets hashed out. It would be nice if the powers at NHRA were listening....

Wayne

[G Schenck]

Originally Posted by Drew Olson

The problem with most new style dragsters is convenience. These guys are buying big cars for resale value. There is no need for a 24" wide dragster. Anyone who knows me knows I am a big ol boy and I fit well in a 23" wide car. There is no reason a 200# guy needs a 24" car. These 24"-26" cars are big even on me. My dad crashed his comp car in Memphis in 01 and it was a 20" cage and again he is not exactly a small guy with a 20 suit on he was in there pretty good. the car rolled several times hitting the cage directly on the track several times. Did he get his bell rung yes did he have injuries like the guy in the pic no. No accident is the same but I don't think that we would be getting the broken hips, legs, ribs ect if cars were built to fit like the old days. But the short answer to your original question I personally think fc cages are extremely effective if built properly.

You are so correct.

I had my car built for me. 19 inch. with a dragster hoop not a funny car hoop that everyone runs now. There is no way that my head could come close to hitting the front bar, that's why NHRA does not require you to pad that bar.( it appears that his belts were not tight enough) Some of the cookie cutter cars can fit two young drivers at a time.

Greg ( just my opinion)

[D.Johns]

I have a 25.4 chassis in my Stocker. Designed and built by me and I feel very safe with the bar placement and padding arangment.