Protest - Page 6

sc4400 · 05-10-2007, 12:35 AM

A little history.

I thought as soon as I began reading this thread.......it has to be Mr. Pendarvis.

No surprise.

I met him in Memphis at his first points meet with a car he had just bought from some good friends of mine. He rolled it out of his new trailer and put a circled R on the window. I thought now thats ballsy, since the previous owners had never run the car with that in mind.

He proceeded to run a record time. WHOEEE!
Except the car flunked tech. Some problem with the heads.

He pulled the motor right there in the pits with no lift, and sent it home with the engine builder(unnamed here). I know this because I helped him get the motor out. It was clear to me that he was on a mission to run stock and spend the money to set records.

Which is perfectly cool. Isn't it?

Fast forward, and here he is, expecting the same thorough inspection that he submitted to. And was willing to front his cash to do so. Now maybe the "victim" didn't know his car wasn't legal? But neither did Mr. Pendarvis in Memphis.

And I'll wager big bucks that his stuff is legal.

I don't know Mr. Pendarvis. I only met him that one time. My interest was to keep him from hurting himself getting the motor out of his car.

But as an observer and fan of stock racing, I say that he is willing to "put up" instead of prattling. And he was right.

And some here condemn him for demanding that the rules be enforced??

Very strange.

RIP

If you really care, my name is Mike Van Winkle from Lake Charles La.

SSDiv6 · 05-10-2007, 12:53 AM

Mike...I am not talking about the legality of the engine...if you cheat, you pay the price...my complaint is the timing for the protest and NHRA conceding to his protest in violation to the rule book. We all are subject to the rule book, however, how can NHRA deviate from their own rules at their discretion just for the sake of it?

SS Engine Guy · 05-10-2007, 01:40 AM

Quote:

And some here condemn him for demanding that the rules be enforced??

Very strange.

One rule was broken: illegal weight rod/piston/pin assembly weight.

Another one was broken: time of protest vs. rule book wording.

As much as I don't like to see an illegal piece I also don't like to see a random application of the rules which is the norm when it comes to the rule book lately.

I don't think that the protesting racer did anything wrong at all. Actually he did everything right. Whoever allowed the protest to procede irregardless of the rule book wording is who dropped the ball.

PS: you will never know if your bullet is legal or not unless you built it yourself or measured it yourself as it was being assembled. Then you still may be tossed by a "judgement" call beyond you or your engine builders control. Example: I recently freshened a current record holder only to find that a 55 pass piston had lost a small piece of the skirt. Just to see what would have happened the assembly was .542 of a gram light. The others were a little over 6 grams heavy. Had it been torn down it would have been illegal. Same as an intake valve leaving a mark on a piston top from an over rev coming out of the water box. Beyond anyone's control.

SSDiv6 · 05-10-2007, 07:28 AM

SS Engine Guy...good post...it is the discretionary application of the rule book that is the problem here. Also, you have a great point rregarding engine building, unless you do it yorself, you are at the mercy of the engine builder.

Regarding brows in the piston, I have seen NHRA pass engines that it is obvious the valve kissed the piston either due to over revving or due to a broken timing chain or camshaft pin. At the same time, I have seen people put an old cylinder head on the short block with old valves and smack each valve with a hammer to put an indentation on the piston and claim it was due to over revving the engine.

05-10-2007, 12:35 AM	#51
sc4400 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: lake Charles La Posts: 28 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A little history. I thought as soon as I began reading this thread.......it has to be Mr. Pendarvis. No surprise. I met him in Memphis at his first points meet with a car he had just bought from some good friends of mine. He rolled it out of his new trailer and put a circled R on the window. I thought now thats ballsy, since the previous owners had never run the car with that in mind. He proceeded to run a record time. WHOEEE! Except the car flunked tech. Some problem with the heads. He pulled the motor right there in the pits with no lift, and sent it home with the engine builder(unnamed here). I know this because I helped him get the motor out. It was clear to me that he was on a mission to run stock and spend the money to set records. Which is perfectly cool. Isn't it? Fast forward, and here he is, expecting the same thorough inspection that he submitted to. And was willing to front his cash to do so. Now maybe the "victim" didn't know his car wasn't legal? But neither did Mr. Pendarvis in Memphis. And I'll wager big bucks that his stuff is legal. I don't know Mr. Pendarvis. I only met him that one time. My interest was to keep him from hurting himself getting the motor out of his car. But as an observer and fan of stock racing, I say that he is willing to "put up" instead of prattling. And he was right. And some here condemn him for demanding that the rules be enforced?? Very strange. RIP If you really care, my name is Mike Van Winkle from Lake Charles La.

05-10-2007, 12:53 AM	#52
SSDiv6 VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 2,996 Likes: 693 Liked 1,465 Times in 547 Posts	Mike...I am not talking about the legality of the engine...if you cheat, you pay the price...my complaint is the timing for the protest and NHRA conceding to his protest in violation to the rule book. We all are subject to the rule book, however, how can NHRA deviate from their own rules at their discretion just for the sake of it?

05-10-2007, 07:28 AM	#54
SSDiv6 VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 2,996 Likes: 693 Liked 1,465 Times in 547 Posts	SS Engine Guy...good post...it is the discretionary application of the rule book that is the problem here. Also, you have a great point rregarding engine building, unless you do it yorself, you are at the mercy of the engine builder. Regarding brows in the piston, I have seen NHRA pass engines that it is obvious the valve kissed the piston either due to over revving or due to a broken timing chain or camshaft pin. At the same time, I have seen people put an old cylinder head on the short block with old valves and smack each valve with a hammer to put an indentation on the piston and claim it was due to over revving the engine.