That must have caused a few rectums to go tight in the NHRA ain:
Looked like a chassis failure, similar to Darrell Gwynns.
Thank goodness Cory Mac survived.
For all of this and this one wonders where it will end.
I reckon any driver who straps himself in and races does so fully aware of the
price that he could pay.
However much the parts to make a racecar are used and proven they can still fail without notice.
The video of the crash is on NHRA´s multimedia page, the safety crew were on him pretty quick.
What did Alan Johnson say ??
Basically, Johnson said NHRA either needed to get the tracks to remove the bumps or NHRA needed to re-spec the cars, making them stronger. A tonger frame pretty has one result. More weight and less chassis "action" will lead to slower et's - less excitement for the fans. His tone seemed to be very upset with NHRA. I think it is a genuine concern for racers and their families. He did lose his brother in one of these cars.
To the owner of Bristol's credit, he is going to spend a ton (I think the estimate is 7 figures) of money to get the track flat before next years event. There are two pedestrian tunnels under the track and there are significant bumps at both locations.
When you stop to think about the dynamics of these cars, a bumpy track is sort of the last straw. First they are hauled to 20 plus races crossing the US from one side to the other as well as top to bottom. The frame is the suspension absorbing the road shock (God help them if they have to drive through Tulsa). Then they accelerate from 0 to 270+ mph withing 660 feet. The chassis is resisting the torque required to make nearly 8000 horsepower.
I think NHRA has a problem. They are trying to address it. They have the rev limiters. They now require the frames to receive PWHT. They have limited the percentage of nitro. They are going to have a lab do destructive testing on the tubes and welds from Cory's car to see what can be learned there. They are walking a fine line. If they slow the cars down, they will lose fans. If they can't bring the safety up, they will lose racers.
It sure is a tough line, but as an occasional fan, I'd rather see driver skill at the tree and a safer run (by way of a stiffer chassis) take precedence over stressed parts and driver deaths. I may be wrong, but the NHRA doesn't and shouldn't) need a NASCAR-type wakeup call (or 4--Tony Roper, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Dale Earnhardt...) to look into driver safety. I understand that racing is dangerous and that's what makes it popular, but how long will it be popular if guys like Force and Cory Mac are lost due to ignorance in safety developement?
Alan Johnson ALMOST lost Tony Schumacher to the same incident last fall. Tony had the laundry out , just prior to the unhinging. Doug Kalitta was welding his car Saturday night, where it has cracked. Almost the same spot.
Like red said, there is an inherent flaw in the chassis design. Putting 8,000+ horsepower on that light of a chassis is only partially to blame. These guys are doing 270 mph by the 1/8 mile!!!!! Thats a tremendous acceleration rate.
IMO, tire shake is the culpret. If a guy shakes them too violently, or too often, he is beating the SNOT out of the car and himself. Many drivers liken it to being in a cement mixer , on high.
The cars travel in the trailor resting on airbags, so the travel isn't stressing them.
I wouldn't mind them slowing down, if they wouldn't drop oil every pass. I'm sick of the one lane race tracks. I'm sick of the oil downs. I'm sick of the tires blowing off at the hit of the throttle, and the other guy winning by default. I enjoy P/S the most. And Probike.
I wouldn't mind them slowing down, if they wouldn't drop oil every pass. I'm sick of the one lane race tracks. I'm sick of the oil downs. I'm sick of the tires blowing off at the hit of the throttle, and the other guy winning by default. I enjoy P/S the most. And Probike.
Very true. Last weekends races were probably the best I've seen in awhile though, a lot of side by side runs. IF the fuelers ran that way all the time it would be awesome, but it's not likely to happen. Pro stock classes, be off a hundreth on the launch and you've lost, ALWAYS exciting. How many classes are there where 1st qualifier and 16th qualifier may be seperated by only a couple of hundreths? Myself, I wouldn't be able to tell if a top fueler was running 330 mph at the finish line or 300 or probably even less, without being told how fast they were going. I HATE seeing these cars wreck, leave that to Nascar. Dan
I guess i'm a horses arse for being the only one not wanting to slow them down...... fix the car or fix the track. bruton smith knows where his bread is buttered.
and am i the only one who see's cory mac hunker down as the rear of the car comes up?
theres been a lot of tire shake with the new tire. and i understand it chunks also. ......
yeah ps is cool and all... but tf is THE SHTUFF. bow down worthless mortals. :evil:
Reds-
How true it is!! NO ONE is exempt. Look at John Lingenfelter. 100' feet out , he lost it, and now hes gone.
Malc- I saw that yesterday...lol
How do you control a car thats buckled in half??? Seriously, NHRA should PRE-read the garbage they put out. "Lost Control"....GRRRRRR :spank:
Anyone thats been near a T/F or a funny car when they launch(Or even start for that matter) will appreciate the power these cars put out. Simply awesome. The pressure wave they create is incredible.
Reds-
How true it is!! NO ONE is exempt. Look at John Lingenfelter. 100' feet out , he lost it, and now hes gone.
Malc- I saw that yesterday...lol
How do you control a car thats buckled in half??? Seriously, NHRA should PRE-read the garbage they put out. "Lost Control"....GRRRRRR :spank:
Anyone thats been near a T/F or a funny car when they launch(Or even start for that matter) will appreciate the power these cars put out. Simply awesome. The pressure wave they create is incredible.
VERY true, it is like artillery , I wish the soap known as NASCAR would dump the restrictor plates and go back to factory bodies with built power plants and let the guys with the engineering win . If NASCAR keeps it up they will be running races that have no winners. just a bunch of nice guys driving around looking and waiting for some other guy to come along and bump them into the first slot............................. boring!!!!! Let's just face it RACING is D A N G E R O U S Not to insult but when folks are winning all is great, big smiles and fat bank accounts. But if the luck turns around then it is everyone else responsibility for the misfortune and the question becomes where is my lawyer.... I am also guessing that someone out here thinks that the cars that run the salt are also to figging fast, if it is not fast then what is the point of a race? . rant over!! sitting down again
true, but whats berrer, fans or racers, the more racers u got, well the more likley you will get fans, all u gotta do is just make the cars a lil slower and just add a special touch on the noise, more noise u got, well, the fans wont care, all they care bout is the looks, who won and the besautiful sound if the cars...
and besides, if the racers cant handle the risks, then why take dragracing as a occupation...****~RISKS ARE PART OF DRAGRACING, GO NHRA!!!!!!!~****
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