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Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:31 pm

oh yeah, much better to go out racing than live a good long full life and die of natural causes when your old. give me a break. :roll:

Sun Jun 22, 2008 6:35 pm

That is open for discussion....lol

Sun Jun 22, 2008 8:45 pm

Spotted this on the cars racing today.

Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:24 pm

wheel607 wrote: Dave wrote: I imagine this will be discussed on many forums, many different times, but IMO The NHRA hasn't really kept up, as far as safety improvements, as compared to what the top dog cars, ie; Pro-Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Funny Car, and Top Fuel Dragster cars, are capable of attaining in the way of speed at the top end, and elapsed time.
I know from having been to E-town, that Pension Road runs right at the end of the track, so extending the shut down area, given the prices of New Jersey Real Estate, would be cost-prohibitive... I also remember when the drag strip in, I believe it was Baton Rouge, LA, lost their NHRA sanctioning, and ultimately the track was shut down, because of safety issues that, for one reason or another, were not being addressed.
As much as Englishtown is a fixture, and an icon, in Drag Racing, it seems to me there are 3 choices..(1) make the track safer for the racers going 300+ mph, (2) slow the cars down, or (3) have the NHRA stop sanctioning races there.
Every time a racer gets in his car and straps himself in, whether it's a 14 second street driven VW, or a 330 mph Top Fuel Dragster, or anything in between, you run the risk of having something go wrong. All racecar drivers know this, and it's a chance that they know they take. Its the same in IRL, IndyCar, CART, Nascar, Off-Road, in every form of motorsports, there is an implied risk.
Scott could have made a good living, working for his Dad's Flying Service, but he WANTED to race.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of life, but I am even more saddened by the fact that his wife is now without a husband, and his kids are without a dad.
As I said in a previous post, Race In Peace, Scott Kalitta. You're now up there with Sneaky Pete Robinson, Eric Medlen and others.... always the perfect launch and tune up now, and never a red light... :( [-o<

I am a "retired" drag racer, still go to many nationals and used to like all forms of auto racing. I think that drag racing is the ONLY pure form of racing left. Safety, yes....slow cars down NO.

Wheel, I'm not saying that is the only thing that can be done, it is an option. I am NOT saying it's a good one; look how much good the restrictor plates did in NASCAR...

[People die in this sport because they go fast! Its really that simple. NHRA has a really good safety record when you consider the number of quarter miles run with no incidents.]

I don't dispute that. When you're going over 300 mph, at E-Town, Bandeimere, any drag strip, Bonneville, anywhere, it doesn't take much of an error, whether mechanical or driver, to make it a fatal one.

[When nitro went from 100 percent to 95 then to 90 then 85, the people that build these cars became "better" speed merchants and engineered more speed.]

Like I said aboput the restrictor plates in NASCAR....

[ Dave I usually agree with you but slowing these machines down amounts to what "social passes" are in school. It is and should be accepted as fact, this is dangerous and people are going to die.]

I think I said something along those lines in my 2nd post, as well....

[Stop racing if you dont want to go the fastest you can(at this level of competition) I am ALL for safer tracks but I want to see American enginuity make these machines fly. It may sound corny but we are Americans and we want to go faster, higher, and do thing better than anybody else. God bless Scot

Again, agreed. Especially the "God Bless Scott" Kalitta part and to his friends and family that he leaves behind.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:43 am

The engine exploded about 1,000 feet into his run. The car didn't slow down, zooming at close to 300 mph as it went through the sand pit at the end of the track before crashing at the back of the facility. The shut down needs to be longer. Look what happen to Force at Pomona. He stopped without crashing.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:13 pm

didn't goeorge carlin say 'it's not the number of breaths you take in a life time, but the number of times your breath is taken away' that makes living worthwhile?

rip both of them.

think i would prefer an instantaneous blown engine/crash/fireball at 300 mph to congestive heart failure and a long slow death....

just my .02

(if my quote is wrong, it's still the point i was trying to make!)

Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:22 pm

The interview with Jim Head was very enlightening.
These tracks were built in the '50s-'60s for cars barely making 200mph.
Today's fuel cars are traveling in excess off 330 mph.
Even thought today's 'chutes and brakes are much, much better, that window of safe deployment is much smaller.

Run the classes to 1000' and call it good.
The fans would still get a good show and the cars would have that extra margin to slow down.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:22 pm

it just seems strange to me that they would have a solid wall at the end of a drag racing track. odds are eventually, explosion or not, that someones chute isnt going to open. why not have an open field or water barriers or some other form of barrier that would slow the cars rather than something solid they hit?

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:13 pm

They have all hit the sand trap because the parachute didn't open. THE SAND NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER 100' DOWN THE TRACK. Maybe test what it takes to shut down a car a 350MPH.

Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:32 pm

Redd73 wrote: it just seems strange to me that they would have a solid wall at the end of a drag racing track. odds are eventually, explosion or not, that someones chute isnt going to open. why not have an open field or water barriers or some other form of barrier that would slow the cars rather than something solid they hit?

There's a highway behind that wall. Better the driver that is assuming the risk be injured than an innocent family on a drive.

IMHO, there's no such thing as being perfectly safe at 300mph, and the drivers of these cars know it.

R.I.P. Scott.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:34 am

I spoke to a co-worker yesterday about this, her son has been working for ESPN for the last few years, behind the camera. Thankfully he was at the start and not near the unmanned camera at the finish, from what I heard- the car took out the camera boom, tent, etc. Her husband was a on one of the crews up to a few years ago, and they didnt get any word about the crash- until one of his old crew mates called leaving a v/m, asking if her son was ok- (talk about being freaked out). Everyone agrees the tracks aren't long enough for the speed, so, until they fix that problem - more tragedies will happen.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:54 am

my65vert wrote: oh yeah, much better to go out racing than live a good long full life and die of natural causes when your old. give me a break. :roll:

Depends on what you call a "long full, life," I'd wager. None of us know when our number is up, so really, that's not an option. We just assume it is. I'd rather my life close while I'm doing what I enjoy most, as it's already too short as it is.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:42 pm

turboblue wrote: The interview with Jim Head was very enlightening.
These tracks were built in the '50s-'60s for cars barely making 200mph.
Today's fuel cars are traveling in excess off 330 mph.
Even thought today's 'chutes and brakes are much, much better, that window of safe deployment is much smaller.

Run the classes to 1000' and call it good.
The fans would still get a good show and the cars would have that extra margin to slow down.

sure that sounds all safe and fun, but when it comes to newer tracks that are meant for the speeds, i have to say i disagree.

tracks like englishtown, like was said were built when cars were barely going over 200, now that we're well into the 300's, this can cause a problem. now i can't see nhra leaving englishtown due to its history with the NHRA, but i think they need to do the 1000 foot there. if they do the 1000 foot at the shorter shutdown tracks, this would be perfect. but tracks such as Sears point (i'll never call it infineon) and indianapolis with the big shutdown areas, they should run the full quarter, which is what the people want to see. i know that infineon basically has a whole 'nother quartermile til the end of the sanpit, possibly more, after the finish line to slow down at, and i know many other tracks have since been updated for these speeds, but the tracks that haven't definitly should consider doing the 1000 foot races at

Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:58 pm

bugnut68 wrote: my65vert wrote: oh yeah, much better to go out racing than live a good long full life and die of natural causes when your old. give me a break. :roll:

Depends on what you call a "long full, life," I'd wager. None of us know when our number is up, so really, that's not an option. We just assume it is. I'd rather my life close while I'm doing what I enjoy most, as it's already too short as it is.

Agreed. I definitely don't want to waste away in a nursing home somewhere.

Why can't NHRA incorporate an arrester hook system like they use on aircraft carriers??

Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:55 pm

russell wrote: turboblue wrote: The interview with Jim Head was very enlightening.
These tracks were built in the '50s-'60s for cars barely making 200mph.
Today's fuel cars are traveling in excess off 330 mph.
Even thought today's 'chutes and brakes are much, much better, that window of safe deployment is much smaller.

Run the classes to 1000' and call it good.
The fans would still get a good show and the cars would have that extra margin to slow down.

sure that sounds all safe and fun, but when it comes to newer tracks that are meant for the speeds, i have to say i disagree.

tracks like englishtown, like was said were built when cars were barely going over 200, now that we're well into the 300's, this can cause a problem. now i can't see nhra leaving englishtown due to its history with the NHRA, but i think they need to do the 1000 foot there. if they do the 1000 foot at the shorter shutdown tracks, this would be perfect. but tracks such as Sears point (i'll never call it infineon) and indianapolis with the big shutdown areas, they should run the full quarter, which is what the people want to see. i know that infineon basically has a whole 'nother quartermile til the end of the sanpit, possibly more, after the finish line to slow down at, and i know many other tracks have since been updated for these speeds, but the tracks that haven't definitly should consider doing the 1000 foot races at

Man...Russell, get spell check.. or are those sausage fingers tripping you up on the keyboard?

Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:58 pm

Ghoti wrote: Why can't NHRA incorporate an arrester hook system like they use on aircraft carriers??

:roll: yeah- a tailhook dragging down the strip wouldn't create problems..How about giant marshmellows at the walls? If there is another crash, at least they could sell the roasted parts to help fund the memorial fund for the family.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:07 pm

mynameismud wrote: Ghoti wrote: Why can't NHRA incorporate an arrester hook system like they use on aircraft carriers??

:roll: yeah- a tailhook dragging down the strip wouldn't create problems..How about giant marshmellows at the walls? If there is another crash, at least they could sell the roasted parts to help fund the memorial fund for the family.

Sure as hell beats running into the wall like that at 300 mph!! The hooks don't hang off the back of F-14's, 18's, and the such...they are lowered on approach.

We can figure out how to go 300 but couldn't figure out a way to make a hook drop at .3 miles or some other safe, reasonable distance??? Should be a relatively cheap and easy fix.

Oh, :roll:

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:34 pm

So you guys think driving over round steel cables laying across the track at 330 mph is safe? Think of the logistics, and you'll realize what a bad idea that is.

My car is only going through the traps at 113mph and if the track is dusty or i'm out of the groove, i'm 'driving it' through the stripe. I can't imagine how many people would loose it driving over a cable on the track.

A very unsafe option, it's not as simple as it sounds.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:54 pm

It seems by your avatar that you have been down a drag strip. Then you know that a drag strip is .25 miles (1/4 mile) or 1320 feet. If you will look back at my post, I said there could be cables at .3 miles or 1760 feet; well beyond the finish line. If they coast further than that, fine...make it further.

So the cables would not be on the track. If there is a wall at 2000 feet, it seems logical to have another safety device at 1900 feet that could save a life. It would add not even add 20 pounds to the car. Of course, there is no reason for most cars to have such a device.

A system like that could have saved Scott's life. I'm not saying it's the solution...but it's better than nothing.

Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:58 pm

come on...Giant Marshmellows..how awesome would that be..