NHRA - Do they have their heads up their Asses?

[190MPH]

We are all going to leave, it's just a question of when and how. Me, getting old is attractive. Going doing something I love to do, well, that is right up there with living a full life. Some folks do more living in a fraction of a second than some people do in a whole life.

Words to live by. Well said.

[jeffscarstrucks]

Over the years I have cussed NHRA for adding or changing things as they saw fit. It was add this bar or that bar or buy new belts every two years. When I put my son into a Jr car and then into my big car my perspective changed. The unfortunate part of the rule changes is that they come after a fellow racer has had a horrific crash or incident and has paid a price, hopefully just in equipment but some have died. I guess the short version is that I do believe the NHRA and other bodies do their part very well. If someone questions that, then they can always work as part of the safety team at a local track, or for the NHRA and see for themselves. JEFF

[190MPH]

Jeff, good post, I know exactly what you are talking about. When our previous car was being built, there was an x-brace in the footbox required to be 3/4" tube. We had the car built with 7/8". Don't you know the next time they changed the spec, they skipped completely over 7/8 and went to 1"! But, who's to argue when its your *** in the seat. I've heard people complain about buying a new helmet, firesuit, etc. It is unfortunate that people are injured or killed for changes to be made sometimes, but we're not all fortune tellers.

[griff01]

You want to ride a motorcycle and fight with traffic you pays your money and takes your chances, same for 300 mph cars in what, 6 seconds or less? Seems if a guy wanted it safe he would spend it in the living room working on a heart attack, racing has always been about risk, if it wasn't about pushing the edge what would be the point? Make it totally foolproof and anyone could do it, what fun would that be.

Not picking at you, but the times are now down into the mid 4's. I can't remember who, but a 4.4 was ran recently.
I remember when Big Daddy Don Garlits broke the "6 second barrier" . The six second barrier was known as "THE LAST MILESTONE in DRAG RACING."
And so it goes.

Griff

[Sberry]

Yes, the 6 was a guess, I dont really follow racing. Some of the fabrication interests me to some extent. I looked at a Nascar when I had a chance last summer, It was nice but I didn't think the fabrication was anything to write home about, certainly nothing that couldn't be done in our shop. Other factors besides the actual work would be limiting such as the cost, I wasn't even all that impressed with some of the welding, passable and comparable with the skill level of our own but, we are back to if I was doing this daily the quality wouldn't be all that hard to beat.

[Buzz]

I was thinking about the situation a why don't they do what the drag boats do? The driver is in a ejection capsule, This doesn't seem too much out of the question. One could have an ejection capsule with a parachute. Just a thought about separating the driver from the fire.



Buzz

[JgishODU99]

I don't think it'll be 100% safe ever. The NHRA may want to consider catch net like are used on aircraft carriers as one last means of slowing the car. Still 300 mph to 0 on less than 2 seconds is still one heck of a decceleration.

[trstek]

Ejection capsule may not work, first big problem is the spectators. On water, the water itself is a good de-accelerant, and the primary concern is keeping oxygen to the driver as well as the hydrolic cutting effects of water away from the driver.

Jump to drag strip, lets take a look at only the fire problem.

fuel and oil are potential fuel. Key is stopping them from pumping into said fire. Fuel is easier than stopping the flow from a breached oil sump system.

Main problem is driver is behind fuel source at 300+ mph. The wind factor.

fuel, in a bad situation key is to stop pumping fuel. if system is breached at 300mph, a simple pin hole in the fuel system, unpumped, the wind turns it into a flame thrower. Simply stopping the pumping does not solve the problem.

the real challenge is, how do you stop said pumping of fuel and prevent leaks until the driver is out of danger? Buying time...

Design goal is simply to protect driver long enough to give rescue workers time to reach and put out said fire.

ejecting capsule, there are some real problems with spectators getting hit as well as de-accelerating the driver. Plus you give up the ability of the chasis to destroy itself and scrub off energy / speed. a loose capsule could actually accelerate on the ground. Of course, fire has to be managed during the de-accelerating.

If a direct hit instead of a glancing hit takes place, all kinds of other problems take place.

bottom line, nothing simple about keeping these guys safe.

Track design as well as response times of rescue crews are part of the safety equation. But lets be honest, after 300 mph to zero mph in a short period of time, we need to give the safety crew something to work with...

This stuff is not for the faint of heart.

The folks who do this have already solved problems on a scale that is hard to imagine.

[Finney]

Speaking as a ex drag racer who never went faster than 9.3 seconds in a 1/4 mile.
Anytime you strap your self into something that can go from a standing start to 300+ MPH in 1/4 mile. You have to know that each time could be your last.
As far as NHRA safty standards, I think the drivers and owners should be at the forefront of safty more than NHRA.

[JgishODU99]

Still, there are a lot of carrier pilots thanking their stars for the catch nets. I know that approach speeds are around 115 mph but the mass of an F-14 is greater than that of a dragster. Instantaneous acceleration force equals mass multiplied by velocity. When mass is decreased velocity can increase. But the driver has to withstand the decceleration. If the net is secured by a friction based mount rather than fixed hard mount, it could dissipate the force somewhat gradually based on run out i.e. the arrestor cable priciple but not acting on a fixed point. It might make the dragster kind of crumpled but slightly less than a wall at the end of the strip would.