Thread: Scott Kalitta crash

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I'm for anything that improves driver safety, I'm sure this is an interim measure.... Granted, their are incidents before the 1000' foot line but most of the big ones are on the big end.... Nothing will solve all the safety issues, but this will certainly be a temporary solution for some of them....

Drag racing is about who gets to the other end first... I seriously doubt taking 320' off the end of the run is going to lessen and of the intensity of being first.... The only thing more mile an hour does is occasionaly set a record....big deal... You can run 340 mph, but if you ain't the one to the other end first, you lose.... If the drivers consider it a necessary safety precaution that should say everything that needs to be said...they're the one's doing it and the majority of them have years of experience doing it and now far more about resolving safety issues then any of us spectators ever will.... 100 yds shorter is nothing if it means preventing just one more incident like happened at E-town....

I concur, Bob... e-town shutdown is too short and too flat. Here at Bandimere we have a very generous shutdown with a pretty steep uphill grade... at 113mph I could make the turn for the return road without even hitting the brakes... granted 300+mph is another ballgame.

Only fatality I know about at Bandimere in 50 years was an exhibition rocket car that launched itself into the mountain I believe that turned out to be chute failure amongst other problems...

I guess my point is similar to Bob's in that if you want the big boys to play with you, you need to have adequate facilities.

I'm deeply saddened by the loss of Scott Kalitta and I do not believe in needlessly endangering anyone beyond the inherent dangers associated with pro racing. I guess I have my own selfish interests at heart in my disappointment with the 1000' ruling.

I'm sure NHRA will go back to 1320' after adding some additional safety measures like stricter catch net requirements or innovations as mentioned above using tailhooks or something along those lines but in the meantime the ET records won't mean a thing being apples and oranges.

-Chris

i belive it is a good idea until they can figure out what to do with these older tracks if this would of happened at gainesville scott would still be here. it is inteded to be an temporary measure to keep the drivers safe if they want to cut it to a 1000' it should be their choice they are the ones driving. it is just like the nitro cut people complained about that but they still ran the same times. so quit yer griping wait a while and all will be back to normal AFTER more vigorous drive safety measures have been inacted and reviewed. i think for a temporary solution it will be ok. they are still going to be hitting the 300mph speeds. and quite frankly when 40% of the crowd is so drunk all they care about is loud noises and screaming and spilling beer on you i hope it does drive those kind out of the stands!!!!

which is a shame. because theres more of us then them

Guess I don't see where the big disappointment would be.... Are the fans there to see who can get the biggest mph, or see who gets to the line first.... If anything, the competition will be even tougher--less room to be slow on the lights and pull it out on the big end... One hiccup out to the 660 and you're already out of room to make it up....

The times I've run the 1/8 mile I found one thing to be blindingly evident, you have absolutely no room for mistakes...

Like I said, the best combination with the best light is still going to be the winner....

Another thing the shorter course will bring is few grenaded engines and blowers, and maybe even save the teams a few bucks....

But the big thing is, if the driver's consider it a requirement for an interim safety measure, then I'm all for it....

BTW, not a lot of brackets at a National Event, just the Super Classes with their breakouts of 7.90, 8.90, 9.90 and 10.90. Those who leave when the "slow cars" are probably doing it simply because they don't understand just how ultra-competitive it is.... For example in Super Gas, if your "package" is more then about .03 out, you're going to be on the trailer...... Think it's easy to launch round after round with a 00 light and be less then 1/100 away from 9.90???? Go try it, then tell me how easy it is... If the "slow cars" bore you, maybe you just don't have a thorough understanding of what all is going on....

The top end mph just doesn't matter----winning the round is what counts, everything else is just another loser....

Spectators are of course important, but not as important as the driver's safety.... There used to be a sport where only the interest of the spectators was considered...the participants were gladiators.....

I just don't understand how seeing a car do 330 is more important then driver safety, and I doubt the spectators who are real NHRA fans will feel the same.... 270 is still very, very fast...Doubt many will be able to recognize the difference till the numbers come up on the screen.....

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Guess I don't see where the big disappointment would be.... Are the fans there to see who can get the biggest mph, or see who gets to the line first.... If anything, the competition will be even tougher--less room to be slow on the lights and pull it out on the big end... One hiccup out to the 660 and you're already out of room to make it up....

The times I've run the 1/8 mile I found one thing to be blindingly evident, you have absolutely no room for mistakes...
That I can agree with, too short a course.
Like I said, the best combination with the best light is still going to be the winner....
Not if you have more horsepower.
Another thing the shorter course will bring is few grenaded engines and blowers, and maybe even save the teams a few bucks....
I can agree with that.
But the big thing is, if the driver's consider it a requirement for an interim safety measure, then I'm all for it....
Not a problem on tracks that don't have adequate shut down.
BTW, not a lot of brackets at a National Event, just the Super Classes with their breakouts of 7.90, 8.90, 9.90 and 10.90. Those who leave when the "slow cars" are probably doing it simply because they don't understand just how ultra-competitive it is.... For example in Super Gas, if your "package" is more then about .03 out, you're going to be on the trailer...... Think it's easy to launch round after round with a 00 light and be less then 1/100 away from 9.90???? Go try it, then tell me how easy it is... If the "slow cars" bore you, maybe you just don't have a thorough understanding of what all is going on....
I f you like racing the lane that's fine, I prefer heads up competition.
The top end mph just doesn't matter----winning the round is what counts, everything else is just another loser....
Granted.
Spectators are of course important, but not as important as the driver's safety.... There used to be a sport where only the interest of the spectators was considered...the participants were gladiators.....
Without spectators they wouldn't be a need for driver safety as there would be no drivers.
I just don't understand how seeing a car do 330 is more important then driver safety, and I doubt the spectators who are real NHRA fans will feel the same.... 270 is still very, very fast...Doubt many will be able to recognize the difference till the numbers come up on the screen.....

330 impresses me, but not as much as 4.42 does.

Getting their first impresses me... Don't care if it's a stoplight grand prix or a 500 mile race....

I've been racing too long I guess... If a spectator tells me I need to take unnecessary risks cuz he bought a ticket.....I'd laugh in his face.... I've got a heck of a lot more invested in my car and the shop, tools, and equipment to make it competitive then he does in the price of his ticket and the beer in his cooler....... I've also raced at too many tracks where there are few, if any, spectators... The purse comes from what people pay to get in the pits......and we race anyway..... If there wasn't a track I'd race on the highway.... I'm a racer, ain't in it for the money, just for the racin'. I'll spend all day chatting with the real fans....but the others, heck, I wish they'd stay home....don't need their stinkin' money that bad.....

Why does the distance matter???? A race is a race!!!! If the pro drivers feel safer and less chance of injury or death, then that's the way to go.....

Dave, for the most part I don't disagree with you, I just don't want to see the NHRA put a band-aid on a serious problem. I am very curious as to what Big Daddy's take is on the situation.

It's just temporary, I'm sure.... I'd love to see all the tracks be widened and the shutdown area lengthened to meet a standard established by the driver's and NHRA safety folks.... It may happen someday, but it's a long and costly ordeal.... Just the planning and land acquistion can take years.... In the interim, a 1000' drag race, though not the ideal answer for all, is a workable comprimise.....

Only time will tell. Denver is the first race the 1000' is going to be used and I'm going to be very interested in the out come.

From the bleachers I want to see speed and low ET's. I'm sorry if you take that as I want to see carnage. But fast speeds and quick times are what I pay for. I CAN tell the difference between 270 and 338, I have been watching this sport for more than 20 years. And I don't really care who wins. I root for many different drivers.

Also, I don't care what it costs a racer to race. Parts cost what parts cost. The markert determines the price. Not the fans. The team owners will spend whatever they need to win. And if they need to spend 3 million a year to run a 4.42 at 338 mph to beat the other guy and get the win light, then they will do it to get the money from the sponsors which in turn get their money from the fans. Business 101.

Now, many of you on here will get pissy saying I don't care about drivers safety. WRONG. As a fan, I am NOT the one to decide what is safe for a driver or not. The driver decides that. He/she needs to make the choice that it is dangerous to go 1320' or 338mph. I totally disagree with the knee jerk reaction AFTER Scott's death. So it wasn't dangerous the race before he got killed???

Also, as one other poster said on here, many have been hurt or killed well before the 1000' mark, so that tells me right there that it won't solve anything by going to 1000'. What will solve something is not putting walls at the end of tracks. Or regulating the length of the shutdown area even if it means changing venues.

From the bleachers, bracket racing is boring. I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings. I never said it wasn't boring from the drivers point of view. I'm sure you have a sport that you find very boring as well. It's just an opinion. I probably would love to drive a bracket car (I can't afford it!) But as a fan, I want to see the big numbers and speeds side by side. Not tree wars to see who can cut the best light. I want to see raw power and the challenge of harnessing it into low ET's and fast speeds.

Flame away as I'm sure many will brand me as some sort of psycho because I like to see these cars go that fast.

Originally Posted by 737Pilot

Flame away as I'm sure many will brand me as some sort of psycho because I like to see these cars go that fast.

Not really, been doing it for close to 50 years.

on any given weekend there may be 20-30 spectators??? at our track. 85-90% of the people walking around are drivers. thats where the purses come from out here the bracket guys usually pay for the money guys purses we only have 3 money classes and brackets 1-7. ive raced on days where theres 150 cars and maybe 50 people their to watch. i respect the fans some of them are nice people some are rude n crude but thats just people. i get along great with fans when they are there! which here unless its a big event is a rarity. there loss.i wish more fans would get into lower classes of drag racing. its just as exciting to see guys win by .0001 at 130 mph as it is at 330.

So then what would your answer be???? Keep racing the 1320 and eventually the tracks will be safe enough to handle it???

The driver's did make the decision on what they feel is safe....They voted for a 1000' ft race for top fuel......unanimously....until something is done to remedy the short shut down situation at many of the tracks...

BTW, every drag race is a tree war... even the pros can run a quicker et then the other car and get beat cuz the winning car treed them. You can have the better ET and still lose the round.....

If all that interests you is the speed, try Bonneville....

Dave....my opinions seems to strike a nerve with you. I don't know why. I do like bonniville....Also was watching Discovery channel about speed and a military testing ground has the speed record of the planet at over 6500 mph on a rail (no humans in it)...pretty spectacular if you ask me....especially when they showed it. I like speed...forgive me for that.

I don't want to see anyone hurt and if they choose to go to 1000' temporarily, then that's good, but long term I believe it's bad.

I just believe there are OTHER solutions to this issue. It is a business afterall and I believe that they will lose business with this decision. Personally I don't want to see it changed to 1000'.

Yes every race is a tree war, but I don't want to see these cars limited to, say, just 250 mph tops and every race has to be won on a good light. I like that these cars have to back pedal a lot, or can start pulling really hard on the top end, or whatever to win the race. I don't want to see the same run every time and it has to be the tree that decides the results.