SHORT AND SWEET
Thanks.
Jim Head
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Hey Jeff, I've seen several quotes from Jim Head that 90% of the drivers/teams would be ok with the idea of shortening the race to eighth-mile or 1,000-foot racing.
You're the man with the contacts - any way you could contact the teams and get solid information on this? It would be very interesting to see how many professional teams would support eighth- mile or 1,000-foot racing!
Thanks for keeping everyone straight with your honest and NO BS approach!
David Anderson
Raleigh, North Carolina
HPT SUPER FAN
I previously wrote you about the shutoff area at Heartland Park Topeka and you just waved it off. But you should realize that Heartland Park has the longest shutoff area at three-quarters of a mile and then after that there is probably a mile or two of flat field that a car could run off into and suffer minimal damage and not be flipped over. Heartland Park is one of, if not the, safest tracks for drivers that have a problem on the track.
If Scott Kalitta's accident had happened at Heartland Park he would have survived because there is nothing to hit at the end of the track. Heartland also has a medical helicopter present during the national events for immediate evacuation something other tracks have stopped doing. If you will remember there have been several serious accidents as well as blowovers at Heartland Park and every driver survived. So Heartland Park is safe not just when there are normal runs, but also when there are high speed accidents at the top end.
I do not know if there is some type of animosity, since your home track would be Gateway where there are safety issues, but Heartland Park is better than Gateway in every aspect including safety. I have attended both tracks and Heartland Park is all around better for racing.
George Richardson
Lenexa, Kansas
HOW SOFT IS THE SAND?
Fruit for thought - "just wondering": who is watching sand shut off areas, never have seen it covered up when it rains. Soft sand, beach sand, heavy or light sand, more importantly, dry then saturated sand that turns into cement.
Please continue to wonder. Change should not be a function of tragedy.
G. Pope
Huntington Beach, California
IT’S NO WONDER
The handwriting has been on the wall since Jerry Caminito's 280+MPH crash at Memphis. Only sophisticated medical help in the Life Flight copter saved Jerry's life.
The speeds cars are running since the late ‘80s are not survivable in crashes. 300 MPH is fine at Bonneville, but way off the hook in a dragstrip environment.
The massive engine explosions at 1000 feet -- how about considering the rev limiters as a major contributing factor? Run an engine on the ragged edge for that distance, then kill some cylinders, the car noses over, and we are surprised and wondering why it explodes.
The new carbon fiber bodies with burst panel and stove pipes don't come off the cars all in one piece. The fronts stay on the chassis and come in on the drivers and funnel flame at the drivers.
My humble suggestion is one magneto. A less than "light up a city" magneto. There will be less fuel volume right away. If blowers get out of hand, percentage limits could be mandated.
Earwood is 100% correct. It is time for a giant step back in speed. Drag racing needs loud, exciting fuel cars running at manageable speeds. Speeds that allow human beings to survive the inevitable crashes.
Norman Hechtkoff
In the Green Hills
OPERATION TAIL-HOOK
Once again, the long flow of suggestion letters will begin... some ideas are old ones, which haven't been acted-upon yet. Some are lame and would be silly to mandate, while occasionally, fresh new ideas surface to help bolster safety in the Nitro Ranks and keep our drivers alive.
Growing-up as a "Navy brat," I saw first hand the way the carrier-based aircraft are brought to a quick and efficient halt. TAIL-HOOKS! I would venture a guess, a strong, but lightweight tail-hook could be designed to drop down and catch arresting cables stretched across the track... DOWN-THERE, where a runaway fuel car would need them! It could have a Teflon "skid plate" on the bottom to protect the track surface, and an arresting cable system may not be quite as expensive as purchasing acres and acres of land and going through the fabrication of additional room to bolster safety. Maybe both would be good.
I see good thinking in race teams’ attempts to solve this major problem. Look at the Worsham burst-panel chute-release idea... so far, many teams have fabricated this improvement. I think "TAIL-HOOKS!" If it saves just one driver... it would be worth it!
DRO RULES! Thanks for your journalism and passion for the sport! Kindest regards.
Rik Chidester
Poulsbo, Washington