NHRA Reduces Distance of Top Fuel/Funny Races

[SpEcRv9]

know it was talked about in the thread about the crash that killed scott kalitta, but now its definite.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing...ory?id=3471528

for those that dont like to click!.

The NHRA took a major and somewhat controversial step toward safety Wednesday by shortening the distance of Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1,000 feet instead of the standard quarter-mile run of 1,320 feet.

The change goes into effect this weekend at the Mopar Mile High Nationals in Denver. NHRA officials are calling it an interim measure while the investigation continues into the accident that caused the death of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta.

Kalitta was killed during qualifying for the NHRA event at Englishtown, N.J. on June 17. His car exploded and ran past the runoff area, crashing into a camera boom.

Several NHRA drivers, including Funny Car legend John Force, defending Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher and six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein, asked the NHRA to make the change while determining what long-term changes are needed to make the sport safer.

Bernstein is the president of the PRO, Professional Racers Organization.

"The board members wholeheartedly and unanimously support this decision," Bernstein said. "We want to thank NHRA for listening to our input and suggestions to incorporate these changes. This may be a temporary change, and we recognize it is not the total answer."

The new distance gives the drivers a longer shutdown area and a better chance to slow the cars down in the event of an accident. But it also will render all the speeds and elapsed times into a new category that isn't comparable with the current NHRA records.

"It is not lost on any of us that this constitutes a change in our history," Bernstein said. "But it's the most immediate adjustment we can make in the interest of safety, which is foremost on everyone's mind.

"We also want to thank Connie Kalitta [Scott's father and team owner] for his invaluable input. He has been a rock through these difficult times."

The NHRA is examining five areas of concern where changes could be implemented:

• Engine failure that lead to explosions.

• Parachute mounting techniques and materials that are more fire resistant.

• Braking efficiency when cars lose downforce if the Funny Car body comes off the car.

• Shutdown areas at all racetracks.

• The impact of reducing speeds.

[Cardriverx]

No way. Im all for makeing the runoff longer and putting something at the end to slow impact... but comon changeing the classic 1/4 mile race to 1k feet? Like the E.T numbers arent low enough anyway lol.

[TurboTagTeam]

These drivers know what their getting into. They're driving 8000hp rail cars going 300+mph.

I can see if it's just temp. But it's that sticks that'll suck.

[doug]

Meh.. it may be safer, but at the same time it's kind of a turn off. Do you think Scott Kalitta would want the classic 1/4 being changed? Nah. My thoughts.. how about making the parachute radio controlled.. so a pit member can hit a button and deploy it if the driver is knocked unconscious. at 300+ mph, is 320 more feet that big of a deal??

[DC2.2GSR]

i agree. i think it's ridiculous to change a part of the sport itself. drag racing is all about distance.. everyone knows about quarter mile drag racing. every 'xx.xx' second run will have a completely different meaning.

they're right.. it is a good temporary fix. the tracks and equipment are the things that should be changed and made safer though, not just distance.

[timp]

if they would just coat the entire end of the track with NERF, this wouldn't be an issue.

It's a dangerous sport, and they know what they're getting into... The obvious decision (for me anyway) would be to put more limitations on the engines that are in the cars... de-tune them a little bit so they're running the way they did, say... 10 years ago... it'd be A LITTLE slower but at least nobody was dying back then (well, Blaine Johnson died, but that was an unrelated incident).

the good news is that I doubt this new rule will stick for too long... the fans aren't going to be happy and they'll probably bump it back up to 1/4 mile after their investigation is done.

Edit: I'd also like to add that it's not going to make drivers happy either... I've seen many many races where one driver will leave a little bit later than the other and will end up driving around them at the end of the track... with them eliminating 300+ feet, the race is all going to come down to who has the best reaction time and leaves harder... all the races will be decided on the line.

[Action Park]

93
Yeah, that blows. Spectator interest will drop significantly. And as Timp said, the race will be determined solely by the launch. IMO, their best option would have been to drop the nitro content 10% or so. Less speed, possibly less blow ups as well.
93 93/93

[DPancoast]

yeah thats gonna be weird for a while.

[SovXietday]

Dumbest event ever.