Driver safety and shutdown

Fortunately all the IHRA tracks us Alky cars run have good shut downs. I know NHRA pulled the Alky cars from the Div 3 race up here at MidMich because of the lack of shut-down. If NHRA has a Div race at one of these sub-par tracks, should you guys band together and boycott?? Would require 100% participation to make it "heard" but I too am getting sick and tires of losing fellow racers. Don't know the answer but share the concern

 

Bobby's car went over the gravel. It was a little lower than the track. It grazed the wall near where the net attached to a post by the wall. The car went through the net.

 

shut down area.

I do not know if the net is SFI rated. Should it be? I think so. We spend money every year on parts and safety equipment to be re-certified, and NHRA holds us accountable to get these updates done or we are not able to run. A net that should be SFI certified is a great idea. The question is... Is there a net made yet that is of quality standards that could be certified? The answer is YES! My father was the first to test such a net at the Carolina Nationals in Concord N.C. On his last qualifying attempt, he made the big show with a soft 6.10 at 231 M.P.H. pass. The chutes failed to deploy and the brakes would not engage. dad hit the net at a very high rate of speed. The car drove up the net, and as the net gave, it slowed the car down. Becouse of the angle the car went into the net, it gently picked the car up then rolled her on her roof. The body was damaged but mechanically the chassis and drivetrain was fine. More important dad was fine. Dad said it was like the hand of God gently picking him up and rolling him over. I believe in fate. If we had not gone to Concord then our next race would have been Georgia. My father would have been killed. He went through the lights at 231 M.P.H at Concord and Bobby was at just 180 M.P.H. We were supposed to be in the other lane next to bobby, but the body we mounted needed a few more adjustments so dad skipped that round of qualifying. The more I think about it, the scarier it gets. We could have lost our father at an NHRA owned track. They saw what happened to dad at Concord, they saw how well the new net worked, but they failed to make those changes at Georgia, in my mind and in others, simply becouse the "big boys" are not scheduled there for some time. At the speed that Bobby was going, a good bracket car could have been going that fast. Are they not as important as the pro guys? Is there safety any less important then the nitro guys? I hope that in the wake of this tragic event, that NHRA and IHRA take a long hard look into what can be done to keep things like this from happening. Death is a certain thing in life. Fatal car crashes are an unfortunate part of our sport. Are we going to keep them all from happening? No. Could this one have been kept from happening? .........



This was a Picture taken by Bryan Epps Photography. It was the pass that took Bobby from us.

 

Everyone needs to read this.
http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8100&Itemid=6

Also this just in NHRA mandates safety shutoff controller on all fuel funny cars by the A/c Delco's event at Vegas.

 

Is it time for teams to make a stand and not go to the tracks that are not up to modern standards?

Larry and Mick Snyder pulled up stakes after being #1 qualifier in Stanton- Div. 3- a few years ago when Mick went into the traps a little bit on a normal run, and Steve Addleman skipped through the traps and into the cornfield at the end of that track after late or no chute deployment-way scary to watch. I think the Snyders made a statement by leaving the event and Div. 3 hasn't returned the alcohol class to Stanton since that event.

I'm only familiar with the midwest NHRA facilites, and sub-6 second, 250+MPH cars have no business at some of them.