Safety device failure ends bartone’s indy

SAFETY DEVICE FAILURE ENDS BARTONE’S INDY

Indianapolis, Ind. – Tony Bartone and Rick Jackson Racing’s quest for the 2011 NHRA Lucas Oil World Championship took a turn for the worse, after a first round loss caused by the failure of an on-board device designed to provide safety to these 260 mile per hour race cars during the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals contested in Indianapolis, Ind. The first round loss, coupled with the success of defending World Champion Frank Manzo leaves the Centre Pointe Collision sponsored Top Alcohol Funny Car team in second place in the National Point battle with only four races left to claim.

The Santa Clarita, Calif. based team did their job in qualifying, recording low elapsed time in half the qualifying sessions and finally landing in number two position with a great 5.574 elapsed time. This set up a first round match up against Kris Hool, who captured his first National Event victory two weeks ago at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

At the flash of the green light, Hool captured a slight starting line advantage; however Bartone held the lead at the 60 foot mark. Bartone incrementally increased his lead at each timing block until the car reached the 1,000 foot cones and the second and third gear shift.

At that point, according to analysis by crew chiefs Steve Boggs and Darren Mayer, the NHRA mandated Safety Shut Off device triggered prematurely, which shut off the fuel system, caused the 3,000 horse power engine to lean out and then detonate the DMPE-tuned supercharger. Bartone coasted to a 5.70 second ET at only 209 miles per hour, while Hool recorded a 5.68 in his winning effort.

“This one hurts,” noted team owner Rick Jackson. “This race is the biggest and most important one for this team each season. The crew performed flawless during qualifying, Tony was on his game and is driving better today than ever, but to lose because of a Safety Device failure is simply unacceptable. I understand the purpose for the device; however, we are not the first to be effected by the malfunction of this sort. It is a real shame, not only for us, but most importantly the fans of Drag Racing to have a race and possibly a World Championship decided by this type of failure.”

In 2010, the National Hot Rod Association mandated the use of an electronic-automatic shut off device to be used in Top Fuel, Fuel Funny Car and both Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car. The device is comprised of two separate parts; Electrimotion Safety Shut-off Box installed on the car and the Shut-Off Transmitter, which is mounted to the guard wall approximately 400 feet past the finish line. According to the Jackson Racing tuners, the device which failed was the Electrimotion Safety Shut-off Box.

“We have four races left to claim and improve our point standings, two National Events and two Divisional Events,” said Jackson. “We need to win one of the final two National Events and both of our Divisional Races to have a realistic shot at the title. We would like to congratulate Frank on winning his 10th US Nationals Wally, but this championship race is not over yet. We’re a little frustrated today, but we will finish strong for our friends, our fans and our Marketing Partners. There is no quit in this team.”

To learn more about Rick Jackson Racing, please visit our website at http://www.rickjacksonracing.com.