Darrell Russell

[tmracing62]

Most people know that Darrell Russell was killed last weekend. He was a good guy and it's sad. It's still under investigation, but I'll bet it's too much down force on the wing resulting in tire failure. I did hear though that the chutes pulled the car apart.

We don't have such sophisticated worries, but it has always bugged me that when there is an accident, NHRA for instance never says a word about why if it can be avoided. If a mishap in the Sportsman classes even gets reported, the cause is at best worth one sentence and rarely that. So we learn what not to do by rumor which is pretty useless.

A girl was killed because her throttle stuck open. Why did it stick open? A friend went in the sand at 220 mph because the chute cable had stretched, but no one outside the crew was interested. Later that summer there was a really bad wreck because of the same thing. A Pro Mod was obliterated on the wall because of unsafe brake modifications and last year a local driver was killed for the same reason.

So whenever there was a wreck I tried to find out why. Most of the time people are all too happy to tell you why so it doesn't happen to you, but NHRA seems to think it is bad form and bad for the image.

If you have an accident or even a near miss at the track, tell people why. You might save someone.

[SS425HP]

TM, I have heard what happened. Just look at the new NHRA safety mandate before the Denver race. The cockpit area must be shielded, and a new tire is mandated. The tire came apart, ripped the wing forward, and the wing penetrated the cockpit area. If you want to know more, email me off line. You can pretty much draw a conclusion from the new emergency rules. This isn't the first tire to explode. And it isn't the first time the wing has been folded up by the tire. There was warning, but not heeded. There was another team that had a tire chunk that night before or that day. They need to slow the damned things down. Somehow. Cut the blower overdrive, or cut the percentage back again. Or limit them to one fuel pump. Anything. There is no need to run over 300. A close race at 275 would be just as exciting. Go to 400 cubic inches. We don't need deaths to put the hand writing on the wall. Drag racing is tough enough to get insurance for the tracks. That's why the 1/8th mile came in to being. Insurance limits on speed.
NHRA better get a handle on this quick.
Was at the Good Guys at Indy. 3 bad crashes. 1 death. Top end was real squirley on Saturday. They cut back to 1/8th on hot cars on Sunday. Never saw Indy so slick. They took things into account quick. Not quick enough for the one fella, though. The gassers were the worst. Short car, high horse power, poor handling.
Hate to see all this stuff. There have been deaths for years. Funny car fires, blown tires, you name it. Probably will be more. Things are just so on the ragged edge today.
I don't know. Just don't know. Hate to see deaths, though.
Any one else have thoughts? Ideas? We can't make a change, but enough voices can. I hope

Fred

A safe and happy 4th to all.