Stupid. Almost all cars’ performance specs are based on a 1/4 mile.

Very stupid. I think they should instead make changes to the parachute system and the end of track containment systems so that accidents like this will be less likely to happen. Cutting the trap speed from over 300 to 250 or whatever isn’t going to save lives.

Seems pretty drastic, but so was that accident.
They already saying they aim to get back to true 1/4 mile as soon as they can design an improved safety system.

NASCAR now has the safer barrier which all came about as the result of the death of Earnhardt Sr.

Some good will come out of this. Give it time.

This is a reaction on the part of NHRA as it pertains to their “legacy” tracks. Back when some of these were built in the sixties, Top Fuel cars were going 189 to around 200 mph. Some of the tracks only had 1/4 to 3/8 mile of runoff. Now they routinely travel over 300 mph (0-321 mph in under 5 seconds), but the tracks still have the same amount of runoff. It’s not always easy to just say “we’ll extend the track,” especially if you don’t own the property that would be required to build the extension.

It was a terrible accident, that took a very talented driver, and a son of drag racing royalty, at that.

NHRA had no choice but to do this, even if on a temporary basis.

Mark Elias
LLN

Plus, the drivers themselves are calling for this change. They say that once the vehicle hits 300 it gets really scary. Let’s face it, these races are rarely won at the finishing end of the track, but in the first 60 feet. I see this as a non issue.

A pointless form of racing becomes even more pointless

What!!??!! Do away with 50 years of racing history just like that?

Well boys… since Earnhardt died NASCAR races aren’t going to be on circular tracks anymore either.

actually, you could make drag racing real interesting by making the race 1 mile long, and you must come to a complete stop at the finish

Racing would be more interesting period if they actually used real production cars. What ever happened to “Stock Car Racing” anyways? Now the closest thing you’ve got is SCCA… and that’s not even televised.

^^^^^ Damn I so agree with this guy.

Raineman, I guess it’s because today’s production cars are souless pos’s like toyota’s and honda’s. Only Dodge is offering a Super Stock Challenger, and even as cool as that is, all the nerds on here use the gas mileage excuse.

^^^ EXACTLY!

Ridiculous. I never would have expected such a knee-jerk reaction from a ‘professional’ sport. Yes, a guy died, but they all know that’s part of the game. Since the guy above stated that these races are won in the first 60 feet, let’s just cut it down to that. And since reaction time is a huge factor, let’s just cut it further. We’ll put two nice soft red buttons at the starting line and the drivers can walk up to them in padded suits and see who can tap a big soft button faster.

A truly pointless form of racing, as has been stated already.

^^^ Family Feud NHRA style. That’ll get ratings.

I understand the need for safety concerns but this is like changing the fuel to unleaded from nitro. Just stupid. Don’t mess with the sport, make the track owners make the appropriate modifications or lose the race. I guarantee the prospect of losing 20,000+ paying, drinking customers once or twice a season will prompt them to pony up.

That’s what you get with Toyota. First unintended acceleration in street vehicles, now problems with parachutes in funny cars.

Someone died in the quarter mile track so now we’re going to use a 1000 feet one, they just need a foot to die so that’s not the solution.

====>>i feelya Rafa LL

“I want you to strap this rocket to some bicycle wheels and rip it down this strip of tarmac.”
“Sure thing! But is it safe?”
I never regarded NHRA coordinators or enthusiasts as the most brilliant of individuals, but I didn’t think they could be this dumb. That’s a good way to alienate 90% of your fans and teams: by making all those important numbers tucked away in the backs of their minds useless. I understand why shortening the length of the race would work in theory, but in practice, such a measure is vastly outweighed by the damage it will do to the overall appeal of the sport.

Why is it that NASCAR and NHRA seem completely oblivious to carbon fiber tubs? If you want to make the race cards safer, follow the lead of F1 and Indy Car and make the driver cabins out of carbon fiber. Most Indy Car drivers walk away from 230 MPH impacts with solid concrete walls because of the incredible strength of the carbon fiber tubs. Also, why can’t these 300+ MPH drag racers have emergency rockets on the front that would engage automatically if the chute fails? They would have very little cost because they would only be ignited during an emergency, they would add little weight, and would use solid rocket fuel so they would be extremely stable and safe.

@ Payton:
Because actually making the cars as safe as they should be costs more. We wouldn’t want all of the Billy Bobs and Billy Joes who own a race car to have to pay more in order to race it, would we?

Two things and I’m done here…

1. They could just increase the buffer zone not shorten the track. For older tracks this may be a necessary measure. But I can not see how they would outright shorten the races. That seems like such a cop out.

2. It does mean that racers will have to faster to speed and stop. A lot of old hands are going to to drop out because of this. They just won’t be quick enough.

As long as it’s temporary. I’m not a big drag fan but the quarter mile is legendary.

I’ve been doing a little bit of thinking on this subject. Instead of shortening the length of the race and potentially ruining the sport, why not keep the race a quarter mile and utilize the same hook and cable set up that aircraft carriers use to catch landing aircraft. The addition of a hook to these dragsters would add very little weight. Also, this is a cheap and effective way for racetracks to stop these cars. The catch cable should be at or near the very end of the dragstrip, therefore it is only being used as a last ditch effort to stop the car before it leaves the pavement. I also agree with the previous posts about sand traps. The sand traps need to be longer. One more idea: All cars should be fitted with a radio controlled kill switch/brakes override that is to be controlled by an NHRA official in the tower. When he deems that a driver is unconscious or unable to stop, then he kills the car and applies brakes/parachutes by radio controll. Monster trucks already use this technology.

I agree that something needs to be done to make top fuel drag racing safer. It has just become a freak-show of wicked speed over the last decade. We need to tame it and make it politically correct to bring it back to the mainstream. Rather than shortening it to 1000 feet, I think we should have something like Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, plug in electrics, diesel-electric hybrids or even solar powered vehicles. They they could gain a bigger audience, and more revenue, by showing it on Lifetime TV, The Oxygen Channel or PBS. You could even have cars with Espresso makers in the arm rest or fish tanks in the trunk with 40″ spinning wheels to get it onto BET. If we go the solar power route, we could shorten it to 134 feet rather than 1340 so that we could make it through the eliminations in a single show.

Just a thought…..

they should all have the shut down area filled to an UP-HILL grade. gravity will slow a hotrod down a ton