NHRA shortens TF and FC to 1000 feet

All things considered, would the extra 320 feet have spared Scott?

While I commend the organization for doing something, I'm not sure there could have been anything in place at the track to stop what happened that tragic day :(
 
All things considered, would the extra 320 feet have spared Scott?

X2

Figure his car was going 200mph (likely even more) when the chutes failed. He would cover an additional 320 feet in a little more than 1 second. And maybe over that extra 320' his car would have slowed another 5-10mph.......argueable no where near a surviveable head on crash with a concrete barrier wall.

--Joe
 
To me drag racing is 1320 feet. This is a total knee-jerk reaction..

It's fine to want to improve safety, but let's be honest - two 7,000 HP missiles with wheels going down a track is inherently unsafe.

If the NHRA wants to make things safer they can slow down the vehicles .. Shortening the race is laughable!
 
To me drag racing is 1320 feet. This is a total knee-jerk reaction..

It's fine to want to improve safety, but let's be honest - two 7,000 HP missiles with wheels going down a track is inherently unsafe.

If the NHRA wants to make things safer they can slow down the vehicles .. Shortening the race is laughable!
I agree it is very silly.
 
Dumb question, maybe, but why not have a water pit at the end of the track instead of a sand pit? Water would stop the car faster, and might help put out any fire. Just an honest question...I'm sure I'm not thinking of something here.

Also, at 280mph 320 feet goes by in 4/5 of a second. Is that really enough to save a life?
 
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Dumb question, maybe, but why not have a water pit at the end of the track instead of a sand pit? Water would stop the car faster, and might help put out any fire. Just an honest question...I'm sure I'm not thinking of something here.

Water would be even more dangerous. Try jumping out of a boat moving even 40mph.......it's like hitting concrete. Sand "deadens" and absorbs the impact.

Then there is the whole recovery issue.....pulling a car up out of a water pit it is useless.....dragging out of sand with a tractor is no big deal.

--Joe
 
Well, I didn't mean a pool or something. I just meant something like they used to use to stop rockets during rocket tests...

Like I said, probably a dumb question.
 
What is the calculation from time to go 320 ft at 300 mph? My guess is you reach 320 ft purdy quick. F-ing useless idea imo.

320mph = 469.33 ft/sec

So he would travel 320 feet in .68 seconds.

As I stated in my previous post, even at 200mph he would have covered that same distance in a little more than 1 second.

--Joe
 
Does this mean Lapeer is going to be on the schedule now? It's it shorter than 1320 ;)
 
Dumb question, maybe, but why not have a water pit at the end of the track instead of a sand pit? Water would stop the car faster, and might help put out any fire. Just an honest question...I'm sure I'm not thinking of something here.

Also, at 280mph 320 feet goes by in 4/5 of a second. Is that really enough to save a life?

Water at high speeds is SIX TIMES DENSER then concreate...
 
Does this mean Lapeer is going to be on the schedule now? It's it shorter than 1320 ;)

I heard the same thing, and they are waiting on a good announcer because it will be critical for him to let the crowd know who wins after each pass.

--Joe
 
Water at high speeds is SIX TIMES DENSER then concreate...
lol what? Concrete is about 2.4X denser than water and density does not change with speed (it changes with temperature). I think what you're trying to say is that hitting water at high speeds is similar to hitting concrete. Either one will kill you at some point but the water is never denser and the concrete is always going to hurt more but at some point more doesn't matter because you can't be deader than dead.
 
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