NHRA driver Scott Kalitta killed in crash in NJ

[Glenn Duensing]

One of the most violent crashes that I have ever seen.

RIP Scott.

ESPN video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DziJdGwFQjU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Steve Ekstrand]

Lot of talk last night that John Force's efforts to make the cars safer hadn't worked.

But I really don't know how you make it safe enough to cover every possible wreck. All you can do is increase your odds of survival.

Englishtown is a very short shutoff area, even shorter than Pomona. If Scott had any control, I think he would have driven the car into the side walls to scrub off speed. But speculation is that the explosion and or fire had knocked him out or atleast disoriented him. I saw wire reports that he hit the wall at 300mph. That was his speed at the finish line. He was obviously going much slower at impact with the end of the track, but still far far in excess of what the sandtrap and netting is designed to help.

There was no hopping that I noticed characteristic of locking up the rear brakes.

[Reijo Silvennoinen]

Agree with you Steve: Almost reminscent of Ayron Senna's final off.......seemingly no braking/reaction and into a solid concrete wall. Not good.

Reijo

[Glenn Duensing]

Making any race car or race track safer is hard to but it does happen. Slowing down cars won't work with drag racing and beefier cages, well I don't know. One still needs to get out in a hurry. Now the runoff areas could use some work IMO. Maybe use breakaway concrete (one could have several "pads" pre-made) after the gravel pit then maybe a catch fence.

[Steve Ekstrand]

There have always been complaints about the runoffs at many old tracks.

Englishtown and Pomona are amongst the worst, but they are also two of the most important and historic venues. There's incredible resistance to leaving those old tracks off the schedule.

Failure of the chutes in a Funny Car explosion is a really common problem. I've always wondered about a third chute on a much longer leash that deployed automatically if the body lifted. I just don't know much about the physics involved there.

I think what Force has done is great. And the extra weight isn't that big of issue. Only a 100lbs increase or so. NHRA has been raising the class minimum weight to accomodate the strengthening. I don't think they are making the cars heavier to the point that you worry about stopping issues or such.

And part of the chassis changes are to increase the size of the drivers compartment to decrease the chance of the driver striking the cage bars. That also makes it easier for the driver to escape out the roof hatch in a fire.

[Will Kalman]

No amount of strengthening is going to help a driver that runs into a wall at 100, 200, or 300 mph unless you put twenty feet of crush space around them.

I can't imagine them not using a net strong enough to stop the car regardless of speed. Attach it to an inertial system like the ones that slow stuntmen from freefalls or attach it to concrete blocks that will use their inertia to absorb the inertia of the car.

There are miliions upon millions of dollars that go through these facilities at these events, certainly a few hundred-thousand on one-time investment at each track that hosts professional NHRA events has a reasonable ROI.

This isn't guys with musclecars sponsored by local car dealers or running grudge matches. When you're talking about cars that go from 0 to Mach 0.5 in 4.5 seconds, your safety gear (both in the car and the track) needs to match. Maybe it's also time to put a center divider, too. I've seen some scary crossover moments and it's just a matter of time before someone's tire-less chassis slams into the back of the other car that's slowing down. Purists be damned.

[Will Kalman]

Failure of the chutes in a Funny Car explosion is a really common problem. I've always wondered about a third chute on a much longer leash that deployed automatically if the body lifted. I just don't know much about the physics involved there.

I think what Force has done is great. And the extra weight isn't that big of issue. Only a 100lbs increase or so. NHRA has been raising the class minimum weight to accomodate the strengthening. I don't think they are making the cars heavier to the point that you worry about stopping issues or such.

That's a pretty good idea. I can think of a few ways to trigger it:

1) Catastrophic engine failure - if the blower leaves the block, for example
2) "Dead man" switch - driver releases a handle on the steering wheel,
3) Remote trigger - track or crew sees a failure like yesterday's and pops the chute via remote control
4) Transponder - if the car hasn't slowed down by X amount within Y feet of the finish - pop the chute. Heck automate the chute release at the finish line for ALL runs.

Oh, and the weight isn't going to affect braking too much - they're dissipating the energy supplied by the motor. Heavier car = slower car = same energy at the finish (roughly).

[Casey Brier]

^ I agree, there are ways to deploy the chutes without driver intervention. yesterday they were showing a team that ran a cable from the burst panel to the chute release. if the burst panel went, so did the chutes.... good idea.

now, I am not sure that would have helped here, you can see scotts chutes were damaged and not working. they were deployed and flopping around, but not doing a thing to slow the car.


I dont see why they dont adopt the safer barrier like NASCAR did along the side walls, and then a nice thick set of crush blocks at the end of the track. I mean come on, its not like its something that should be hit many times.... but in the occasion that it does get hit, like this weekend, it could be life saving.

and in tracks like Englishtown where the track is THAT short, either make the shutdown longer or dont run 330 M.P.H. cars there. yes it would cost millions to make it longer, but come on, did you see how short that runoff and sand pit were? I understand there is history at that track, same with Pomona, but come on, they were not designed to go host cars traveling at half the speed of sound.

if a driver is rendered unconscious right at the finish line with chute failure the car will not slow all that fast (unless it hits a wall). so the longer track will only help a bit, but its the longer sand pit, safety net, and safer barrier that could save a life..... seems worth it to me.

[David Avard]

Both Pomona and Englishtown offer about 2200 feet of shutdown area after the lights. Most tracks seem to be about 500' longer. Gainesville, FL seems to be one of the longest, offering about 3400' before the last turnout (~4700' in total length before the sand pit), but most tracks are only about 4000' long paved. Would that extra 500' have made a difference in this case?

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Both Pomona and Englishtown offer about 2200 feet of shutdown area after the lights. Most tracks seem to be about 500' longer. Gainesville, FL seems to be one of the longest, offering about 3400' before the last turnout (~4700' in total length before the sand pit), but most tracks are only about 4000' long paved. Would that extra 500' have made a difference in this case?

At 250mph, that distance is covered in about 1.3 seconds. So, not unless it was 500 more feet of gravel/sand trap.

[Curt Luther]

I finally saw the wreck at lunch time. He couldn't have been conscious after the motor blew. There was no slowing at all. No brakes, burning chutes. More runoff would have helped, but it was the concrete post that really did him in and disintegrated the whole thing.

I've seen some real ugly stuff at Pomona including two "blowovers" in the early 90s. This was horrific.

Jim Head was talking about going to 1000' races from the current 1/4 mile. Maybe it's time.

[Steve Ekstrand]

The cars slow down quicker than you'd think. Especially, when the tires fail as they usually do in such an explosion.
And under 75mph the sandtrap and netting do work.

I'd like to know the actual impact speed. I'd guess under 150mph.

The 1000' talk as been around since the mid 1970's. Or even a new 300 meter track length worldwide (hey mid-70's was all Metric til Jimmy Carter panicked).

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Jim Head was talking about going to 1000' races from the current 1/4 mile. Maybe it's time.

Read an interview a few years ago with Wally Parks. He was favoring an emphasis on 1/8 mile races, figuring that was the next frontier.

[Steve Ekstrand]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g ... 9&t=h&z=16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hey, they run autocrosses there.

[Casey Brier]

the shutdown is longer then I thought, though it is still short, but look at how small the sand pit is in that picture... its like not having one at all.

no one knows if anything within reason could have saved him, but I am sure a longer sand pit, a kick butt saftey net, and a safer barrier would have helpped.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Much as I'd wish there was something that could have saved him, from the look of the video it's unlikely.

[Steve Ekstrand]

You just never know. There are simply no absolutes in this business.

But I have seen cars fly into the netting or the gravel pits and have the driver survive.

There is a famous accident where a funny car basically launched the sand trap like it was a ramp, cartwheeled over the net and the wall and somersaulted the road and landed in the yard of the farmhouse across the street.

I think the farmer sued.

Driver was mostly okay.

[Glenn Duensing]

, but I am sure a longer sand pit,

According to Google Earth, the gravel pit in 100' to the fence and 88' to the wall.