When did this happen?

https://www.facebook.com/US41-...ip-2370706426538682/

This weekend. I hope they recover. This is NOT how the starting line and burnout area looks normally. This was a special event new to the track. Bad, bad deal.

That kind of crap goes on at all of the tracks now and it must stop. If it does not lawsuits will end it for all of us. I know those guys will not believe it but it does not take 25 people per car to do a burnout and stage.

I have seen bracket racers do it ALL BY THEMSELVES! It is amazing you should see it. Crazy stuff. So I know it can be done.

There are other problems we never had years ago. People are now getting stuff stolen at the track. Ridiculous. What is the world coming to. One guy had his entire ignition system stole out of his car at the races!

Those things will ruin it for all. IMHO.

The starting line at the street outlaws show looks safer than that cluster FK. Who runs that starting line, Ray Charles?

Just wait until a trans brake fails and a car launches in reverse and takes out a dozen people, that will be the end of that

If lawsuits over golf carts and 4-wheelers haven't killed racing, this definitely won't.

Pretty severe injuries from Dragzine.

https://www.dragzine.com/news/...s-at-donk-drag-race/

Just like to reiterate as the subject line says that this did not happen at US41 Dragstrip even though they are sharing/reacting to it.

Best wishes sent to all those involved though.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Steve:
Just wait until a trans brake fails and a car launches in reverse and takes out a dozen people, that will be the end of that

Bingo Steve! Happened to a good friend in Vegas! Fortunately nobody was hurt but he did back over the PS Truck in the water box. That’s why there are safety rules. Nobody stands behind a race car.

Early 70’s as a child/ track rat! I can remember the flywheel of clutch car came apart and killed crew member. Standing exactly in the same plane as rotating mass. Bad day

Even after somebody or several somebodies are killed, I doubt this will change. It would take at least one multi million dollar settlement for anything to change. And so far, I haven't heard of any. Take care. Tom Worthington

Way back when I may have witnessed a H balancer failure that contributed to the SFI rule being handed down.
I was spectating at Indy and the pro stocks were running. At that point in time they did one last chirpy blip much like the funny cars of the era.

I don't remember the car but it did it's chirp, wheels lifted a little bit.
I thought I saw something but was not sure.
When the wheels came down both front tires were flat.
They stopped the show right then.
As they got the car removed bits and pieces showed up on the track. I could see the NHRA guys running back and forth looking at pieces with a WTF look. No injuries in this case fortunately, just confusion.

The following season most classes were required H balancers made of steel and stickered.
We also learned that solid hubs were a bad thing on engines that were externally balanced.

Stuff like this should give some insight what track photographers potentially could encounter.
I got invited by a pro magazine guy to experience what it was like out there.
This was at Bristol before the Bruton makeover and it was narrow. You could reach out and touch the cars from behind the barrier.
Alky Funnies were running.

It was pretty cool until one pair came up. When they launched I hit the ground. Photogs stood their ground looking for "the shot". The funny on our side severely exploded sending shrapnel everywhere just past the photog group. No bags in those days.

My buddy turned, looked and asked how did you know?
I heard it coming apart.
He thought that was amazing but I didn't.
Being an engine guy and having driven blown alky stuff I just recognized the undercurrent sound of mechanical parts that were not happy. Weird I know but I don't doubt others may recognize the same things.

Now that I had been to the Photog mountain I had seen enough. I don't do that any more.

Anyone remember the Saint Louis track before it got rehabbed and modernized to what we see today?
As a digger driver I could reach out and touch the crowd.
Picture this. The right hand lane usually had the drunken folks because of a bar on that side. Insanity at it's strongest. Hold my beer.

Yup, those southern big money races and the YB race always gives me pause when I see the starting line photos.

Years ago at the old El Paso Dragway they were running the final in Modified. Camaro is at the starting line and the damper comes apart flying just over the top of the tower and out into the mesquite bushes.

I ran out there and found it. The guy in the Camaro never lifted, won the race and I went over to them as they were loading the car and asked them if they wanted that piece of damper back. There was a great big hole in their hood.

Needless to say if it had gone through the window of the tower it could have killed someone. One interesting tidbit, it had been installed with a hammer. There were marks all over it where they had beat it on to install it.

Not too long ago I had a '74 Ford Maverick, did a swapped 302 and turbocharged. Had JUST got the body work done. My brother needed a ride for the bracket race that weekend so I let him drive it. Second round of eliminations, he comes back with a gigantic gaping HOLE in the right rear quarter panel. I'm like what in the world? Guy he raced (shorty dragster, SBC, pile of junk thrown together in someone's growed up back yard) broke the nose of the crankshaft, balancer went THROUGH the quarter and was in the trunk-balancer (most of it) and the end of the crankshaft still inside of the hub. I was not happy about it but I'm glad the car took the brunt of the impact and not my brother or anyone else.

Around 2002 I had a BBC in my Camaro went to do my burn out and car died. Pushed it off and snout of crankshaft had broke behind the timing chain. It was still hanging there and luckily did not fly off. But point is even if you have a good balancer does not mean you can not lose whole thing.

This year we had an ATI balancer "walk off" the end of a crankshaft while staging. We discovered the balancer to crankshaft bolt was gone/missing. The crankshaft was not damaged (SBC), and all the clearances checked out to be perfect. Both crankshaft keys were damaged, but not destroyed. The starter said it sounded like a pinball machine when the balancer came off hitting things under the hood. The balancer ended up on the ground under the front end. Installed a new balancer with bolt after replacing several damaged items. Checking bolt on the end of the crankshaft is a good idea. And no one got hurt!

We had the snout of the crank break off with the balancer in the burnout. No one one the starting line but that thing was bouncing back and forth between the retaining walls hard. Sure could have hurt someone if it hit them.

It makes me sick to my stomach seeing so much tax payer money wasted on ambulance rides and hospital bills. Let natural selection do what its ment to do, keep welfare spending at a minimum, and chuck em in the river for cryin out loud.

boucher
What the heck?
Are you sure you are in the right forum?

I've heard of several (SFI?) flexplates coming apart lately. I don't know what flexplate this was or if the SFI cert was current. This body panel on a friend of mines car is from the ring gear off of his opponent, about 500 feet down the track.



It's obvious the shield did no good.