Can anyone show us what's been done at E-town?

Misc (http://gallery.competitionplus.com/main.php?g2_itemId=1146046&g2_page=2)

looks like they have done alot of work.....

Billy

Thank you. That's good to see...

Sounds like Shawn Gann got an up close and personal look at it ... hope all is well ...

ENGLISHTOWN - Pro Stock Motorcycle Qualifying Notes, Session #2 (http://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=183551&Filter=30#indextop)

Well i was there last weekend for the Top Sportsman race (which we won :) ) and i tried to snap a pick with my blackberry but darn thing didn't work. From what I saw it looked almost like the other ones that had been totally upgraded.

Now it's on to discover the next "weakest link" in track safety.

Looks like they did they best they can with what they have to work with.

It will be used....someday...and I hope it does it's job FLAWLESSLY!

-90% Jimmy

Drag Racing Internet Magazine - Competition Plus.com - NHRA-ETOWN DELIVER SAFER SHUTDOWN (http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10327&Itemid=6)

It's shame that it takes a driver getting killed for Sandtrap Safety to become a Priority! :(

Wait until you see the DeJoria TAFC sandtrap hit, the NHRA and Etown's containment device made a difference.

Drag Racing Internet Magazine - Competition Plus.com - E-TOWN CONTAINMENT SYSTEM TESTED (http://www.competitionplus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10438&Itemid=6)

That was scary, she was hauling when she hit the trap.The front of the chassis was crumpled up leaning against the motor. I will post some pictures when I get home tomorrow.

Here's a quick picture of whats left of Alexis' car.

Very scary to see and very lucky to walk away.

http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/42130/2136236510055613075S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2136236510055613075rlJWDe)

I'll be posting more pictures from Sunday later this week.

-stan

Very sorry to see both accidents this weekend. As I asked on another board, is the sand actually a real catch pit or is it just laying on top of the asphalt like before? From the video of both crashes, sure looke to me like both cars just ran right over the sand. It never appeared to swallow up a runaway car. The nets stopped them. Can anybody who was there elaborate on the depth of the sand?

Dave

Here's a quick picture of whats left of Alexis' car.

Very scary to see and very lucky to walk away.

http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/42130/2136236510055613075S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2136236510055613075rlJWDe)

I'll be posting more pictures from Sunday later this week.

-stan

That one was WAY gnarly- I'm glad to see that the new system seemed to do a great job of containing a car that easily seemed to hit the sand at 125+... But at that speed, aren't most cars going to skip/ "hydroplane"/ skim over the pit and head straight into the nets? Would that damage have been less severe had the car had something other than the barrels as the final catch?- not to imply that this system isn't a great improvement in short-track containment- it truly is. Gotta say Thank God for HANS/Hutchens devices in this situation- the stop looked like it was immediate.

I bet Alexis is SOOO Greatfull this crash happened THIS year, and not Last!:confused:

All three Drivers seem to fly right over the pea gravel pit. They all reached the nets pretty quickly.
Alexis's car was still hauling A$$ when it made it to nets.

Anyone that was there see why both chutes left the car? They did blossum but never slowed tha car down at all.

This new system really did do it's job, both drivers are OK which is what matters most, cars can be replaced!

I think alot better solution is to make a 6" deep water trap, if you notice when driving your street car after it rains and you go through a sizeable water puddle it slows you down a bunch.

I think alot better solution is to make a 6" deep water trap, if you notice when driving your street car after it rains and you go through a sizeable water puddle it slo ws you down a bunch.

No disrespect meant Kenneth but when was the last time you drove your street car into a puddle at 100 mph or more? (please don't try it)water gets very hard at that speed! My bet would be it would skip over the surface for an awful long distance! Anybody remember the footage of Kurt Johnson skipping off the big puddles on his roof on one of the old Diamond P videos? Plus then the Safety safari would need scuba gear and I suppose the drivers would need life jackets :D :confused:

You can skip anything over water with enough speed. Even a car.

Up here in Minnesota they race snowmobiles on open water.
I don't think that would slow them down one bit.

I understand where your comming form Doug (no disrespect taken), but remember KJ hit the standing water backwards with the ass end of the car coming down, those big slicks are going glide across water (they will also glide accross that "sand" too if a car goes into it backwards, the slicks also make nice high floatation tire, just like the high floatation tires that are used in farming, and construction). Alot more often than not the car will go in front first, the narrow front tires will go into the water thus allowing the front spoiler, or wing to catch the water thus causing less damage the a vehicle, if Alexis car would have went into a water pit her car would have some body damage, and more than likely little to no chassis damage. I think that Alexis would have gotten hurt if her chassis didn't bend like it did when she hit those barrels with sand in them, her chassis saved her not the barrels of sand. After seeing her crash I was surprised (but very happy) to see she walked away from it, it was a nasty crash.

That one was WAY gnarly- I'm glad to see that the new system seemed to do a great job of containing a car that easily seemed to hit the sand at 125+... But at that speed, aren't most cars going to skip/ "hydroplane"/ skim over the pit and head straight into the nets? Would that damage have been less severe had the car had something other than the barrels as the final catch?- not to imply that this system isn't a great improvement in short-track containment- it truly is. Gotta say Thank God for HANS/Hutchens devices in this situation- the stop looked like it was immediate.

I'm not sure about cars, but I hit the sand at over 100 on a nitro harley and never even left a tire print in it. :( I'm guessing it would be about the same.

Good grief....a water pit?....can we get some sharks and piranhas in it too?

Good grief....a water pit?....can we some sharks and piranhas in it too?
cool...then during downtime they can hire the 'FONZ' to jump it...better than team Geico...(AAAAEEEY)

I was there, and Alexis was along for the ride,the rear end broke at the finish line and the shrapnel exiting the lower rear of the housing tore one side of the chute attachment bracket off and cut the chute shrouds like a pair of scissors, not sure how much brake she had as there was a lot of gear oil all over the rear of the car. I helped take the chassis off the ramp truck and saw the chutes and rear end up close so this is first hand info.
Nothstein's episode was a chute deployment problem, getting sucked under the car and wrapped around the rear end, he did a good job sliding the car sideways through the gravel and into the first net, apparently saving it from any significant chassis damage.
This new system really did do it's job, both drivers are OK which is what matters most, cars can be replaced!

Wow Doug I did Not hear that! I only caught the part of her getting interviewed, but didn't see the run. There was a lot of speculation as to why she wasn't on the Brakes Harder! Guess that answers a lot!

I understand where your comming form Doug (no disrespect taken), but remember KJ hit the standing water backwards with the ass end of the car coming down, those big slicks are going glide across water (they will also glide accross that "sand" too if a car goes into it backwards, the slicks also make nice high floatation tire, just like the high floatation tires that are used in farming, and construction). Alot more often than not the car will go in front first, the narrow front tires will go into the water thus allowing the front spoiler, or wing to catch the water thus causing less damage the a vehicle, if Alexis car would have went into a water pit her car would have some body damage, and more than likely little to no chassis damage. I think that Alexis would have gotten hurt if her chassis didn't bend like it did when she hit those barrels with sand in them, her chassis saved her not the barrels of sand. After seeing her crash I was surprised (but very happy) to see she walked away from it, it was a nasty crash.

Jell-O maybe?? ;)

Water pit would be less friction Kenneth- cars could potentially PICK UP speed heading into the net- not good...

The pea gravel/ multi net thing is the most reasonable way to catch a fast moving object- truck run-offs are proof of that. My only thought would be a slight incline of gravel for the cars to dig into, but even then, once the front digs, the back end gets a mind of its own, ala Mr. Force's (and many others) dip-and-flip move...

Here are some pictures I took of her car. This was scary indeed.

Paul Miller's Photos | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30327207&l=ad2e10ddba&id=1182662628)

Paul Miller's Photos | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30327208&l=063de17343&id=1182662628)

Paul Miller's Photos | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30327205&l=ed28d96014&id=1182662628)

cool...then during downtime they can hire the 'FONZ' to jump it...better than team Geico...(AAAAEEEY)


OUCH! Where the heat come from on Team Geico???

OUCH! Where the heat come from on Team Geico???
you know Rob. The annoying people at the track who give away free stuff...they are called team geico right? Or did they change sponsors?

...nothing against Morgan or Karen. They are cool kids. :)

ESPN has footage of both incidents

Racing Schedule, News, Results, and Drivers - Motorsports - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/racing/)

you know Rob. The annoying people at the track who give away free stuff...they are called team geico right? Or did they change sponsors?

...nothing against Morgan or Karen. They are cool kids. :)

cant stand those guys. Or the announcers who scream at the top of their lungs when they shoot those stupid t shirts out of those glorified potato guns

cant stand those guys. Or the announcers who scream at the top of their lungs when they shoot those stupid t shirts out of those glorified potato guns
see. Fonzie 'jumping the shark' would be entertaining compared to those guys huh?

It looked like both cars actually went under the first rope barrier and got caught in the second one. Maybe the first barrier needs to be buried into the gravel to keep that from happening.

It looked like both cars actually went under the first rope barrier and got caught in the second one. Maybe the first barrier needs to be buried into the gravel to keep that from happening.

Thats the same thing i was thinking

Jell-O maybe?? ;)

Water pit would be less friction Kenneth- cars could potentially PICK UP speed heading into the net- not good...


Water offers more resistance, after a good rain find yourself a big water puddle in a parking lot somewhere and drive your car through it, it will feel like you got on the brakes.

ESPN has footage of both incidents

Racing Schedule, News, Results, and Drivers - Motorsports - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/racing/)

Wow, didn't look like the Pea gravel(?) did a thing to reduce speeds! I don't think Alexis would be around had this been last year!:rolleyes:

Water offers more resistance, after a good rain find yourself a big water puddle in a parking lot somewhere and drive your car through it, it will feel like you got on the brakes.

Just like when we were kids, Skippin rocks off the sand they went way farther then on the water :rolleyes:

Just like when we were kids, Skippin rocks off the sand they went way farther then on the water :rolleyes:


Well the cars are going thru the "sand traps" like there on asphalt. :rolleyes:

Well the cars are going thru the "sand traps" like there on asphalt. :rolleyes:

You would want to have a raised "pool" that the car drove into, not onto.

I think with a little tweaking that the sand should be adequate. I understand that time is of the essence as we have two very lucky racecar drivers that will again get tto go down the racetrack, one of them VERY lucky.

You would want to have a raised "pool" that the car drove into, not onto.

lucky.

It would be dug down so that the water level would be even with the track surfice, the entrance would slope down to the desired depth, on another note Paul you are correct about lucky.

P.S. read my new signature!!!!!!!

Water??????

Who wants to be around for a car to crash and get upside down in a pool of water with the driver trapped inside.

Pass. :rolleyes:

Water??????

Who wants to be around for a car to crash and get upside down in a pool of water with the driver trapped inside.

Pass. :rolleyes:

My thoughts too...unconcious, upside down and in the water? nah...

Yes, they are going to skip, they are going in excess of 200 miles per hour.

Yes, they are going to skip, they are going in excess of 200 miles per hour.

The plane that ditched in the Hudson didn't skip and I bet they were going close to 200 mph. But of course it is all about the angle of entry. In general I think using water would create more problems than it solves.

How about the plastic balls kids jump in at Chucky Cheese. :D

Doug
That must have been some failure of the ring and pinion/ spool.
She probably had the 10.5 rear end.
The HANS/R3/Hybrid did it jobs also. Does she have the "G" box on her car like some others? it must have been real high on the stop. Hope she can return to the tour soon
I have broken a 9 in at 600' at full throttle and it sucked big time in AA/FA
Glad everyone is fine.

How about the plastic balls kids jump in at Chucky Cheese. :D


LMAO That's funny right there :D

How about the plastic balls kids jump in at Chucky Cheese. :D

The big wave machine like at Mandalay Bay would be my choice....:D

We can put the RockStar and UST girls down there to keep AR occupied...

Well the cars are going thru the "sand traps" like there on asphalt. :rolleyes:

The extremely fast cars ARE skipping the sand and going right to the nets- and no matter what material there is in the pit, above a certain speed, once the car leaves the asphalt, it is either going to skim the pit or dig and dip/flip.

I think NHRA got it right with the new catch and net systems in place for getting a hold of the fast cars- and no way better to prove that than back-to-back incidents. I also think for the cars that are having a "getting stopped" issue UNDER 200mph, the pea gravel is absolutly the right way to go. My stepdad's driving career ended in the sand at Pomona after a 200mph fire- I will bet he was happy not to have all that burning oil spread around him in a pool of water... :rolleyes:

I think the Alky cars are going too fast to race quarter mile. Two cars at one event proves it! They should be racing to the 1,000 foot mark. Might as well do the Pro Mods and Pro Stock bike too! After all safety should come above everything else right? :rolleyes:

are these safety nets designed like a seat belt ?
meaning that after one car hits the nets they need replaced because they will be stretched ? Or can they take more than one hit and still retain there elasticity.

I love the way all the keyboard crew chiefs here are now suddenly keyboard crash engineers. :rolleyes:

You all do know that NHRA involved the people at the University of Nebraska (that designed the SAFER barrier for NASCAR/IndyCar) in the design of this catch system, don't you? And you all know that NHRA mandated it at all national event tracks, right?

I love the way all the keyboard crew chiefs here are now suddenly keyboard crash engineers. :rolleyes:

You all do know that NHRA involved the people at the University of Nebraska (that designed the SAFER barrier for NASCAR/IndyCar) in the design of this catch system, don't you? And you all know that NHRA mandated it at all national event tracks, right?

And you all do know that a high school dropout-slash-arm candy actress helped the Allies subvert Hitler, right? Using a concept based on the player piano, brunette bombshell Hedy Lamarr helped develop a system of encrypting radio-guided torpedos that became known as "frequency hopping." Because the radio channels kept moving around on the synched-up player piano rolls installed in both the transmitter and the torpedo, it was hard for the Krauts to jam.

And not to take anything away from the smart-as-a-whip Cornhuskers that developed the remarkably effective SAFER barrier as well as a drag racing catch-system that passed a couple of stress test this weekend, but there is always room for improvement. In the spirit of Hedy Lamarr, I say: "'keyboard crash engineers' roll on."

In the spirit of Hedy Lamarr, I say: "'keyboard crash engineers' roll on."

A pond at the end of the track? OK, then, "roll on"... :rolleyes:

Thank goodness no one at NHRA reads the Mater...

A pond at the end of the track? OK, then, "roll on"... :rolleyes:

Thank goodness no one at NHRA reads the Mater...

You really out to learn how to disable your "rolleyes" emoticon. It is not only tedious, it is unbecoming.

You really out to learn how to disable your "rolleyes" emoticon. It is not only tedious, it is unbecoming.

You really need to worry less about others... ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

You really need to worry less about others... ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

Not really a problem with me. As an example: I really couldn't worry less about you.