The reflector that is used is a round plastic type, when a car hits the block they just explode into a million little pieces, at our track we have replaced them with a special reflective sticker.

here is the interview he did. There is one of Ashley that DRO posted too.

cbs11tv.com - Video Library

Boy, I am happy we still have ol' Force around...

As loud as the sea of silence yesterday.....is the sigh of relief by our community. I'm so glad he is going to be OK......my prayers to a speedy recovery!

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NAPA Nitro Fan!

"We're not here for a long time, but we're here for a good time." - Gary Scelzi

THAT is an awesome interview. He really may be back at Virginia. Seriously. He sounded determined.

Waaaaa . I can't see either of those videos. Get the little box with a dot in it. Hope they make it to YouTube.

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Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

Wow, you're having a rotten day ^.

I think the point is that Dunn said it. I'm Sure, he was shook up at the time, to say the least. I'm sure that there are design features which allow the car to break upon impact and that JF's car probably broke somewhere else.
Most of all, as banged up as the Old Warrior is, I'm thrilled that he's alive and breathing and will recover.
Surely the team and The NHRA will post the official crash report, and then we'll know the whole truth.

I think you're correct, Mike. When Dunn said that there was no way he could see where the car came apart. I'm sure he assumed, like most everybody else, that the car came apart at the motor plate.

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BlueStangGT
"Could it be that somebody else is looking into my mind?"

I saw it too. HD does make a huge difference. I kept wondering why the announcers didn't see it and comment during all the replays. I'm no expert and don't know that's what caused the crash but you can plainly see pieces of something go under John"s car right before the tire came apart.

Sure,(NHRA) they'll get right on it, just as soon as they finish the Russell report.

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Bob Meyer Race Cars / San Diego
2005 Our 40th Anniversary

Now that we are pretty sure that Force is going to be OK, Randy's question above should take critical priority. Force (and all of us in and around drag racing) got REALLY lucky on this one. No one should count on being that lucky again.

Will the information as to what happened and how to prevent it in the future be released? Or are we going to have another round of "Cover My Azz" statements, legal posturings, and a final roaring silence like we've had so many times before?

Way back when, someone mentioned the need for an FAA-like investigation into any serious crash. While more bureaucracy is never good, I'd love to see an independent, science-based process in place.

I think you need to read this before blamming Kenny hitting the cone as the cause for the crash.

O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals: *Monster Energy Drink Dodge*

does anyone think that this might cause the NHRA to look at developing a design similar to F1 or Indy cars have for the driver? So you would have a full piece that the driver sits in and then the car is designed to break apart around it. This design would have reduced John's injurys and it could save others in the future.

Well, Densmore himself says that "when given access to video from all angles, it's obvious that the cone goes behind John's car and is never a factor."

They must have video from the starting line area that we haven't see yet that proves it. It's probably the videos that all teams make of every run that shows it.

Somehow, I doubt this will silence the Kenny bashers.

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AKA DrRocket

What I meant was that the Force team will do the investigation, and both they and the NHRA will release the report.
As JF is also the team owner, this thing will not wind up in any court, IMHO.

I've seen more than one set of legs dangling in the air from an Indy car wreck at *under* 200 miles per hour. I think a properly built chrome moly funny car structure is stronger than the driver's compartment of an Indy car or F1.

My opinion is that funny cars, while the hardest to drive, are still the safest of the cars running 250 miles per hour plus (alky included).

Some forces and loads are not withstandable, though. The cage area of a Cup car has a lot of tubing. I remember seeing a driver (name slips my mind) hit an opening at a short track a handfull of years ago and it just about spit the driver out on the track. Kenny Koretsky vs Bruce Allen was another one that made me hold my breath.

Point, to me, is the fact that in JF's case he hit nothing and his car fell apart. Something stinks here, because there have been some extremely violent funny car wrecks where the drivers compartment was not comprimised.

For example:

Back in 1993 Kenny Mooers was driving his TA/FC (Plueger clone built by Kenny) at Bakersfield. From the left lane his car made a sudden hard right turn past 1/2 track at over 200 miles per hour. It went right through the right Armco guardrail, slid upside down on the return road and T-boned the I beam that holds the right lane score board up. The car slid only a few more feet because the I beam brought it to a violent dead stop. Kenny ended up with a broken ankle. That was the most violent funny car wreck I've seen in 37 years of participating in the sport. I thought he was a goner.

I helped load the car and not one frame rail was broken. It was pretty bent up, but no welds failed and no tubes were broken.

What has changed????

RG