In watching yesterday's coverage on ESPN 2, they spoke about John Force and the entire JFR team's changing their hand brake from a PULL BRAKE, to a Push Hand brake. They said they did it for John's Hand, and also to improve Reaction time. My Question is this.

WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG????? Kenny Bernstein had been doing this for a while, and was regarded as one of the best "REACTION TIME" drivers out there. One of the things talked about in the Reaction Time Clinic that Frank Hawley's school offers, is the time it takes for the human body to react. It is quicker to Push back (similar to releasing the trans brake) with your hand than it is to pull forward (like most Hand brakes are built). It's also quicker to use your whole Leg when pressing down the throttle than to just your ankle.

Looking at Mike Neff's Round 1 reaction time (.024) who originally wanted a push forward hand brake, it seems to me that this may be the wave of the future for any hand brake car.

KB....Rapid....Jeff...any other's, what is your take on this?

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Timmah! 5636 S/C
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My Dad ( Jim Bucher ) always used the push style brake back in the 1970's.

A side note; he is going to be inducted in the Drag Racing Hall of Fame the week of the Gatornationals. Finally after 30 years.

mike

personal preference. i tried a push brake once and did not like it. a pull brake never hurt my reaction time either.

a push brake always made more sense to me especially when you are stopping the car at the end of the run....i mean the g-forces are already pulling your body in that direction anyways

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August 13, 1973 - March 23, 2007
R.I.P. Eric
Now residing in the Magic Kingdom

Great to hear your Papa's going in the Hall of Fame. A very deserving honor.

Dave

I think it makes a lot of sense when you think it through. I agree with Mike that the launch is helping bring the handle back, and g-force is pushing you forward when the chutes hit. But you have to remember, you are cinched in tight so your body shouldn't move forward or back anyway.

Now that being said, I have only used a pull brake. With a Nitro car when you step on the throttle, it is going to launch. I am not sure I buy into the better reaction time. There are way too many things that play a part in how a car moves at the hit. Not all late lights are a reflection on when the driver hits it.

My thought is it is more personal preference or like in JF's case. With the loss of finger strength, it is a good plan. One thing I have found, the more comfortable the driver is in a car, the better job of driving is a direct result.

Thanks for throwing my name in asking for a response.

Rapid {Just a driver, not an engineer guy}

PS, Congrats on your dad being inducted. That is cool!

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The push brake is the easiest to use.

I know from experience.

Your triceps are stronger than your biceps any day, so pressure on the handle is much less effort at any time.

At the hit I had nothing to let go of. My right hand would just come back and grip the butterfly.

During decel you are pushing against gravity, also again the amount of force you can apply is once again greater.

One other thing is the bottle lever (fire)

heck of a lot easier to get to if you are pushing as opposed to braking and then having to let go to grab the lever and then resume braking.

Same thing on my motorcycles. I am able to 'cover' the brake (as in the fire bottle lever) so if I need it RIGHT NOW I am able to brake and squeeze in one step. To clarify I ride with two or three fingers covering my brake on my bike at all times.

Feels exactly the same to me as the push brake on the car except my hand is rotated 90 degrees. (vertical)

A no brainer to me but then again its just my .02 anyway......

As Mike Dunn pointed out yesterday, you can't tell who's getting the better launch just by looking at the reaction time - you have to also look at the 60-foot time and add the two together. Deep-staging vs shallow staging can make a couple hundredths improvement in the reaction time, but it does so by adding a couple hundredths to the 60-foot time (and the ET). The FastNews reporters see a lot of raw numbers and it is surprising how many times the driver who had the better reaction time (and an apparent holeshot) is second by the time they go just 60 feet.

When I built my cars I thought about it a lot make everthing the same push the brake push the shifter push chute levers. (KISS)

I belive KB changed to a push brake years ago after a fire in his FC. He commented that he was pulling back on the brake lever, and couldn't release his hand to grab the fire bottle lever with his fingers. By using a push lever, he could push the lever forward with the palm of his hand, then extend his fingers to grab the fire bottle lever. I don't think the change had anything to do with improving his reaction time.

Wow thats great to hear Mike. You dad was a hero of mine. I watched him win the Summernationals and I was over joyed. If i recall wasn't that the same season he set the Top Fuel national record at Gainesville with a 6.07? those were the days of the little guys sometimes being giant killers.

That right there should be enough of a reason to make "push brakes" mandatory in Fuel Funny cars.

PS. When I read the title of this thread I thought that Force had gotten married again!! Just kidding!!

Hey Mike,

Great news about your Dad.....that is long overdue.

Raced against him a few times back in the day. He was a great guy and a very competitive racer.

Congrats on the honor.

Arthur

LMAO! That's wrong on SO many levels!

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NAPA Nitro Fan! Beware of the Capps Blitzkrieg Tour 2008!

For what it's worth (not much) your Dad has been in my personal hall of fame since Indy '73.