Totally hypothetical situation and don't flame me because I don't know the exact rule and I'm not saying that anyone would do it or that the situation would arise but........... If the rule was changed what would prevent someone from just swapping out the whole car anytime they choose. Would hitting the wall be the only time a chassis could be swapped? What about a severe fire where the car burns to the ground? or Severe tire shake? Who determines when and if it's ok to swap chassis's? Right now they can change everything else on the car all that's left is the chassis. So essentially if the rule were changed someone could use a new car every round.

Here's a hypothetical situation: Last race before the chase. If car "a" loses to car "b" then driver "c" gets in the chase. Car "b" is an under funded team that barely squeaked into the show so odds are he won't beat car "a". Driver "c" owns a huge operation that has had a tough year but can still make it in if that car "b" wins. Driver "c" loans car "b" an entire car that is very capable of winning and just swaps the bodies.

See where I'm going with this? Thoughts? Crazy I know but I'm bored here at work.

The use of a spare car would have to be contingent on damage to the primary chassis in an on track racing track accident that deemed the chassis unsafe/unusable.

No swapping cars just for the sake of it.

Your hypothetical situation is a lot like "Team A car A" smoking the tires for "Team A car B" to make the chase and keep "Team B car A" from winning the championship.

It all sucks in the long run.

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If NHRA can throw away tradition then I can throw away my tickets.

I say "do away with multi-car teams"

Yeah I know it would be a pretty far fetched but we haven't had any conspiracies lately........... hey I think I saw a second funny car chassis on the grassy knoll.

Come on now Joe, if one of the Kalitta, Prudhomme or Schumacher cars had this happen to them, Connie, Don and Don would be voicing their opinion on tv too. Plus, we all know how you feel about John.
Personally, I think the rule should stay intact and I`m glad John Medlen voiced his concern.

Many great points on both sides here. I'd like to weigh in as well.

If the rule gets changed we're just a step away from a team having 4 cars ready to go on race day. An overcast car, a greasy track car, etc. etc. That's not good. Leave the rule alone.

I wonder if the burst panel didn't have a negative impact in this case. Without the burst panel I think the body would blown off and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Some people say the rule exists because in other sports, you have to finish the race with the car you started with. The dynamics of those sports are not the same as Drag Racing. In other sports, you are on the track for several hours. In our sport, we have rounds in between races with planned tear downs. As part of a tear down, I see the chassis as a part...just like the drive train, body, etc. If it is damaged, replace it.

The current rule is reckless. If a car hits the wall, and the team makes a pour judgement call and runs the car because they couldnt detect damage to the chassis, these cars are doing 330mph. There are only two ways to handle this in my opinion:

1. Allow teams to replace chassis any time they need to.

2. If a car hits the wall, it is retired from competition until inspected by a chassis builder and recertified for competition with a stamp. This means ANY contact of ANY type, the car should be recertified. Teams competing are not going to make the right judgement calls on these issues in the heat of battle. So either empower them to change the chassis, or don't allow them to run the car any further.

Just my .02 cents.

Mike

I still think John Force just wants safety brought to the forefront. John said "Either send us home if we bend a fender or let us change chassis." I feel he doesn't want to risk another racers life trying to run a car that may be structurally unsafe. "IF" the car hadn't been leaking when fired up NHRA would have allowed it to make a pass.. John is saying that is unsafe and making a strong statement about it!!!

Nuh.....uhhhhhh!!!!

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Shift for Brains!!!!

I can guarantee you, if any sportsman car hit both walls at the angle that Robert did, the cert tag would have been pulled even if they did win. So why a different rule for the Pros?

I still say, before or after the finish line, you tag the wall your going home. You go in the other lane after the finish line without being directed to by the shut down area crew so that you can exit safely, your DQ'd.

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Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

I am a big JFR fan and I disagree with your statement. As much as John Force talked about safety since Eric's accident that proved to be the last thing on his mind while in the pits trying to get the car ready and he pretty much openly admitted it when he talked about what John Medlen said. "Either send us home if we bend a fender or let us change chassis"...WHY DIDNT YOU GO HOME THEN???? Dont get me wrong, John is a great guy and just had his head somewhere else. Although that team did a great job getting it back together as best they could, they never should have even tried. That chassis was definatly tweeked atleast a little bit after hitting the wall twice and even if all they were going to do was see if his opponent messed up and he had a chance to coast down the track I still in my opinion believe that it was the wrong thing to do.

As far as the rule goes, I believe it should be kept the same. But in doing that, your going to have situations like yesterday where teams are going to try and go for it when they probably shouldnt because of safety issues.

On the other hand, if you change the rule the safety aspect of the chassis being straight really wouldnt be in question because there is no team out there who is going to run a tweeked chassis....well I hope not anyway

Thats just my opinion on the whole situation so I hope that if the rule isnt changed..that is is addressed in some way or another for teams to make a better decision next time!

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GodSpeed Eric Medlen & Scott Kalitta- Drag Racing's Funny Car Angels!

To tech a wrecked chassis after a wreck would do nothing. When a chassis is teched all they do is check for all the right tubing in the right places and that it is the right size, also that the fire bottles and such are up to date, it odes not check the chassis to see if it is straight. My feeling again is that any car that comes into contact with a wall either before ar after the finish line should be disqualified. If that happens the car in the other lane that lost the race but didn't contact anything would then be the winner. The fans get a two car race the next round with two safe cars. That would eliminate the chance of putting an unsafe chassis on the track.
Lets look at this another way. Lets say it was another team that had the same wreck as Hight, they got the car back together and running with no leaks at the start, they stage the car a at half track the chassis fails, with current NHRA rules this could happen. If the car isn't leaking fluids, I think the only people that could keep the car from running would be the car owner, and crew chief. If I remember right this kind of happened a few years back with Larry Dixon, they repaired the cahssis between rounds and the next round it broke and Dixon went on the ride of his life, I don't remember where this was, but I do remember Lahaie almost hanging it up because he sent an unsafe car down the track.
Safety is the important thing here, if a car comes in contact with the wall, it should be done for the event until it can be checked by the chassis builder. These cars are way too violent to risk anything else.

Everybody keeps talking about teams having 4 different cars with different setups for different conditions and swapping them as they see fit, although I can't speak for him, I don't think this is what Force was alluding to."

IF TEAMS WERE ALLOWED TO CHANGE CHASSIS ON RACEDAY IT WOULD HAVE TO BE CONTINGENT ON THE PRIMARY CHASSIS BEING INVOLVED IN AN ON TRACK RACING ACCIDENT THAT DAMAGED THE CHASSIS AND DEEMED IN UNUSABLE.

This determination would have to be made by a number of specialists. Then, and only then, could a team switch chassis.

Let the teams change the chassis if needed. A bare chassis is just like any other component of the car. If they want to start out with a bare chassis and add motor,clutch,rear end,brakes,wheels,plumbing and electrical, and get it built in the turnaround time, they should be allowed to do so.They should not be allowed to bring out a spare roller and drop the motor in it and go racing. I think contact with the wall after the finish line should be a disqualification, but not crossing the centerline or putting it into the sand. If you cross the centerline and make contact with the other car past the finishline, that should be a disqualification too.

Hi Mike
Where have you been