although I Am Not Qualified Through Experience Or Degree To Comment, I Have Been Around Enough Professions, Some With Standards And Some Without, To Have An Opinion.
I Agree Fully With The Concept Of Standards In Terms Of Track Architecture, Design, Layout, Construction, Regulation, And Standardized Operations.
However, I Also Believe The Ultimate Responsibility For The Decision To Utilize Any Facility Rests With The Driver And Team As To Whether Or Not To Run. Just As Many Drivers Pack Their Own Chutes, Even Though There Are Standards Written, It Is Ultimately The Driver's Responsibility To Inspect The Facility Prior To Utilizing It.
The Occupation Of Drag Racing At A Competitive Level, Like Any Other Professional Undertaking, Requires A Measure Of Responsibility From The Competitors In Order To Maintain And Improve The Standards Of The Sport And The Safety Of The People Involved.
In My Unsolicited Opinion, Every Competitor Shoudl Fully Inspect The Racing Surface From The Staging Lanes All The Way Through To The Shutdown Area And What May Lay Beyond. If Anything Is Isolated As A Potential Problem, No Matter How Small Or Insignificant It May Be, It Needs To Be Brought To The Attention Of The Sanctioning Body Immediately. Even The Thought Of "they Won't Listen" Needs To Be Removed From Everyone Involved. It Is The Responsiblity Of Each Competitor To Bring Every Concern To The People Who Can Implement Change, From The Condition Of The Water Box, Any Bump In The Surface, Any Obstacle Of Potential Danger, Any Debris Or Any Actions Observed By Spotters Or Personnel Stationed In Any Area.
There Are No Second Chances When Something Goes Wrong. Even A Lowly Street Car Can Turn Toward The Wall If A Transmission Line Blows And The Risks Are Amplified Thousands Of Times As Speed Increases.
I Know Of Nothing In This World That Is Perfect, And Even The Iso Specifications Alow For Accurately Detailed Mistakes To Be Made Over And Over Again, But A Standard Of Design And All It's Subsets Would Be A Good Starting Point For Improving The Safety And By Virtue Of That, All The Other Good Things We Want For Drag Racing.
Feelings Will Be Raw For A Long Time. We Have Lost Too Many Good People. I Believe It Is Best To Focus On Solutions As A Way Of Honoring And Respecting Those Who Have Inspired This Very Debate.
There Is Absolutely Nothing That Is Inherently "safe" When Speaking Of 300mph Within A Quarter Mile, Propelled By A Massive Grenade. Anything That Any Of Us Can Do, Whether We Are Simply Spectators, Fans, Local Racers, Semi Pro Or Professional Racers... Whether We Be Architects, Engineers, Retail Clerks, Or Assembly Line Workers... All Of Us May Have Something To Contribute To Providing A Safer Environment For The Sport We All Enjoy.
For Us To Come Together I Would Ask That Nhra And Ihra Together Pool Their Resources As They Both Represent Themselves As Sanctioning Bodies. They Share A Common Interest And Responsibility For Defining And Establishing Standards For Their Member Facilities And They Provide An Environment For Like Kind Competition At The Highest Levels.
I Would Ask Pro To Facilitate This Joint Effort And I Would Further Ask Pro To Enlist The Help Of People Outside The Direct Business Of Drag Racing Such As Architects, Engineers, Project Management People, Designers, Contractors, And People From Any Profession Which May Bring Value To This Process.
I Ask That This Evalulation, Assessment, Strategic Direction, Goals And Objectives, Testing, Implementation, And Ongoing Assessment Happen At A Professional Level, With Basic Guidelines Long Established By Other Professional Trade Organizations, And Be Fast Tracked Into Operational Status And A Timeline Established With Milestones To Be Met.
We Literally Have A "moving Target" In Terms Of Technology And Performance Variables To Shape Into Policy. That Policy Will Be The Basic Guidelines That Will Improve And Enhance The Safety Of All Concerned And By Creating A Safer Platform We Will Encourage More Participation In Terms Of Competitors, Spectators, Fans, And The General Public.
A Apologize If I Have Stepped On Any Toes Or Have Upset Anyone With My Opinion, But I Firmly Believe That Any Accident Is One Accident Too Many And When A Life Is Claimed We All Suffer The Loss. We Will Never Be Able To Prevent All Tragedy, But Working Together We Can Greatly Greatly Reduce Our Loss.
As Eric Medlin Inspired John Force To Cornerstone Safety Improvements For The Vehicles, Perhaps Our Honoring Of Scott Kalitta Can Inspire Us All To Look Beyond Attendance Figures And Market Competition To Become The Foundation Of Track Standards For Our Entire Sport, In A Multi Sanctioning Body Effort And On A Global Scale, Not Simply In The Usa.
Thank You For Reading My Opinion, Unsolicited And Unqualified As It May Be.
