As you can see here, the lead weights on a wheel that may actually turn fast enough for a Funny Car to exceed 335 mph is currently secured to that wheel with duct tape.
The Force team is also looking into alternative methods of securing the lead weights used in wheel balancing to the wheel other than the standard practice of placing duct tape over the weights.
In talking with John Medlen about the lead weights he mentioned the fact that actually balancing the wheel and tire assembly on the electric spin balancer that most teams are now using may not actually accomplish what they are supposed to, for a couple of reasons: 1) At the hit of the throttle the wheel turns about 20 degrees inside of the tire, which
probably negates the balance job because the attached weight moves that same 20 degrees which would essentially negate the balance job and 2) As the car goes down track much of the mass of a Top Fuel or Funny Car tire shifts rearward, which has to affect the balance of the wheel and tire.
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Given those parameters, having lead weights glued to a wheel that routinely exceeds 330 mph -- possibly in an unbalanced state -- might not be a good thing. So, it is safe to assume that wheel weights are something that JFR and NHRA are looking at.
In addition to finding ways to keep parts from leaving the cars, Medlen and the Force team have not only made changes in the cockpit area that have recently become mandated by the NHRA, they continue to implement other changes in their cars designed to increase the drivers’ safety.
In the time I spent with John Medlen in the Force pit I learned a lot more about Eric’s crash that I hadn’t known before, much of it information they understandably weren’t willing to make public until they have more provable data. Most importantly I learned that, despite the fact that they don’t make a big deal out of it, NHRA, Goodyear, chassis and safety equipment manufacturers and indeed everyone involved in nitro-burning cars are making a very big deal out of seeking and implementing changes to make all professional racecars safer for the drivers.
