9/28/07
 |
It's the downforce, stupid!
I, like every other drag racing enthusiast that didn’t have the opportunity to attend the races this weekend at the Texas Motorplex in person, watched the horrifying crash that John Force and Kenny Bernstein had during the second round of eliminations on Sunday, on ESPN2.
The good thing about watching it on TV is you can rerun and rerun the footage and slow it down and see much more than if you were there in person.
I watched the run a dozen or more times, and it looks to me like John had a tire go away. Sure, Kenny was close to John down there, but there was too much smoke coming from John’s right rear wheel well, and I don’t think Kenny caused it. Unless there was some debris from the cones that Kenny hit that caused a puncture. (But I am not here to judge)
Anyway, my point is that we have had this debate for years about the tire, Fuel Dragsters and Fuel Coups run on. (My tire about took my rear wing off going 320 in the lights at Reading in 2003. We had to borrow a wing from Bernstein to run the next round.)
Are they safe? Well, I think the tire engineers have said that they were not designed to go over 325 MPH. (They should know. And they made that statement when Fuel Coup bodies weren’t making the down force they are today.)
Why isn’t the real issue being discussed? It’s down force!
Why, this year, are we seeing Fuel Coups having the catastrophic tire problem, and crashes? It’s down force!
Why have we seen the crashes happen to the Force Team Mustangs lately? It’s down force!
Everyone complains that they can’t get the Mustang bodies that Force runs. Guess it is because his makes more…. (Yep, you guessed it)….DOWN FORCE!
Fuel Dragsters are still having a tire problem, but they haven’t crashed lately. (At the top end interview. did you catch Schumacher’s comments to Hot Rod about his rear tires?)
If any of those statements are true…why don’t we take some of that down force away?
As a previous team owner, I know first hand that every time there is an engine rule change to slow the Nitro cars down…it costs a lot of money. Why don’t the team owners go after the easy solution and take some wing away. Take some spoiler away. Let the tuners work on the clutch. Let the drivers work on getting the car through the middle and top end of the track.
Who cares if the Fuel Cars run 300 MPH or 330 MPH? (Oh, I know who cares…the TIRES care!!)
My 2 cents worth,
Paul Romine
LOVING THE LIBERMAN TRIBUTE
What a great tribute to the Jungle Man, the best Funny Car driver ever, the best showman ever, a hero to many.
Bob Honeybrook
Sydney, Australia
