DSR MIGHT GIVE IHRA A TRY
If I was Don Schumacher, I think I would have my entire operation show up at the next IHRA race, and at the same time not show up to the next NHRA race. See if the Ivory Tower does not beat a path to his door, hat in hand! They hardly have full fields now, and I am sure they could apologize to him and his sponsors. If Don loses one sponsor over this, he should sue, and keep running IHRA, explaining NHRA will not let him run while suing them for his rights! What a stinking crock!
Richard Burbick
Sebring, Florida
NHRA BITING THE HANDS THAT FEED THEM
Well, as always it’s about NHRA themselves. If there were any companies out there looking at putting marketing dollars into the sport it looks like that is out the window now. I can speak from experience that my company would never put money into an organization that does not know how to take care of the sponsors that take care of them. I am not saying give them anything and everything, but the need to embarrass them on national TV is just wrong.
Thank you.
Matt Ratliff
Radcliff, Kentucky
HARD FEELINGS?
I think the NHRA has a hard on for DSR Racing. I wish the Owners Ass. would put the NHRA in it's place. What they need to do it all professional teams skip a race, and then we will see who wears the pants in this association.
Eric Petersen
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
I wonder what NHRA would do if the fines were not paid and the racer refused to race. NHRA would have no product to sell. The race teams need to organize like a union and take back the power. Hold elections for top NHRA positions by racers only.
Scott Smith
Tustin, California
LIKE A BUG ON A PIN
I hope by the time this story runs its course the pompous asses that permeate the now Wally-less NHRA will, individually and collectively, be forced to make a public apology to DSR racing and to "the Don" as well. I hope the he makes 'em squirm!
Gord Garritty
White Rock, British Columbia
HUSH
Right again, Burkster. Everybody! Shut the f*** up about nitromethane. If the wrong people get involved we might not even be able to use nitromethane as a racing fuel. Remember H2O2? Well, the same thing could happen with nitro..
Bry Schmidt
Fresno, California
A CHEMISTRY LESSON
Had breakfast with one of our city councilmen the other day and in passing he asked about our drag strip and some rumors that someone was selling volatile racing fuels out there in the open. Then he ended the statement with, “At least it isn't that nitromethane stuff." I had to inform him that of all the volatile substances man puts in race cars, nitromethane was probably the least volatile and the most stable.
Bottom line, it's a slow burning cleaning solvent, but obsolete for that function. The Germans used it as a fuel (at one time) for some of their early V-2 rockets, thus the "rocket fuel" moniker. As far as I know, outside of some early experiments, nitromethane was never used in either rocket development or as a primary rocket fuel in the USA. And back in the mid 1960's some of the racers added something like 5-8% of hydrazine. This made nitro go "Bang" from shock if allowed to sit at 70 degrees F for a period of time, and it was quickly outlawed by the sanctioning bodies... all of them!
Ninety-nine percent of the people who perceive "nitro" as an explosive are suffering under the PERCEPTION that it is, not the FACT that it is not, including Congress and the HSC. It's the "nitro" part of the name, I believe. Put another name on it, like "Extra Slow Burning Racing Fuel" and probably half of the viewing audience would leave. They're all waiting for the fuel tank to blow up! Actually, methanol or ethanol are more dangerous, first because of volatility, and then, for what it takes to put an alky fire out; water or contemporary Purple K won't do it. Regular chemical foam won't touch an alky fire. Y' gots to have special foam or the last generation Purple K (or a couple other new chemicals developed just for ethanol).
When I brought that up, back to "Panic One"... until I informed him that the methanol being kept at the track was kept in a steel shipping container, separate from the "racing gasoline." And I also reminded him that during a normal business day in a city our size he had several semi trucks full of ethanol or E85 rolling around city streets without a single thought as to safety of the motorists around them. My nickel's worth...
John Largent
Pueblo, Colorado