Head Smarts
This angle shows the R3 hooked up and the yellow lanyards are hooked to the front of the helmet with Velcro so I can give them a small tug when I turn off the track and release the tether straps and take the helmet off.
Most of you who read these tech columns are racers, crew or family of racers. This tech column will be short and to the point. The main goal is to send out a reminder to ALWAYS THINK ABOUT SAFETY.
Recently, I have had a couple good friends get involved in crashes on the drag strip. One was a dragster and he ended up rolling it a couple times past the finish line and the other was an S/Comp Corvette that had a dragster come into his lane after the finish line and they collided. Thank God, neither was hurt and the cars can be fixed.
Both crashes involved surprise mechanical failures. We have all been running all season and maybe we have overlooked something. Now is a good time to grab that flashlight and crawl under your car and check some things out.
- Ladder bar or four-link rod ends. If they have play in them, get them replaced now. Have
you replaced the bolts lately? How long have the rod ends been in there? They can’t last forever; they do fatigue and the results can be disastrous.
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- What about steering components? Have you checked the rod ends on them or tie-rod ends? Doing wheelstands is cool, but think of the load you put on them when the front end comes back down.
Have the brake lines been rubbing on a sharp piece of metal and you didn’t notice it? Take a look, follow the lines and make sure they are as good as when the car was assembled.
- Parachute been opened lately? I know guys who run 170 mph and have not used their parachute in years. Some have not been out of the pack for three or four years. If your brakes fail at 170 you will need the parachute to work. Please take it out during the week, air it out and make sure it isn’t rotting away. I sprinkle mine with talcum powder so it is slippery, and when we pull the parachute handle we know it will work.
Note: The dragsters and door cars are getting faster and faster and we are all becoming used to the speed. If you own or drive one of these cars, PLEASE use the parachute at the next race at least once to make sure it works. It could be the difference between life and death -- THINK ABOUT IT!
