While it makes it that much more impressive to realize these guys are capable of moving 3,000 pounds so quickly down a 660-foot strip of pavement, at 170 mph-plus that’s an awful lot of kinetic energy to dissipate if (when?) something goes wrong. The class has been fortunate so far, with remarkably few severe wrecks to give real pause to what might happen.
The worst I witnessed this season was Lance Styck’s scary ride at Albany, GA, that essentially destroyed his late-model Mustang. In a testament to his Kirk-built chassis, Styck walked away with only minor injuries, but also because most of his car’s kinetic energy was used up in a series of vicious snap rolls before he hit the top-end wall. Had he impacted the wall at a bad angle first, who can say what the outcome might have been.
Racers being racers, they’re always going to push the envelope, seeking to shave that last thousandth off their E.T. and eke out that final mile per hour as they cross the finish line at full song. Those who would forego the latest trick go-fast part in favor of purchasing more advanced safety gear are few and far between. So it’s up to sanctioning bodies and rules makers to protect their racing customers from themselves.
Obviously, that means establishing and inspecting for specific standards in chassis construction, safety equipment, and driver licensing, but controlling the speed between the guardwalls also has to be considered. No doubt, today’s best Top Fuel and Nitro Coupe crew chiefs easily could tune their cars to exceed 350 miles an hour if given free rein. In fact, 350 probably is an overly
conservative speed if fuel racing were to be made a truly unlimited pursuit.
But due to factors such as finite shutdown distances, studies on driver impact survivability, and to a much lesser (and very debatable) extent, cost, the powers that be recognize 330 is about all they want to see on the scoreboard. To that end, they’ve taken steps with blower overdrive, nitro percentages and other mechanical limitations to at least attempt policing of that speed limit.
Drag racing certainly isn’t alone in deciding to limit performance. For their own various reasons, NASCAR, Formula 1, IRL, ALMS, and practically every other major racing series have speed-limiting rules and measures in place. But this isn’t a matter of, “If it’s good for them it must be good for us.” I’m just suggesting it may be time for Outlaw 10.5 promoters to be proactive and do the same before their hand is forced by a tragic accident.
Without question it’s thrilling to watch an Outlaw 10.5 car leap off the starting line, then dance around on those relatively narrow rear slicks as the driver skillfully coaxes it down track in a high-speed balancing act that rivals anything in racing. But the unpredictability of that narrow tire combined with the speed these decidedly heavy racecars are now running is a liability that can no longer be ignored. 
Race safe,
PS. While they’re at it, I’d also like to see Outlaw 10.5 sanctioning bodies requiring their drivers to wear some sort of head-and-neck restraint device. This piece of safety gear no longer falls in the experimental category. Just like the seatbelts and helmet that no sane racer would ever make a pass without, head-and-neck restraint systems are proven to save lives and minimize injury. In fact, why wait to be told to wear one? With Christmas coming up, a head-and-neck restraint would make an ideal gift for any driver in any class in any type of racing. It quite literally could turn out to be the gift of life.
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