I have a Question thats haunting me on this weekeds racing

Johnny Mallonee
@johnny-mallonee
14 years ago
3,259 posts
Last year almost at this time Scott Kalletta lost his life in NJ. where he lost his chute on a track way to short to allow a back up plan on stopping. Then again this week the same thing happened,a car lost its chute which cost the death of another driver.Question being why are they allowing this speed directly into a wall if no chute deploys. Short and simple if Nascar has a car climb a wall they build a catch net to not allow it again, if walls were to hard the safer barriers were installed. if a car gets airborn flaps are installed to prevent this but we just dont drive into a wall head on. I might be crude in my description but that doesnt seem to be a win situation at all, but then again I may be wrong. Whats your opinion on this, or am I wrong on what I think Im seeing here.
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 08:51:05AM
Bill Pratt
@bill-pratt
14 years ago
460 posts
Hi Johnny. You are on target, but those measures were in effect. You just can't stop a 250 mph car without chutes. Here is part of the official reporting:"The Top Alcohol Funny Car driver [Neal Parker] was pronounced dead after his Excavator Chevy Monte Carlo blasted through the sand trap at the end of the track, through one of two catch-nets and over several rows of protective barrels. The improved netting had been installed in response to Funny Car driver Scott Kalittas fiery, high-speed death in 2008.
Harvey Tollison
@harvey-tollison
14 years ago
226 posts
Nascar also reguates engines to keep the speed down . Who cares if the go 200 or 250 if it's not a good race . Back in the 60's they ran under 200 and still put on a good show. Nowdays you are lucky to see both cars make it down the strip .
David Roberts
@david-roberts
14 years ago
2 posts
Ive always been told it is better to flip the car than hit something head on. Now that may be wrong but look at everyone that has flipped a funny car they 95 percent of the time come out of the car alive.
Barb2
@barb2
14 years ago
91 posts
You also need to take into consideration the situation both drivers encountered before their deaths. Scott experienced a devistativing explosion and the chutes just dropped to tangle in the wheelie bars. The way the body dropped on the chassis didn't help the matter either. Most funny car bodies leave the chassis in this type of explosion which would give the driver more freedom to contol stopping and deploy the cutes fully. From what I have been told by several, Scott was most likely rendered incapicated by the explosion making it impossible to take any actions to control the outcome.It is truly sad to lose any participant, be it a driver, crew member or spectator, at any track. Raceway Park, NHRA, NASCAR or any other sanctioning body have done a lot to make all tracks safe for the competitors. Any form of racing strives to keep unfortunate incidents from happening but it is a sport where you go out there and something you never want to happen does.