Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I think I have seen more tail tanks torn loose from sprintcars thios year than ever before.  I also do not remember this many ruptured tai; tank bladders.  About 3-4 years ago the WOO was looking at a way to keep tail tanks attached to cars better.  I do not see why that would be a big problem.  I wonder if bladder manufacturer have made them thinner to save weight.  I realize some of these alcohal spills were because hose was torn loose from tank.  I think there is danger to fans and drivers.

True, but do you want to see a 160 pound tail tank go into grandstands?

You're doing it again. You're a sprint car fan. Why not join in the discussion instead of just trolling?

Dumbo, I am 84 yrs old and saw my first race in 1946.  I owned a sprintcar for 33 years.  I was at Knoxville when a woman in graNDSTANDS GOT HIT IN HEAD WITH A SHOCK i COULD NAME MORE THINGDS BUT WILL NOT  tHE woo HAS LOOKED AT TAIL TANK PROBLEMS AND PUT AUTOMATIC FIRE EXT. ON ALL CARS.  tHEY HAVE ALSO LOOKED AT TAIL TANKS COMING OFF.  i EXPECT THEM TO DO SOMERTHING.

Earlier in the year at Port Jeff Halligan backed straight across the track in turn 1 into the guardrail and blew the tank off the car and spilled all the fuel across the track. Thankfully there was no fire. The owner of the 98 car Tom Chiapelli started using a teather to secure the tank to the car. Area Auto Racing had an article about it. 

Just to be clear Tom Chiapelli doesn't own Halligan's car. 

Just to play devil's advocate here.  if there's a wreck where the tail tank is forced loose from the car, do you really want it staying close to the car and dropping gallons of fuel on a hot race car with a potentially injured driver who can't get out of the car?  I'm not saying I want the tank to fly in the crowd but I would think there would be a far greater risk of a tether keeping that tank close enough to the wrecked car and cause a horrible situation for the driver than it flying into the crowd, they're not exactly light.

Bladders have probably gotten too thin in the name of weight savings.  And shells need a metal strap the width of the shell inside at the top and bottom that bolts through to the frame.  That's not that big of change and would likely keep almost all of them on the car.  And there;s no reason it should add more then $100 to the cost of a shell.  The current system of 4 little inserts molded into the fiberglass has never been good.  Everyone has old shells sitting around that has inserts pulled out.  And putting a tether on which would allow the tank to still break loose but remained attached to the car is possibly worse.  Who wants a tank full of fuel swinging around in a crash.  Make thicker bladders that are less likey to get cut or tear and shells that actually attach solidly to the frame and we'd likely see way less tank/fire issues in a crash. 

Also, how many onboard fire extinguishers have actually put out or at least knocked down a fire in a sprint car?  There's been several fires this year.  I don't know how many had extinguishers or how many times one actually did what's they're supposed to do.  I have seen some fly off the car.  To me that was a kneejerk reaction that cost everyone money that hasn't really done anything for safety.  Improving the fuel tanks would likely do more for safety than the fire bottles have. 

I have a lot of faith that santioning bodies from F1, to Nascar, to Indy, to the dirt world will continue to do exactly what they have done over the past 100 years-----make the racing safer for fans and spectators.  I have no doubt that if there is a safety concern regarding fires and tailtanks, it will be addressed in as timely of a fashion as possible.  Many won't think the timeline is quick enough when something needs to be addressed, but we live in a society that wants instant results and we have a network of keyboard "experts" worldwide, most of whom have never had the responsibility of supervising or overseeing 10 people, let alone making changes in organizations affecting thousands of people.  

If there is indeed a bigger problem with fires, it will be addressed.  I say "if" because it seems there is, but we are much more connected to every track in real time than we even were 5 years ago.  The number of people watching these races live due to streaming has exploded (pardon the pun) exponentially.  So of course we are going to see more fires and wrecks live, and get instant alerts on others we aren't watching live.  If all of the recent issues would have happened 10 years ago, I doubt 90% of us would have ever even heard about them.  

In the mean time, the drivers know their risks, know the caliber of the fire and safety crews at each track, and we as spectators know the risks we face at the track, and try to minimize them as much as possible.  To me, the criticism of some of the safety crews this summer has been uncalled for.  These safety crews continue to get better and better every year, and it's unrealistic both logistically, and financially, to demand all crews be up to par with places like Knoxville immediately.  

If you were walking through the park and your dog crapped on the grass, you would just say "if you don't like my crap, step over it." That doesn't make it right. Hoseheads is one of the few websites left where sprint car fans can talk about sprint cars. What you're doing is basically just crapping on the grass for attention.

You're a sprint car car fan. Try talking about sprint cars. The stance you've taken recently only makes you look foolish. The deeper you get into your tough guy schtick, you more insecure you seem. You can do better if you stop trying to impress people with insults.

In my lifetime I've seen lots of sprint car crashes, including one fatal. I've seen cars on fire, cars crash into the infield and I've seen parts fly over the fence into the grandstand. At one race in the early 80's, a font axle came over the fence and landed about 25 feet away from me in the grass. I know it's a dangerous sport. But there's no reason not to try and make it a little safer for everyone involved. 

 Talk to Schatz about methanol fires.  He backed it into turn two wall At chico in the 90's, ass end first and  blue fire was huge. He had severe burns...It appears that safety is lacking for some reason.  Another momenet was the rear end of Bill Balogs car dismembered itself at Eldora  and at least 15 feet in the air...not acceptable whatsoever...

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

Well said, ditto.  Facts are facts.  The "whar if" crowd will also be here...

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

Do the sprint car fire supression systems work? I haven't seen any work properly yet. I have seen a couple leave the car , and know of a couple others that separated the clamps enough that they were very close to leaving the car too.