NEW NHRA TF CHASSIS SPEC
The NHRA has legalized a
new chassis specification for the Top Fuel division and labeled it as SFI Spec
2.3N and it will become effective as of April 21, 2008. The gives all teams the
opportunity to have new cars or existing ones brought into spec by the NHRA
Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.
The new spec will be
one-and-a-half inch .095 chromoly tubing on the top and bottom rail with
sleeves in each bend. The bend at the rear firewall, at top and bottom will
require a sleeve. The bend at the front of the motor that goes up to the hoop
will also require a sleeve in it too.
“It can be the same size tubing and wall thickness but the kicker is that it can be heat-treated or non-heat treated,” said chassis builder Brad Hadman. “That a legal thing for the NHRA. No one is going to build a heat-treated car because there’s no reason to.
The NHRA has legalized a
new chassis specification for the Top Fuel division and labeled it as SFI Spec
2.3N and it will become effective as of April 21, 2008. The gives all teams the
opportunity to have new cars or existing ones brought into spec by the NHRA
Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.
The new spec will be
one-and-a-half inch .095 chromoly tubing on the top and bottom rail with
sleeves in each bend. The bend at the rear firewall, at top and bottom will
require a sleeve. The bend at the front of the motor that goes up to the hoop
will also require a sleeve in it too.
“It can be the same size
tubing and wall thickness but the kicker is that it can be heat-treated or
non-heat treated,” said chassis builder Brad Hadman. “That a legal thing for
the NHRA. No one is going to build a heat-treated car because there’s no reason
to.
“It gets the NHRA out of
any future or existing lawsuits because from a legal standpoint, they can say
nothing is wrong with heat treated tubing and you can still use it. It’s the
same thing they did with normalized the last time around. It was so bastardized
that no one would do it, but there is a spec.”
The NHRA has yet to declare
the new SFI Funny Car chassis spec, although a source tells Torco’s
CompetitionPlus.com that it is coming soon and will be verbalized much the same
as the new Top Fuel dragster spec.
Sources have indicated that
Hadman has taken an order for a new Funny Car chassis for Kenny Bernstein’s. Hadman
declined to comment.
Hadman did say that he’s
yet to start on Gary Scelzi’s new chassis. The delay has been in waiting
officially on the new spec.
“I don’t want to start one
and down they road change it,” said Hadman. “I’d just as soon to wait a week or
two and we’ll still get them their cars in time to test. We’ll just have to
work harder. I just don’t trust them. There has been all of this argument that
we need to put all of this bracing in the cars like Murf [