SFI CHASSIS COMMITTEE, NHRA ENGAGED IN CREATING NEW SFI SPEC FOR TOP FUEL DRAGSTERS
As Leah Pruett's Top Fuel dragster broke apart and went careening through the sky above World Wide Technology Raceway, a monster sent a message that it might have been dormant for a half-decade, but it was still out there ready to attack at the most inopportune moments. To clarify, this "monster" has been the inexplicable buckling of the Top Fuel chassis at the front of the footbox, inevitably in most cases breaking the chassis in half and sending both sections skyward and subsequently crashing to the ground. On multiple occasions, sources have indicated in some instances, the chassis have buckled but returned to the pits intact.
NHRA's Director of Engineering Tim White said the sanctioning body, in conjunction with SFI's Chassis Committee, hasn't stopped seeking a solution since the 2015 incidents, which left both Larry Dixon and Phil Lamattina with back injuries.
White told CompetitionPlus.com in an exclusive interview that reasonable modifications to the current spec can be expected for 2021, with the belief a new front-end spec will be mandated for 2022.
"SFI controls the Chassis committee membership, which is also the voting group for any (2.3 & 10.5) chassis spec changes," White said. "The committee is made up of various chassis builders that are involved in the nitro categories. Right now, they're working on an interim chassis change for 2021, which we hope is available in the next couple of weeks at the latest.
"I believe the [2021] spec change will potentially require additional X-members, as well as tightening up the spec a little in the way tubes are mounted in the chassis to add strength."
The growing consensus is the [2022] SFI Top Fuel chassis spec will mandate a thicker wall tubing for the front half of the chassis, a suggestion reportedly offered not long after Dixon's accident but not adopted.
White said the 2022 mandates couldn't be implemented immediately, as essentially the 2021 season is underway even though testing and racing hasn't begun.
"To require Top Fuel teams to front half their vehicles this close to beginning the 2021 season would be costly and hard to get achieved by the time we start racing," White explained.
Interestingly, NHRA does not have a vote at the table on the chassis committee but ultimately has veto power. However, vetoing a suggestion by the SFI Committee is an infrequent occurrence, White added.
Sources have told CompetitionPlus.com NHRA will likely approve for 2022 a revised spec which replaces the .049-inch wall thickness with either .058", and .065" thickness.
"Right now, we have to focus on 2021," White explained. "There were lessons learned from Leah's incident. We learn from every accident we have had on track. The last changes made to the TF chassis spec were following the Dixon and Lamattina's incidents where lessons learned were incorporated."
White, who is in his eleventh season within this role for NHRA, says there's always a concern this kind of incident could happen again.
"One of my goals, since I started here, that we never see a serious accident, or if we do, that the driver walks away," White added. "But is that concern there? Sure, it's always there. They're going 300-plus miles an hour. But at the same time, I feel very confident that we have one of the safest race cars out there."
While Dixon didn't suffer as severe injuries as he could have, and Pruett walked away without any significant damage to her body, there were differences in the two horrific crashes which could explain the severity.
"The failures were in different locations [in the chassis ] and the events leading up to the incidents were different," White explained. "But I believe after thorough analysis and the investigations were completed, we are pretty sure we know the cause of both accidents. And that's where the changes that the SFI chassis committee has and are making coming from.
"The nice thing about the SFI Chassis group is that the teams are also involved. When something like Leah's incident happens, everyone gets together and shares information and knowledge. So it's always a learning event when incidents take place, and we're all working together to make NHRA Drag Racing better."
Making the dragsters safer up front isn't the only area of focus in the coming weeks. Until possibly a thicker wall tubing is mandated, the SFI committee and NHRA are working with teams to improve the seats in the dragsters as a means of absorbing the impact as the dragsters fall from the sky. Seats must be foamed with energy-absorbing material and formed to the driver of the vehicle's body, from the top of the driver's back to the driver's upper thighs.
"NASCAR did a study and found that with the proper seats, they've eliminated a majority of their lower back issues," White explained. "We're continuously working on updating the safety requirements with the chassis and in the driver's compartment area."
Additionally, NHRA now requires SFI 45.2 mandatory anywhere the driver's helmet may contact the roll-cage components during tire shake or an accident.
The bottom line, as White sees it, NHRA is doing its due diligence to make drag racing the safest it can be.
"We are always working to improve the driver's safety," White said. "We are also in constant contact with other sanctioning bodies (NASCAR, IndyCar, FIA, etc.) to share information and work together to improve the sport.
And right now, this appears to be the best solution to erase a monster that can strike at a moment's notice.
For a limited amount of time, you can get all 4 https://t.co/Reh86n8GFm face coverings for just $40. Or any variation of the four masks for just $40. Click here to get yours - https://t.co/wSrXmpHBQm pic.twitter.com/L0JVyB2Mnr
— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) December 30, 2020