MORE ON THE NORWALK ‘WET TRACK” SITUATION
Wed, 2008-07-23 18:35
On Friday afternoon, June 28th the first of four scheduled pro
qualifying sessions at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk
was largely aborted due to a temporarily insurmountable problem of
water seeping up through the track surface near the finish line.
Valiant efforts by both the NHRA Safety Safari and the staff of Summit
Motorsports Park weren’t enough to keep the top end of the track safe
and dry, resulting in the cancellation of the evening’s activities.
A complete session of Pro Stock Motorcycle was completed, which was followed by three-and-a-half pairs of Pro Stock cars before the action ground to a premature halt.
But that’s not the whole story. Mile-High Nationals P/SM runner-up Steve Johnson was in the third pair of motorcycles, and was stunned to find himself running through enough water in the right lane of the track just beyond the finish line to scare himself silly. Johnson rode his Suzuki directly to the end of the track, where he informed the driver of the Safety Safari truck that there was water on the track. He remained there long enough to hear the radio call made to, and received by other NHRA officials in Race Control. However, there was no stoppage of the running, nor was the track checked for water by members of the Safety Safari or other NHRA officials. On Friday afternoon, June 28th the first of four scheduled pro qualifying sessions at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk was largely aborted due to a temporarily insurmountable problem of water seeping up through the track surface near the finish line. Valiant efforts by both the NHRA Safety Safari and the staff of Summit Motorsports Park weren’t enough to keep the top end of the track safe and dry, resulting in the cancellation of the evening’s activities.
A complete session of Pro Stock Motorcycle was completed, which was followed by three-and-a-half pairs of Pro Stock cars before the action ground to a premature halt.
But that’s not the whole story. Mile-High Nationals P/SM runner-up Steve Johnson was in the third pair of motorcycles, and was stunned to find himself running through enough water in the right lane of the track just beyond the finish line to scare himself silly. Johnson rode his Suzuki directly to the end of the track, where he informed the driver of the Safety Safari truck that there was water on the track. He remained there long enough to hear the radio call made to, and received by other NHRA officials in Race Control. However, there was no stoppage of the running, nor was the track checked for water by members of the Safety Safari or other NHRA officials.
Two pairs behind Johnson Craig Treble’s Lartigue & Treble Suzuki, running in the left lane, got close enough to the centerline at the top end of the track to literally splash through an apparently increasing amount of water on the track. Treble confirmed that his team’s video of the run showed water splashing off the bike at the top end. He did not report this to the Safety Safari, apparently assuming that it was so visibly obvious that someone would check the track following his run. This apparently did not happen.
Numerous motorcycle racers have expressed their concerns over this situation, pointing out that at 185 mph they’re the fastest racers in NHRA Drag Racing without parachutes and only a single, minimal front tire contact patch on the track. For them a wet racing or shut-down surface can be particularly dangerous. They need a clean, dry surface to stop safely.
On July 2nd CompetitionPlus.com send a formal request to NHRA senior vp Graham Light asking for an explanation as to why Johnson’s warning was apparently ignored. Five days later we received a response from the NHRA media relations director, Jerry Archambeault in which he stated he would “speak to Graham (Light) upon his return to the office.”
Another 10 days elapsed without any response from the NHRA, so another formal request for information was forwarded to Mr. Archambeault. On July 22nd, confirming what he’d said during a telephone conversation the previous day, Mr. Archambeault wrote in an e-mail: “I want to reiterate what I said: Steve reported to the Safari at the end of the track. They (Safari – parenthesis added for clarification purposes) told Graham that he reported something shiny just past the finish line. Safari told Graham they checked and it was nothing. NHRA continued to run PSM and then 8 PS cars… At that time Safari discovered the seepage. NHRA stopped racing, tried to stop (the) seepage but were unsuccessful and eventually cancelled the day of racing.”
We have confirmed with Johnson that he specifically told the Safety Safari that there was water on the track, and did not say there was “something shiny just past the finish line.” Further, two witnesses who requested anonymity have stated unequivocally that following Johnson’s warning no one physically climbed over the wall or in any other manner appeared to have checked the track for water.
A complete session of Pro Stock Motorcycle was completed, which was followed by three-and-a-half pairs of Pro Stock cars before the action ground to a premature halt.
But that’s not the whole story. Mile-High Nationals P/SM runner-up Steve Johnson was in the third pair of motorcycles, and was stunned to find himself running through enough water in the right lane of the track just beyond the finish line to scare himself silly. Johnson rode his Suzuki directly to the end of the track, where he informed the driver of the Safety Safari truck that there was water on the track. He remained there long enough to hear the radio call made to, and received by other NHRA officials in Race Control. However, there was no stoppage of the running, nor was the track checked for water by members of the Safety Safari or other NHRA officials. On Friday afternoon, June 28th the first of four scheduled pro qualifying sessions at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk was largely aborted due to a temporarily insurmountable problem of water seeping up through the track surface near the finish line. Valiant efforts by both the NHRA Safety Safari and the staff of Summit Motorsports Park weren’t enough to keep the top end of the track safe and dry, resulting in the cancellation of the evening’s activities.
A complete session of Pro Stock Motorcycle was completed, which was followed by three-and-a-half pairs of Pro Stock cars before the action ground to a premature halt.
But that’s not the whole story. Mile-High Nationals P/SM runner-up Steve Johnson was in the third pair of motorcycles, and was stunned to find himself running through enough water in the right lane of the track just beyond the finish line to scare himself silly. Johnson rode his Suzuki directly to the end of the track, where he informed the driver of the Safety Safari truck that there was water on the track. He remained there long enough to hear the radio call made to, and received by other NHRA officials in Race Control. However, there was no stoppage of the running, nor was the track checked for water by members of the Safety Safari or other NHRA officials.
Two pairs behind Johnson Craig Treble’s Lartigue & Treble Suzuki, running in the left lane, got close enough to the centerline at the top end of the track to literally splash through an apparently increasing amount of water on the track. Treble confirmed that his team’s video of the run showed water splashing off the bike at the top end. He did not report this to the Safety Safari, apparently assuming that it was so visibly obvious that someone would check the track following his run. This apparently did not happen.
Numerous motorcycle racers have expressed their concerns over this situation, pointing out that at 185 mph they’re the fastest racers in NHRA Drag Racing without parachutes and only a single, minimal front tire contact patch on the track. For them a wet racing or shut-down surface can be particularly dangerous. They need a clean, dry surface to stop safely.
On July 2nd CompetitionPlus.com send a formal request to NHRA senior vp Graham Light asking for an explanation as to why Johnson’s warning was apparently ignored. Five days later we received a response from the NHRA media relations director, Jerry Archambeault in which he stated he would “speak to Graham (Light) upon his return to the office.”
Another 10 days elapsed without any response from the NHRA, so another formal request for information was forwarded to Mr. Archambeault. On July 22nd, confirming what he’d said during a telephone conversation the previous day, Mr. Archambeault wrote in an e-mail: “I want to reiterate what I said: Steve reported to the Safari at the end of the track. They (Safari – parenthesis added for clarification purposes) told Graham that he reported something shiny just past the finish line. Safari told Graham they checked and it was nothing. NHRA continued to run PSM and then 8 PS cars… At that time Safari discovered the seepage. NHRA stopped racing, tried to stop (the) seepage but were unsuccessful and eventually cancelled the day of racing.”
We have confirmed with Johnson that he specifically told the Safety Safari that there was water on the track, and did not say there was “something shiny just past the finish line.” Further, two witnesses who requested anonymity have stated unequivocally that following Johnson’s warning no one physically climbed over the wall or in any other manner appeared to have checked the track for water.
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