KRISHER'S KRASH AFTERMATH

As a result of viewing ESPN videotape and Mark Rebilas’s photographic sequence here on DRO, GM Racing went to work on Monday morning after Ron Krisher’s Seattle crash with in-depth analysis of the top end accident.

Tom Gideon, GM Racing safety engineer and his crew have identified as many as seven areas they want to address in order to make future Pro Stock car designs safer. First on the list is giving more space around the driver’s foot area so relatively simple mistakes as happened to Krisher in Seattle will be more forgiving by allowing for more foot room especially when braking at speed.

Then there’s an area revealed when Krisher’s door separated as the car skidded on the top end. There's a triangular area near the driver’s feet that opens up the engine compartment to the driver on some Jerry Haas-built cars. The GM engineers think it would make the driver safer to fill in that space to create an enclosed engine compartment in the event of a crash.

Another is a continuing assignment: an automatic fuel shutoff to prevent fires from a spewing electric fuel pump. This is a quest that GM has been on, but finding reliable sensors that will understand wheel hop or tire shake and not kill the fuel supply have been tough to find. Yet another area, as has been found in Sport Compact and Funny Car racing, is the possibility for parachute shroud lines to tangle with wheelie bars that has been controlled by webbing between the bars, but has yet to make it onto the Pro Stockers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Certainly the HANS device or a head and neck restraint shows how important it is to driver safety , but Krisher’s steering wheel was also severely bent, so GM is trying to find out what hit it with such force, was it Ron’s helmet, his forearm or what? The outpouring of support after the popular driver’s crash once again shows how drag racers band together when adversity strikes as a back-up Cobalt was being loaded from Krisher’s Colorado shop by his competitors the morning after Seattle for Ron to pilot at Sonoma. Krisher qualified 11th with a 6.718/205.51 MPH losing in the second round to Greg Stanfield. (Darr Hawthorne photo) [8-1-2005]

 

THIS BUELL'S FOR YOU

The Agent hears a rumor that the sponsor for the Ken Black-backed Top Fuel car that will be fielded by the Kalitta organization might be Harley Davidson/Buell. If that rumor turns out to be true then the motto for the team could be "This Buell's for you." Sorry about the pun, Mr. Busch. [8-1-2005]

NEW STRATUS STATUS FOR MOPAR RACERS

One the Agent's operatives says that a brand new Stratus Pro Stock body is being produced for NHRA and IHRA Pro Stocks. According to the Agent's source, the body is radically different aerodynamically from the Stratus body currently being used. The Agent was watching the NHRA event from Sonoma and the only way he could identify a brand was when he read the words GTO, Cobalt, or saw the Mopar Pentastar decal on the car. Of course that's also the only way he can identify the Funny Car bodies except for Force's Mustangs. [8-1-2005]