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Photo Courtesy of
NHRA |
"I don't want a comforting speech. I want some
action," Scelzi said. "I'm tired of the smoke
and mirrors. I want to know what their goals
are for next year and what is the plan for 2006?
Where is this all headed? One thing we don't
need is a knee-jerk reaction, but there needs
to be a business plan implemented.
"I want to hear something before the end of
the year," he said, "or I'll think it's a big
bunch of hogwash."
He said that essentially is what forced him
from the Top Fuel ranks following the 2001 season.
He said he discussed his safety concerns with
Alley and Light in 2001 at the U.S. Nationals,
fresh from the accident in which his dragster
broke and collided with John Smith's, seriously
injuring his competitor. He said the 1 -hour
conversation was "all for naught," causing him
to say, "I'm going Funny Car racing."
He, like many others in NHRA's nitro ranks,
expressed concern about the tremendous amount
of downforce on a dragster's rear wing. And
Scelzi understands the issue of a vehicle's
structural integrity -- because not only did
he endure several wrecks of his own, see two
ugly ones each for Tony Schumacher and Larry
Dixon and one by Brandon Bernstein, but he and
his brothers own a truck body manufacturing
firm in Fresno, Calif.
He questioned why such a task force wasn't
established following any of those incidents,
two of which occurred at the same event. Furthermore,
he said he has other issues he would like to
see the committee address. They include developing
a monostrut wing for the dragsters, introducing
driver protection in case of contact with the
wall, and moving scoreboards away from the retaining
walls along the track.
Partly because of liability issues, the ongoing
investigation into the cause of Russell's crash,
and the fact the NHRA task force is in its infant
stages, no one is saying publicly that too much
down-force on the rear wing is the root of the
problem. No one is saying what Goodyear, the
nitro classes' sole supplier of the slicks,
has added or will add to the discussions.
No one specified why Funny Cars were included
in the NHRA directives issued since Russell's
accident. But Archambeault said, "Discussion
of performance parameters for Top Fuel and Funny
Car have been going on well before what happened
in St. Louis."
Force offered this assessment: "They took the
nitro out of us, five percent. They made us
run the tires. I've got a plate behind my head,
because the stuff's flying at you from behind.
Solve the problem -- take the wing off the dragsters
-- and then we'd be the kings of the sport.
We'd outrun 'em with aerodynamics. Funny Car
cuts through the air and has less drag. We know
how to make more horsepower. We just don't know
how to use it. We can't make it stick to the
ground. And the dragster, they can put that
wing on it.
"We ran that (new) tire," he added. "The (previous)
tire didn't bother me, but they switched it.
All's fair in love and war. They can do everything.
They can make us run in the snow. Then you'll
see who the best is. That's the key."
Jeff Burk photo |
Coil (shown) tried to put the current climate
of concern in perspective. "Racing is dangerous,"
he said. "It's hard for drivers to buy life-insurance
policies, yet there have been only two deaths
out of however many hundreds of competitors.
They each make a couple of hundred runs a year.
This has to be the safest professional motorsport
a guy could be involved in. That's a better
safety record than walking across the street,
it seems. Hopefully we'll learn how to make
it better than that."
Scelzi said he applauds the effort, which was
scheduled to resume with a second committee
meeting before the July 30-Aug. 1 race at Sonoma,
Calif. He added that he has faith in the reported
list of committee members. "I trust everyone
mentioned," he said. "I'm comfortable with those
people. I can't be mad at NHRA. I just wish
we had made some changes long ago. We do have
absolutely the best drag racing series. I just
want to see it be safer." 
What do
you think? Send your email to response@dragracingonline.com.
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