Drag Racing's Dilemma

by Jeff Burk

Herbert's explosion at Pomona was a very costly one. Herbert figures it would cost about $100,000 to repair the damage. According to Herbert the engine was a total write-off. The back half of the chassis and all of the related components would have to be replaced. The explosion probably kept Herbert from qualifying for the race, which cost him not only the qualifying money but dropped him a couple of spots in the points championship.

Top Fuel racers in NHRA have suffered through a series of catastrophic engine failures during the last six weeks. Gary Scelzi, driving the Winston team car, had a couple of severe engine explosions at Topeka; Eddie Hill had one each at Dallas and Houston. The Houston incident resulted in an injury to Hill's back that may result in his retirement. Dean Skuza had an engine splitting boomer at Houston and then at Pomona Doug Herbert had one of the most violent engine explosions in drag racing history, which resulted in injuries to a number of fans.

DRO talked to Doug Herbert to see if he could shed some light on what caused the explosion. Herbert and others we have talked to speculated that the cause of the explosion at Pomona may have resulted from a malfunctioning ignition system. He speculates, and it is all speculation since the engine was literally blown apart leaving very little in the way of forensic evidence, that the plug wires were kinked by the recently NHRA-mandated ballistic cover for the valve covers.

"We didn't start having these explosions until NHRA made us put these covers on," Herbert told DRO. "We think putting the covers over the wires may have kinked them and led to ignition crossfiring and the explosion."

He went on to say that one of the steps his team was taking to prevent another explosion was to install more insulation on the plug wires and ends and to take measures to route the plug wires on the engine in such a way that they wouldn't be kinked when the protective cover was installed on the valve cover.

"We are working to build some test fixtures to see if we can determine just what happened," he explained.

As to the actual explosion, Herbert told DRO that he had no prior warning that the engine might explode. "The engine sounded a little funny to me and I adjusted the fuel trim a little but everything seemed OK. I hit the throttle and it just exploded. I saw stars and it rung my bell a little and I got a little scrape from something flying off of the engine but I'm alright and thankfully no one was seriously injured."

Photos by Jeff Burk and James Drew

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