True Street, Protest??

[d1269]

Is it true that there is a protest buyout in True Street on safety equipment?
It must be since we experienced this in Cordova,Il. We passed tech, was allowed to run, and after everyone had a chance to average out their runs one racer protested because we did not have a parachute. Did anyone know that this was possibly? Well we were still the fastest and was the only one to make an 8 sec. pass. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

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[George Klass]

Actually, this is partly true and partly false. The car in question is an absolutly flawless killer black Mustang owned by Lee Howie of Groveport, OH. Lee's Mustang was DQ'd, but not because of a protest. Lee's car made the 3 passes (157, 152, & 152 MPH). The problem was that Lee's car did not have a parachute, an NHRA/IHRA mandatory item for any 150+MPH car. Lee knew the rules in advance and has a 'chute but apperently didn't have time to mount it on the car. We are very serious about the safety rules and there was nothing that we could do but DQ his runs. The lack of a 'chute was overlooked by me during the tech but the responsibility is the drivers, not me, and as everybody knows by now, tech goes on until the meet is over. There was no protest, though several other participants, including the Cordova tower alerted me about the problem. There was nothing that I could do about the DQ.

[d1269]

George, that sounds good except for the fact that you stated that other participants had protested and you also said that you would have let it slide if it had not been for that. The True Street rules state that tech is done PRIOR to the event, in which we passed. Also the rule books says that "no protest is allowed after the first round has started". And it is awful funny that you nor any track tech official said anything about it until the race was over and everyone had time to figure out who the winner was. In accordance to NHRA rules anyone running over 150mph is required to have a chute. If this requirement is not met then the car is not allowed to run.
However, the car did run, it was the fastest and it passed all the test and should have been the winner. What took place in Cordova was wrong. Of all the shoot outs I've been to nothing like this has ever happened.
One other thing is that we were not allowed to safety inspect the other cars,even if we were given the oppurtunity we would have considered it ridiculous. If a closer inspection would have been done you would have noticed that no windows nets were in use. Also a few cars did not have SFI approved balancers. What about neck collars? We had one and I never saw another.
What you may not have realized is the fact that this was a business advertisement opprurtunity for us. But instead of having the winning spot, we get a DQ and last spot. It's hard to increase your business when you have been DQ'd from a race. It makes it look like we had to cheat to win, When in fact we were the fastest and and met all the rules. If you look at it in this perspective you can see how it is a slap in the face.
It would be nice for it to be noted that we did run the fastest and that the only reason that we did not win was because we just got the car together and did not have time to install the chute prior to the race.

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[George Klass]

OK, Lee. You were the fastest and the only reason that you weren't declared the winner was because your car didn't have a parachute. For the record, Lee's car ran an 8.983, 9.216, & 9.177 et for an average of 9.130. The eventual winner's average was 9.164. The point is that there is no use crying about being DQ'd and trying to point fingers at someone else. The responsability to make sure your car is legal is yours and yours alone, particularly if you are trying to use your car for advertising purposes. The situation is that you purchased the parachute (obviously you knew that you would require one) and you didn't install it. I don't want to beat this to death but you are accountable for what happened, not me, not the track, not the other competitors, just you. And I know that you know it, too.

[QTRMILE]

Aren't true street cars supposed to have windshield wipers? Or at least the motor?

You've done more to lose business for yourself by whinning than FFW did by rightly DQ'ing you for a gross violation of a known and standard rule.

Beautiful car, just finish it before the next event. I'd love to see you have the first 8 second average in true street.

Later, Rob

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'82 GT 351
'91 almost stocker
'82 F250 bruiser

[1Quick50stang]

I heard what happened in Cordova and feel that it was not right. It is true that there is no protest. And as far as I am aware in NHRA/IHRA events they do not disqualify people for not having the proper safety equipment. Of course the car should have not been allowed to run but because of poor tech it was.
I've seen Lee Howie's car and it is very nice and fast he and his crew deserve recognition for the work they have done.
Excellent job Lee!!!!!!
And good luck in the future.


Ron

[JCSTANG]

So, you guys are saying that tech should be done by the book. If that where so, would you be complaining that you where not able to compete from the get-go. At least this way, you got some exposure. I know at the bristol true street, some very minor things where overlooked. Not just by FFW, but on sunday the Bristol tech guys did the same. The fact that you are running in the 8s, tells me that you should have known better than to even try to compete at all with out a parachute. I'm not trying to take sides, but people need to start taking responibility, and quit jumping at the chance to blame others. Everybody needs to realise that FFW, NMRA, WFC, or any other organization for that matter, are run by human beings and they are not perfect. So expect some flaws. Life's not fair and neither is drag racing!




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http://www.inergy.com/jcstang

[jaw]

Unlimited Performance already set the first 8 Second True Street Avg at Gainesville FFW.

Tony