George,
First off, that racer is me. I posted on the NMRA BBS because I find this one quite cumbersome and at the least very user "unfriendly." You'll note, most other racers use that one, as well.
Your facts are not quite in order. Yes, after being DQ'd from S/R, I ran in S/O at more than 300# lighter. However, that was not nearly all ballast. I syphoned 10 gallons of gasoline out, removed my rear seats, and drove 90 miles home to get my plastic race buckets. Yes, I went from the "tractor pull weight" of 3440 to 3110 in just over an hour (not including trip home).
The balast that I was DQ'ed for consisted of 130# (not 200-300). As clearly described on the NMRA board, this amount was secured within the guidleines of page 27 & 28 of the FFW Rulebook. You, yourself, teched me in Atlanta, and mentioned that you thought I had come up with a great method of securing my ballast.
Also, I would like to point out that it was determined in that tech line that you could bolt your 60# battery box to the floor, but not a 25# weight. You could bolt your 24# nitrous bottle to the floor, but not a 25# weight. You could also screw bulky stereo equipment to the floor. Also determined was that you could "secure" a spare tire and jack with that little stock bent piece of wire, but my ballast was deemed "improper."
Now, as I said on the other board, I have NO personal beef with you or John Smith. John was truly prefossional. My beef is that I followed the guidelines within the FFW rulebook and was DQ'd. Certainly, the FFW rulebook should be written in compliance with the NHRA and IHRA rules.
Of course, the obvious solution to solving all the S/R cars ballast problems is to lower the minimum weight to a reasonable level, say 3200# or so.
I just wanted to set the record straight. Thanks for the opportunity,
Matt Eggleton, S/R 14
|