Life Gets Dangerous in the Fast Lane

How fast is too fast?

When Cory McClenathan ran 321.77 mph last October at the Texas Motorplex track, there were thoughts around National Hot Rod Assn. headquarters that something was needed to slow the 5,500-horsepower nitromethane-burning top fuel dragsters and funny cars.

McClenathan’s sudden burst of speed in the McDonald’s dragster upped the record an astonishing 3.08 mph.

It wasn’t too many seasons ago that the thought of a 300-mph run horrified NHRA officials. Since Kenny Bernstein broke the barrier with a 301.70 on March 20, 1992, 300 has become ho-hum. Funny cars got into the picture with almost routine 300s. Chuck Etchells ran 315.56 mph on the same day Ron Capps and Tony Pedregon bettered 315 at Texas Motorplex.

Fears that the excessive speeds might be over-stressing tires, as well as contributing to detonating engines, have been set aside--temporarily. Nothing has been done to slow the cars. Instead, the NHRA has chosen to upgrade safety features at its tracks.

Speeds as high as 323 mph are anticipated this weekend when the 38th Chief Auto Parts Winternationals kicks off the NHRA Winston drag racing series at Pomona Raceway. Qualifying for pro classes will begin at 2 p.m. today.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Joe [Amato], ourselves or Kenny [Bernstein] put up a big number at Pomona if the weather’s right,” said McClenathan, who hopes to make a run today after recuperating from the removal of a benign tumor from his shoulder.

“When the season ended and there was all that talk about cutting back on speeds, I thought I might be the record holder forever, but not now. The way the guys ran in testing, I think we’ll see a new record this week.”

Bernstein, who ran 320.20 mph in a practice run last week at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., agreed. “I think 323 could happen this week, no doubt about it,” he said.

Amato recorded a 320.28--second fastest ever--when he defeated top fuel champion Gary Scelzi in the season-ending Winston Finals last November on the same Pomona quarter-mile.

Stu Grant, director of worldwide racing for Goodyear, which provides all the tires for nitro-burning cars, said the company was comfortable with the tire available for the start of the season, but warned that “when you plot a graph of the increases in speed, you see a pattern where in the next two, three or four years we will need a different technology to design tires capable of handling those increases.”

Grant also said that a new, evolutionary tire will be introduced midway through the season.

“The introduction of a new tire is nothing new, we have done that every year for the past several years. However, if the increase is not at least controlled, the time is coming when we will exhaust conventional methods of construction.”

After discussing the situation with Goodyear officials last fall, NHRA President Dallas Gardner met with his technical staff to discuss ways of reducing, or at least controlling, speeds. Several ideas were advanced. After the record-breaking spree at Texas Motorplex, car owner Don Prudhomme offered his top fuel team to test the ideas at the same track.

Larry Dixon, using shorter rods and lower compression than had been used in competition, ran 288 and 297 mph.

“In both runs, the car went down the track without incident, no tire smoke, no wheel spin, no damaged parts,” said crew chief Dale Armstrong, who oversaw the trial. “If he had one or two more runs, I am sure he could have run 4.75 and 305.

“More important, we took the engine apart and all we needed to do to make another run was change the sparkplugs. By using a lower compression ratio, there would be fewer parts breaking, which means a big saving in expenses. And it would also cut down on oil downs, which can ruin an afternoon for spectators, not to mention live TV.”

However, after the technical committee studied the results, it was felt that there were too many loopholes for crews to exploit and too little time to eliminate them.

“We had to find rules that can be enforced fairly, with no gray areas,” Bernstein said. “The rules must be 100% enforceable, either it’s black or it’s white. It’s going to very difficult, and it can’t be done quickly.”

Plans to introduce performance restrictions were tabled.

“At the present time, we see no need to change the rules,” said Carl Olson, NHRA technical director. “Goodyear, after approaching us with some concern, which was a motivating factor in our testing, changed its position and said it would revamp the existing tire and work to develop a newer one.

“The decision by Goodyear has helped alleviate drivers’ concerns.”

Instead of rules changes, the NHRA is focusing on track changes.

“We have studied every accident in the last few years, trying to learn from them, and we have found that most of the problems occur toward the end of the strip, past the 1,000-foot mark,” Olson said. “Speeds increase past half-track and that’s where most accidents happen, but we have found that as many accidents occur at 150 mph as they do at 300.

“We also found that openings in the track barriers became a serious hazard with out-of-control cars, so we have decided to put up concrete vertical barriers that are designed to keep the cars on the racing surface.”

At Pomona, barriers were raised from 26 inches to 39 inches and all openings were closed, eliminating the hazard of hitting head-on.

“What caught our attention was an accident at Houston Raceway Park a couple of years ago when Connie Kalitta hit a guard rail, totally destroying the car and putting the driver in the hospital with broken ribs and a concussion. It was the worst accident of his career. That woke us up to a worst-case scenario.

“By eliminating openings clear to the end of the track, 1,500 feet past the finish line, we will eliminate the possibility of a catastrophic incident occurring.”

Armstrong, who masterminded Bernstein’s first 300 mph run, but is now working with Prudhomme and Dixon, still believes there is a serious need to reduce speed and power, even with improved tires.

“Cars are so over-stressed they are like a ticking time bomb; 305 is so much safer than 320,” he said. “And now that we’ve seen 320s, we’ll probably see half a dozen or more of them. Once it’s done, it becomes commonplace.

“A 300 has lost its significance. It used to be, you saw a 300 flash on the scoreboard, it really meant something. Not any more.”

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Fastest, First

NHRA Top Fuel Firsts:

* Over 200 Don Garlits, 201.34 mph, Great Meadows, N.J., Aug. 1, 1964.

* Over 250: Garlits, 250.69, Ontario, Oct. 11, 1975.

* Over 300: Kenny Bernstein, 301.70, Gainesville, Fla., March 20, 1992.

* Over 310: Bernstein, 314.46, Pomona, Oct. 30, 1994.

* Over 315: Shelly Anderson, 316.23, Ennis, Texas, Oct. 12, 1996.

* Over 320: Cory McClenathan, 321.77, Ennis, Texas, Oct. 19, 1997.

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Winternationals at a Glance

* What: 38th Chief Auto Parts Winternationals, first of 22 events in National Hot Rod Assn. drag racing championship series.

* Where: Pomona Raceway.

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Schedule: Today--Time trials, 8 a.m.; professional qualifying, 2 p.m. Friday--Time trials, 8 a.m., professional qualifying, 2 p.m. Saturday--Time trials, 8 a.m., professional qualifying, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday--Final eliminations, 10:30 a.m.

* Purse: Cash and contingency awards of $1,472,310.

* TV: TNN, 5 p.m., Sunday.

* Tickets: General admission--$15 today, $25 Friday, $41 Saturday, $46 Sunday. Reserved seats--$35 Friday, $53 Saturday, $60 Sunday. No reserved seating today.