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Post by Crossbones Dennis on Dec 23, 2009 18:33:16 GMT -6
Interesting find on another site.All of a sudden traction control has become a serious issue in professional drag racing, especially in NHRA drag racing. Apparently NHRA tech officals and racers in the Pro Stock field have decided that traction control devices may being used. Now, this isn't a new issue in drag racing. The NHRA has addressed this problem in the last year by not allowing certain MSD ignitions to be used in NHRA competition, specifically the 7531 with a slew-rate rev-limiter that is a de facto traction control device. Although a version of it is being sold like crazy to NHRA sports compact racers and to NMRA and NMCA racers where it is legal. According to a source at MSD, they are selling them as quickly as they can make them to those who run "outlaw" high-dollar, 10.5 wide-tire races with heavy "street legal" race cars. On top of that, a gentleman by the name of Shannon Davis has been selling (on the internet for several years) a traction control device that he installs in a stock MSD ignition box. He makes no bones about what he is doing and claims that it is "virtually undetectable." You can check this guy's product out at www.moretraction.com . This year, NHRA's Ray Alley let it be known in no uncertain terms that if anyone was caught at an NHRA event with a traction device it would result in something like a "Death Penalty" no matter who the racer was or how important he or she was. One can only assume that would mean a lifetime suspension from NHRA competition. In an attempt to prevent traction control devices from being used, NHRA has been making Pro Stock racers give up for inspection or switch their ignition boxes at random. Recently, they've even taken to marking the coils on Pro Stock cars when a rumor starting going around that the devices could be concealed in the coil. (My sources tell me this is virtually impossible.) The problem for NHRA is not that there are traction control devices available, but whether they are being used and how to detect and find them. According to my sources, any engine with a crank trigger-type ignition or a magneto-style ignition with just one wire could have a traction control device. The problem, again, is finding the device. I'm told that a traction control device can be made so small that it could be concealed almost anywhere and I mean anywhere. The real problem for the sanctioning bodies that have outlawed traction control is how to police the problem. Will they strip search every car and driver of every class in the semis and finals? After all, a racer doesn't have to win every race to win a championship. Consistent semi-final appearances will win almost every points race. And what if a racer just needed to go a couple of rounds for two or three races? What if a racer just needed to make sure he or she qualified for an event? The mind boggles at the various scenarios.
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Post by Crossbones Dennis on Dec 23, 2009 18:34:25 GMT -6
From the same site.
Are the sanctioning bodies going to start scrutinizing everyone in contention for a championship? And we haven't even begun to talk about the nightmare of checking all the sportsman racers at IHRA and NHRA divisional events. And what about bracket races where the winner is in line to win $10,000, $50,000 or even over $100,000? If there are MSD boxes that look 100 percent stock but contain a traction device, who is going to be able to tell who has the traction device? The problem here is that the traction control genie is out of the bottle and it is going to be impossible to put it back in. The real question here is why the major drag racing sanctioning bodies don't just follow the lead of F-1 and understand they can't control the use of traction devices, and make their use legal. For drag racing, racers and their fans, the benefits would be both tangible and immediate. What professional racer at the recently completed NHRA race at Seattle forced to race or qualify in that facilities left lane would have refused a traction control device? (See Seattle racer quotes in Race Coverage section of this magazine for examples of their feelings.) With all of the poor track conditions we've seen this year in both NHRA and IHRA National Events, wouldn't the fans both in the stands and those watching on the tube be better served with side-by-side racing? Even a case for traction control being a safety measure could be made. Maybe those Pro Stock racers that crashed at Columbus could have avoided that fate with traction control. I'm not saying it absolutely would have prevented the crashes, but maybe. A case could even be made that traction control would save everybody in this sport some money. I mean, the track owners and sanctioning bodies wouldn't have to spend so much money on track prep. Got a little moisture coming up or down on the track? Send 'em we got traction control now. We could maybe even race in the rain. Why not? As for the effects of traction control on the racers and tuners, again I don't see a problem. As long as everybody has it, the field is level. The current highest price for one of these "illegal" units is $7500. I'd bet MSD could make one a lot cheaper. Oh, excuse me, they already make one for carbureted and blown cars under a grand, don't they? And as for a traction control device making a back marker suddenly go to the front--forget about it. In the history of drag racing (or auto racing for that matter) no one rule change has kept the premier racers from finishing first or made a winner out of a leaker! And one last bonus I see in allowing traction control is that the tuners could go back to concentrating on making power instead of trying to figure out how to take power out of their combination so they can get it to go down a junk track or lane. Rumor has it that Ray Alley is going to have meeting to discuss traction control and possibly legalizing it. Let's hope that common sense prevails for once.
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Post by Crossbones Dennis on Dec 23, 2009 18:37:55 GMT -6
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Post by drtrcr22 on Dec 24, 2009 20:02:59 GMT -6
I totally agree Dennis... what the heck is the big deal about gaining as much traction as possible...? I thought that is what racing was all about...? Especially DRAG Racing...! R&D experts have been toiling for years to develop new technology for improved performance, speed and SAFETY! So, should ALL of the technological advances over the years have been restricted or banned...? What is the imbecile logic behind such panic...?
We have the same rules in IMCA dirt track racing, and I can't agree with them here either. They already limit us to a spec tire and other rules to keep the playing field even, but traction control could be argued as a critical SAFETY factor issue that should be PROMOTED in all motorsports venues! These cars now days are so "almost identical" that the cutting edge is decided by the driver capabilities (or sneaky illegal hidden traction control). The speeds are so much faster now that safety is one of the biggest concerns for drivers and spectators alike, circle track and drags alike. Most clay circle tracks and asphalt tracks get very "dry-slick" and slippery, causing even the best drivers to lose control and wind up in some pretty serious and frightening crashes. Sure, the fans get a huge cheering thrill of entertainment to see the "big one", (that is if the car does not climb the fence into the crowd), but is it fair and healthy to any motorsports contestants to go destroy a $20,000 car when it can be avoided with the use of better equipment? Most of us low budget hobbyist racers like myself are being forced out of the sport due to not being able to financially rebuild after one of these massive demolition derbys! Traction control, which could and would be affordable to ALL of us in all motorsports, would help keep all drivers, (good, bad and mediocre), in more control of their car, with less down time to clean up crash debris, and more side by side action racing. After the spectacular crash entertainment, the fans HATE downtime watching crews clean up carnage for a half hour. They want to see good racing action. I say let all of us in all motorsports have all the traction control we want... and keep the sport SAFE... if it saves just one life it would prove the point of argument... but that is just my opinion... Jim B. IMCA Modified#22
Here are the 2010 IMCA dirt track rules referring to traction control... (Pretty heavy, huh, I hope NHRA doesn't see these...)
AUTOMATIC PENALTIES 1. Electronic traction control device: Automatic disqualification and $10,000 fine. If found with an electronic traction control device at any point during an IMCA sanctioned event, driver loses all IMCA points in all divisions and is suspended until fine is paid. Device may be confiscated and retained by IMCA.
21. GAUGES/ELECTRONICS: No unapproved cameras, transmitting or listening devices, timing retard controls, or digital gauges (including tach). No electronic monitoring computer devices capable of storing or transmitting information except analog tach. No adjustable ignition control boxes. One 12 volt ignition box allowed, must be out of driver’s reach. No additional ignition accessories allowed. Only change allowed to ignition box is one high-end rev-limiter setting. This setting can be changed through one chip only, or an internal setting inside box. No magnetos. No electronic traction control devices (Refer to IMCA Operations and Inspection Manual or General Rules for automatic penalties).
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Post by Crossbones Dennis on Dec 25, 2009 6:26:43 GMT -6
NO ADRL RULE CHANGES PLANNED After careful consideration, the National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) will not be imposing any new minimum weight rules in the foreseeable future. Additionally, traction control will remain an option for those teams that wish to use it in every professional category with the exception of Extreme Pro Stock, which retains the rules that mandate a minimum weight (2,425 lbs w/driver) and specify the use of traction control is not allowed.
The National Guard ADRL was founded on the principle of no rules except for safety. At its recent Flowmaster Dragstock VI event at Rockingham (NC) Dragway, however, the series distributed questionnaires to its teams seeking opinions on whether to mandate minimum weights and prohibit traction control devices as cost-cutting measures.
“We carefully read every single response and in the end we had to agree with our racers, who overwhelmingly said, ‘If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it,’” said Bert Corzine, executive vice president of competition for the all-eighth-mile drag racing series. “They’re right, we’ve had record car counts this year, enthusiasm for the series is still growing strong and to be quite honest, some of the costs thrown around for building these new, light-weight cars have been grossly inflated.
“As far as traction control goes, everything we’ve seen and heard points to these devices contributing to a safer ride. When you’re talking about going from zero to over 207 miles an hour in 3.6 seconds, anything we can do to make things safer has to be considered a positive, so the use of traction control remains permitted,” Corzine added. National Guard ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling said he stands behind the decisions of Corzine and his Competition Committee “100 percent” and is confident the series will continue to prosper.
“The entire National Guard ADRL team works diligently to provide the best place to race the quickest and fastest full-bodied passenger cars and motorcycles in the world and we’ve been rewarded with growing entry fields at practically every race,” Nowling said.
“Over the five years we’ve been staging events, ADRL racers have repeatedly shown me they are the most courageous and determined competitors on the face of the Earth,” he continued. “I just don’t see any of them walking away from the level of competition that they created through their own hard work and sacrifice.”
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