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I have no problem with safety or buying safety equipment. That's why I have more than required. What I do have issue with as does everyone else is "planned obsolescence" Otherwise known as SFI recerts. When you cert your car they don't even look at cage welds, yet require my tig welded chrome moly cage to be rechecked for thickness every 3 years? How many "cold fusion" certed cages have you seen? What makes it worse is that once you've spent the money nobody checks anyway. Tech?, give them your tech card and roll into the staging lanes. Yet they worry about 2 year belts? Get real.
Doug

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And YET you say you can't afford to race your own car. Lets hear your story after you pay for gas money, entry fees, maintenance, and everything else required for supporting your car with your monies. Its more of a nuisance to me as I have 3 cars, two of which will hit the track this year. The part that bothers me the most is its a "money grab" and to keep the sponsors happy. I really feel for the guys that hit 1 or 2 Mopar races a year only to need belts again. My cars are teched by IHRA and NHRA officials and if while checking my belt certs needed replaced before the 5 year period I would have a new set in before next weeks race.

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I have no problem with safety or buying safety equipment. That's why I have more than required. What I do have issue with as does everyone else is "planned obsolescence" Otherwise known as SFI recerts. When you cert your car they don't even look at cage welds, yet require my tig welded chrome moly cage to be rechecked for thickness every 3 years? How many "cold fusion" certed cages have you seen? What makes it worse is that once you've spent the money nobody checks anyway. Tech?, give them your tech card and roll into the staging lanes. Yet they worry about 2 year belts? Get real.
Doug

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The fact that tech doesn't check stuff, is nobodys fault but that particular tech staff. Every police officer I see doesn't check my license and insurance card either, but that doesn't negate that fact that I am supposed to have it in case they do. Certain tracks are notoriously tough on tech at a weekly race, some aren't. But when we were running Super Stock and went to national events, there was NOTHING that didn't get checked. The Division 2 guy that does our cage certs, goes over every weld and every bar with a fine tooth comb. Do all of them......highly unlikely, but HE does. And the reason that your cage is certed every two years, is because guys are constantly working on cars and changing things, which may include welding on the chassis. Welding on a certed chassis, within the confines of the inspection portion of the structure, negates the current sticker and they KNOW most are not going to call up and say "hey, I welded on my car and I need to have it checked"......so as with most things, they make that call FOR you, by having scheduled cert expirations.

And as far as all these regulations, as already pointed out, but nobody seems to care, is that NHRA does NOT set the certs, SFI does and NHRA chooses to follow those guidelines. For some reason all the "conspiracy theory" guys, seem to think it is all some grand plan by the NHRA to milk you out of money, when it really doesn't have anything to do with them. This where the "kickbacks" and "under the table money" guys start telling us how it really works. Well ok, if that's what you think fine. But SFI is an independent organization that NHRA, NTPA(as well as most pulling orgs), most drag boat orgs, World of Outlaws and dozens of other racing organizations follow. If you have an issue with a time line........SFI is who you should complain to, not NHRA. Everybody brings up NASCAR...........well they DON'T use SFI, they set their own standards and have the money behind them to fund it and do their own testing. NHRA doesn't.

And if you want to know what orgs use SFI standards, go to the SFI site and look under "coalition members" and it tells you

Monte

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Here you go again preaching to the ones of us who have a race car about spending the extra $$$ and your Daymn car is not even running!!! There ain't no way in Hell I'm gonna take advice from anybody about my race car that does not even have a running/race ready race car! It seems the people who do not have to buy the useless sh*t,because they do not have a car or their car is not fast enough are the ones who are always pushing and wanting all of the stoopid A$$ rules. Ya'll say if you can afford to build a $80,000.00-$100,000.00 you can afford all these little piss A$$ $150.00-$250.00 parts that we don't need.I say after we have done spent $100,000 on our race car with all the latest greatest stuff,we need to keep our $$$ to race.

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The Division 2 guy that does our cage certs, goes over every weld and every bar with a fine tooth comb. Do all of them......highly unlikely, but HE does.

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I have no problem with safety or buying safety equipment. That's why I have more than required. What I do have issue with as does everyone else is "planned obsolescence" Otherwise known as SFI recerts. When you cert your car they don't even look at cage welds, yet require my tig welded chrome moly cage to be rechecked for thickness every 3 years? How many "cold fusion" certed cages have you seen? What makes it worse is that once you've spent the money nobody checks anyway. Tech?, give them your tech card and roll into the staging lanes. Yet they worry about 2 year belts? Get real.
Doug

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The fact that tech doesn't check stuff, is nobodys fault but that particular tech staff. Every police officer I see doesn't check my license and insurance card either, but that doesn't negate that fact that I am supposed to have it in case they do. Certain tracks are notoriously tough on tech at a weekly race, some aren't. But when we were running Super Stock and went to national events, there was NOTHING that didn't get checked. The Division 2 guy that does our cage certs, goes over every weld and every bar with a fine tooth comb. Do all of them......highly unlikely, but HE does. And the reason that your cage is certed every two years, is because guys are constantly working on cars and changing things, which may include welding on the chassis. Welding on a certed chassis, within the confines of the inspection portion of the structure, negates the current sticker and they KNOW most are not going to call up and say "hey, I welded on my car and I need to have it checked"......so as with most things, they make that call FOR you, by having scheduled cert expirations.

And as far as all these regulations, as already pointed out, but nobody seems to care, is that NHRA does NOT set the certs, SFI does and NHRA chooses to follow those guidelines. For some reason all the "conspiracy theory" guys, seem to think it is all some grand plan by the NHRA to milk you out of money, when it really doesn't have anything to do with them. This where the "kickbacks" and "under the table money" guys start telling us how it really works. Well ok, if that's what you think fine. But SFI is an independent organization that NHRA, NTPA(as well as most pulling orgs), most drag boat orgs, World of Outlaws and dozens of other racing organizations follow. If you have an issue with a time line........SFI is who you should complain to, not NHRA. Everybody brings up NASCAR...........well they DON'T use SFI, they set their own standards and have the money behind them to fund it and do their own testing. NHRA doesn't.

And if you want to know what orgs use SFI standards, go to the SFI site and look under "coalition members" and it tells you

Monte

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Here you go again preaching to the ones of us who have a race car about spending the extra $$$ and your Daymn car is not even running!!! There ain't no way in Hell I'm gonna take advice from anybody about my race car that does not even have a running/race ready race car! It seems the people who do not have to buy the useless sh*t,because they do not have a car or their car is not fast enough are the ones who are always pushing and wanting all of the stoopid A$$ rules. Ya'll say if you can afford to build a $80,000.00-$100,000.00 you can afford all these little piss A$$ $150.00-$250.00 parts that we don't need.I say after we have done spent $100,000 on our race car with all the latest greatest stuff,we need to keep our $$$ to race.

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Good luck and all that, but in reality you have 3 choices. Put belts in every 2 years, run at outlaw tracks or stay home. It's their playground, their rules.

I'm not a big cheerleader for NHRA, but I've raced at tracks with zero tech and I've done tech at an NHRA track. Both experiences were often times very scary. With everything else that it takes to go racing, a lousy set of belts is way down the list of crap for me to lose sleep over. They're a consumable, like tires, gaskets, fuel, oil.

Without safety being a priority, there is no insurance. Without insurance, there is no racing. Why do you think your new street car has all the safety devices and designs built in? Lawyers and insurance companies.

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This right here. This rule has been this way for years and is not going to be changed. Guys have class cars that cost up to 100k and complaining about a $150 set of belts every two years...........ok then. You want to start a petition, how about something that you MIGHT actually have a chance with.........like maybe lower entry fees for sportsman classes.

I have NEVER understood the uproar over this deal

Monte

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Sometimes I think if you actually owned and RACED your own car you might think differently but then again maybe not. MOST of us are small-time racers on small time budgets. Have a nice day.

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I find it humorous what guys THINK they KNOW. I have raced my whole life, just because I am currently not racing my own car, don't amount to SQUAT. I make plenty of runs over the course of a season, just not in MY car at this time. But when I was, you know what, I put belts in my car every two years, because it was the damn rules and never complained about it. I had my chassis certed when they said I needed to. When they said my Simpson helmet was no longer legal because it was out of date, but didn't have a scratch, I bought a new one. When they said I needed a -15 suit for a nitrous car, I bought one........So now I have a -15 suit, I have fire boots instead of my sneakers, I have a Hans device and -20 gloves......why, because it is the rules, plus I am pretty fond of keeping my extremities intact. I wear all that gear, regardless the ETs the car I am driving runs. And when it expires, I will get more.

If a $150 set of belts over the course of two years is a deal breaker......maybe you need a new hobby. That amounts to a few less trips through the drive thru or the beer store over a couple years.

Monte

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And YET you say you can't afford to race your own car. Lets hear your story after you pay for gas money, entry fees, maintenance, and everything else required for supporting your car with your monies. Its more of a nuisance to me as I have 3 cars, two of which will hit the track this year. The part that bothers me the most is its a "money grab" and to keep the sponsors happy. I really feel for the guys that hit 1 or 2 Mopar races a year only to need belts again. My cars are teched by IHRA and NHRA officials and if while checking my belt certs needed replaced before the 5 year period I would have a new set in before next weeks race.

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I never said I couldn't afford to race my car. What I DID say was that I couldn't afford to cough up about 40k at one time for the motor I want. I have a couple motors I could put in it just to "get to" the track, but that isn't what I want to do. So for now it sits until I gather the parts for it to be like I want it. I am a working guy, just like everyone else. Now, I could sell my truck and trailer and buy smaller and cheaper. I could sell my boat, my bike, my jeep, some guns and likely a bunch of other "toys" I have accumulated over the years. I could stop taking my girl out to eat as much, or buying her stuff...........lots of things I COULD do, but I choose not to at this point. I will have the parts, when I have them and won't sacrifice other things I WANT to do in the process.

Monte

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You need to stop spending so much on your girl and get a mopar motor in that GTX

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I have no problem with safety or buying safety equipment. That's why I have more than required. What I do have issue with as does everyone else is "planned obsolescence" Otherwise known as SFI recerts. When you cert your car they don't even look at cage welds, yet require my tig welded chrome moly cage to be rechecked for thickness every 3 years? How many "cold fusion" certed cages have you seen? What makes it worse is that once you've spent the money nobody checks anyway. Tech?, give them your tech card and roll into the staging lanes. Yet they worry about 2 year belts? Get real.
Doug

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The fact that tech doesn't check stuff, is nobodys fault but that particular tech staff. Every police officer I see doesn't check my license and insurance card either, but that doesn't negate that fact that I am supposed to have it in case they do. Certain tracks are notoriously tough on tech at a weekly race, some aren't. But when we were running Super Stock and went to national events, there was NOTHING that didn't get checked. The Division 2 guy that does our cage certs, goes over every weld and every bar with a fine tooth comb. Do all of them......highly unlikely, but HE does. And the reason that your cage is certed every two years, is because guys are constantly working on cars and changing things, which may include welding on the chassis. Welding on a certed chassis, within the confines of the inspection portion of the structure, negates the current sticker and they KNOW most are not going to call up and say "hey, I welded on my car and I need to have it checked"......so as with most things, they make that call FOR you, by having scheduled cert expirations.

And as far as all these regulations, as already pointed out, but nobody seems to care, is that NHRA does NOT set the certs, SFI does and NHRA chooses to follow those guidelines. For some reason all the "conspiracy theory" guys, seem to think it is all some grand plan by the NHRA to milk you out of money, when it really doesn't have anything to do with them. This where the "kickbacks" and "under the table money" guys start telling us how it really works. Well ok, if that's what you think fine. But SFI is an independent organization that NHRA, NTPA(as well as most pulling orgs), most drag boat orgs, World of Outlaws and dozens of other racing organizations follow. If you have an issue with a time line........SFI is who you should complain to, not NHRA. Everybody brings up NASCAR...........well they DON'T use SFI, they set their own standards and have the money behind them to fund it and do their own testing. NHRA doesn't.

And if you want to know what orgs use SFI standards, go to the SFI site and look under "coalition members" and it tells you

Monte

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Here you go again preaching to the ones of us who have a race car about spending the extra $$$ and your Daymn car is not even running!!! There ain't no way in Hell I'm gonna take advice from anybody about my race car that does not even have a running/race ready race car! It seems the people who do not have to buy the useless sh*t,because they do not have a car or their car is not fast enough are the ones who are always pushing and wanting all of the stoopid A$$ rules. Ya'll say if you can afford to build a $80,000.00-$100,000.00 you can afford all these little piss A$$ $150.00-$250.00 parts that we don't need.I say after we have done spent $100,000 on our race car with all the latest greatest stuff,we need to keep our $$$ to race.

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I already said ALL my safety gear was current.............and you are not going to listen to me......fine, I could care less, do whatever you want. But YOU yourself admitted on this board, to driving your dragster, wearing only a T-shirt and sneakers, because it was too hot. So we already seem to understand your point of view on safety gear.......because yeah, you're right, if you are not even gonna wear a jacket, shoes and gloves, having to buy new belts sure don't make much sense. So I stand corrected......you're right.

Monte

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Monte,would you like to see the picture again?

PS Monte,I just have to ask when you put on your all of your SFI NHRA mandated neck brace,helment,butt plug,fire suit,gloves and shoes and you are setting in the staging lanes with your new $250.00 belts snugged down good & tight and you have to fart...?

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I have no problem with safety or buying safety equipment. That's why I have more than required. What I do have issue with as does everyone else is "planned obsolescence" Otherwise known as SFI recerts. When you cert your car they don't even look at cage welds, yet require my tig welded chrome moly cage to be rechecked for thickness every 3 years? How many "cold fusion" certed cages have you seen? What makes it worse is that once you've spent the money nobody checks anyway. Tech?, give them your tech card and roll into the staging lanes. Yet they worry about 2 year belts? Get real.
Doug

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If the belts they are certifying are losing 1/2 there strength in one year they need to up the standards of the belts not make you replace them every two year.

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