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1-bigger, softer barricades ...

Hard impacts are rare when you're travelling parallel to the wall.

2-soft center divider along the entire strip so a crazy car doesn't take out his competitor

crossing the center line is common and usually the only casualty is a foam block or two. Two vehicle accidents are very rare.

(-- even a 48" high wall sitting in a 12" deep trough could delay the cross over a second or two.

How are the Jr. Dragsters going to see each other? How would other pipe-rack divers judge the finish line?

3-fluid catch pan/tray under the engine.

Diapers are being phased in, have been for a while.

4-if a car has a parachute and is not reasonably close to the center of his lane, or tire pressure drops way low, or a fire occurs, there should be an electronic auto-deploy of the parachute.

Yeah, I want someone pulling the chute on me when I still have a chance to win, flames or not. You're allowed to use the whole lane, if necessary.

Go back to running for president, Ralph (Nader)

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have an e body pink slip to bet?

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I don't see where you've raced anything, in this answer.

Is this a yes or a no?

As for safety gaps, the NHRA rules have evolved over time. They have evolved with the cars and the sport. Are they perfect? Of course not. Neither is any other motor sport.

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Not offensive, just a lack of reality. Belly pans and diapers exist and are in use. You want one, build it and put it on your car. Auto chute release in use on fuel cars. A center divider with a water trough? I don't know what to say about that, be a little tough to fender race somebody in the lights. Hay bales? What would that look like after someone hit them at 200+? No concrete walls? Have you ever seen a car torn to pieces because it got up on an old fashioned guardrail and started to roll? Do some more research, spend some time at the track and try again.

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Not offensive, just a lack of reality. Belly pans and diapers exist and are in use. You want one, build it and put it on your car. Auto chute release in use on fuel cars. A center divider with a water trough? I don't know what to say about that, be a little tough to fender race somebody in the lights. Hay bales? What would that look like after someone hit them at 200+? No concrete walls? Have you ever seen a car torn to pieces because it got up on an old fashioned guardrail and started to roll? Do some more research, spend some time at the track and try again.

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so for the driver in the accident (see link)... what do you think could have been done to make the mechanical failure a minor incident only.

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Would probably have to see video of the whole thing to make a determination of that. He wasn't on a track with concrete barriers, but rather old style posts and rails. He's on the grass side of the rail, so somehow he went over. Maybe front end, or a tire caught one of the posts and sent him flipping whereas he could have slide along a concrete barrier.

As said, hard to say without seeing the whole thing.

Maybe a diaper (did he have one?) would have kept water/oil off the tires.

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Most of the safty gaps I've seen at the race track were between the racers ears.

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...too much attitude here given the lack of background.

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prior to the 60s, seatbelts and helmets were sometimes missing from motorsports. now, it seems like an obvious safety gap...to even THINK otherwise is insane. we get a chuckle out of seeing leather racing helmets in old photos.

well, after seeing a few drag wrecks, i gotta say there are still some obvious things missing:

1-bigger, softer barricades ... hay bails burn rapidly , water filled drums hose down the track ... with or without a guard rail. just get rid of those concrete walls!nope keep car pointed down track to deflect blow. how about 4 rows of water drums on each side of the track, spaced. and space them a few feet apart to give the car more gradual deceleration.did someone mention all the issues water will create? and make the drum easy to split open -- water or fire slurry couldn't hurt a car on fire. yea but a simple little outa groove excursion and track is down for hrs drying/cleanup.

2-soft center divider along the entire strip so a crazy car doesn't take out his competitor (especially when the competitor is slightly behind). so it obstructs visibility for the fans -- even a 48" high wall sitting in a 12" deep trough could delay the cross over a second or two. shame on you sanctioning bodies -- if you've left this out for fan visibility, you've been getting away with murder. "what"

3-fluid catch pan/tray under the engine. how many times has something broke loose, spewing lubricant or coolant conveniently ahead of the rear tires. it could help with aerodynamics (smoother airflow under the car) and eliminate costly downtime (ridding the track of fluids).
yea and be a huge source of fuel for a fire

4-if a car has a parachute and is not reasonably close to the center of his lane, or tire pressure drops way low, or a fire occurs, there should be an electronic auto-deploy of the parachute. i'm sure with today's technology, the signal to deploy could be sent remotely by track equipment. OK, this concept is a bit elaborate, but definitely worthy of some trials. until i get the garage door opener code and deploy your shoot mid track in the other lane...oooops.....sorry dude.

while you're at it, apply these concepts to other forms of auto racing.

items 1-3 may be present at *some* strips today, but if drag racing is around in 2050, they will be universal, and people will laugh at 2010 safety standards.

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