Nitro Alley

[nitromaniac]

That's me wearing an NBC Gas Mask (same as supplied to British Troops - cost £80) in Nitro Alley at the 2005 Pontiac Performance Nationals, National Trail Raceway, Columbus, Ohio. You need to wear a Gas Mask when you're shooting video of a crew warming up a Top Fuel Dragster/Fuel Funny Car and yellow clouds of nitro fumes are billowing towards you.

Without a Gas Mask nitro fumes are great for clearing your sinuses.
[URL=http://rides.webshots.com/photo/26713][/URL]

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Lol...sissy..in my day (20 years ago) we had no respirators or ear defenders...

Which might explain why my hearing is about 15% worse than normal...it was damaged by years standing besides top fuel engines without them.....

All the best Brett

[nitromaniac]

Yeh, but if l wasn't wearing a Gas Mask my eyes would be watering so much l wouldn't be able to focus on what l was videotaping

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Having worn an Nbc respirator in the past (long ago as a soldier) I am amazed you could see much anyway...lol.....and you do sweat a lot in them...

All the best Brett

[Jon C]

I have copied the following from another drag race forum. The words are by Anthony Billington, who knows his stuff, and are well worth reading if you are considering purchasing such a mask for this specialised application...

Anthony Billington said:

On a more serious and informative note with regards this subject, as I detect a possible trend setting here for masks being worn by spectators, I feel it necessary to point out that there are only certain mask filter cartridges that are safe for use in this application. The reason for me pointing this out is not the fact that some cartridges are just not that effective for this job, which some aren't, but there is one type that is positively dangerous to use in this environment. These are 'Activated Charcoal' filter cartridges. If anyone is thinking of using one for this job please DON'T. If you already have you're lucky! The sign of things starting to go wrong to the wearer of the mask will be a heat build up in the mouth on inhalation sometimes not too noticeable at first, but exposed to these fumes for a duration (depending on concentration levels) the filters will ignite without any warning. If anybody out there has a mask that they intend using fo this job please check the filter type or contact the manufacturer with the part number on their filter to find out it's composition. Sorry that this was a long winded way of putting across a simple message but I think this is very noteworthy and hope it will be of use to somebody someday.

[nitromaniac]

Click on www.surviveall.co.uk/shop/product.php?productid=16137&cat=249&page=1 the MSA Advantage 3000 Gas Mask #16137 is better than the one l have & is more like the type that the Fuel crews wear when warming their cars up in the pits.