O'Reilly Spring Nationals, Houston
Discussion
Not a great day for Urs 
http://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=177...
2 Larry Dixon #7 3.882 310.41
E1 ****WINNER****
0.093 3.856 313.44
111 Urs Erbacher #10 3.922 307.16
0.064 4.072 224.85
This is the first time Dixon and European champion Erbacher have faced each other in eliminations. Dixon won this event in '00, was runner-up in '01 and last year.
This one will make the highlight reel - with several replays from different angles. Dixon trailed to 660 feet, pulling even with Erbacher at that point. Then Erbacher's engine exploded in a huge ball of flame and shrapnel. The engine explosion took out the left rear tire, which took the left end off the wing. The car bounced hard several times, but Erbacher did a very good job of keeping the car in his lane and bringing it to a stop. The engine explosion rivaled Doug Herbert's massive explosion at the starting line at Pomona several years ago.
On the replay, there were a couple puffs from the headers just before the top of the engine disappeared, the supercharger completely missing after the fireball died down.
http://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=177...
2 Larry Dixon #7 3.882 310.41
E1 ****WINNER****
0.093 3.856 313.44
111 Urs Erbacher #10 3.922 307.16
0.064 4.072 224.85
This is the first time Dixon and European champion Erbacher have faced each other in eliminations. Dixon won this event in '00, was runner-up in '01 and last year.
This one will make the highlight reel - with several replays from different angles. Dixon trailed to 660 feet, pulling even with Erbacher at that point. Then Erbacher's engine exploded in a huge ball of flame and shrapnel. The engine explosion took out the left rear tire, which took the left end off the wing. The car bounced hard several times, but Erbacher did a very good job of keeping the car in his lane and bringing it to a stop. The engine explosion rivaled Doug Herbert's massive explosion at the starting line at Pomona several years ago.
On the replay, there were a couple puffs from the headers just before the top of the engine disappeared, the supercharger completely missing after the fireball died down.
Edited by dan tournay on Sunday 29th March 18:30
peterwalters said:
"The engine explosion rivaled Doug Herbert's massive explosion at the starting line at Pomona several years ago"
Dang!
I was in the VIP-seats when Doug Herberts engine exploded at Pomona 1999. A guy next to me found a piece of aluminum in his beard! Some big engine pieces flew over the bleachers into the pitarea...Dang!
Taximan said:
I was in the VIP-seats when Doug Herberts engine exploded at Pomona 1999. A guy next to me found a piece of aluminum in his beard!
http://topnitro.co.uk/root/shower.htmGlad to see that Urs came out unhurt,
sadly the same cannot be said for the car, which is appearantly totalled.
Word from his crew has it that Urs will have to start with the "old" TF
next weekend.
Video from his hot and wild ride here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZxaZ3UdzE
The size/height of the fireball is really amazing,
considering the speed Urs was traveling at that time,
one should think that it would all be "swept backwards".
Regarding the Herbert explosion :
was this before restraining belts & ballistic blankets were mandantory ?
Regards,
Benni
sadly the same cannot be said for the car, which is appearantly totalled.
Word from his crew has it that Urs will have to start with the "old" TF
next weekend.
Video from his hot and wild ride here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZxaZ3UdzE
The size/height of the fireball is really amazing,
considering the speed Urs was traveling at that time,
one should think that it would all be "swept backwards".
Regarding the Herbert explosion :
was this before restraining belts & ballistic blankets were mandantory ?
Regards,
Benni
Benni said:
Regarding the Herbert explosion :
was this before restraining belts & ballistic blankets were mandantory ?
Regards,
Benni
They were all running ballistic equipment then - I don't know when it had become mandatory - but they all had it. If you watch the NHRA video of Herbert's blow-up, you can see some ballistic equipment dangling over the rear end of the car when this slip of a man hops over the wall to tend Herbert.was this before restraining belts & ballistic blankets were mandantory ?
Regards,
Benni
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j4TYDQdja4
The funny thing was, when I got back from the race and looked at the video, I was shocked at how quickly it was over. For me, when it happened, it truly went in complete slow-motion and attention was focussed on large parts which came over our way and quite a few people ended up getting hit. The blower rotors came sailing out of the sky and penetrated the tarmac next to the feet of an oblivious TV Camera Man. This didn't do his nerves any good and it took a good 20 minutes to persuade him to return to his post..
I stayted in Florida after the Gatornationals and watching the Houston event on TV on the Sunday afternoon. Although Urs is qualifying for each event he has not much looked like winning a round yet, the explosion was very big and not only smashed the rear of the car but bent some of the front chassis as well. The TV guys thought it might have been a cam or even a crank breaking. The big showdown was Schummacher v Dixon in the semis which was very close, DSR won and had 2 cars in the final. Ashley Force won the FC beating John on the way. The other big news was that Budweiser has announced that it won't be sponsoring the Bearnstein team next season after 30 years ! Aparently they have been taken over by a European company.
Generally though drag racing is big in the US and draws big crowds media wise it's still very much still second fiddle to Nascar in the motor sports arena and much below NFL, NBA ETC overall. You can see the effect of the downturn in Florida with lots of places even in Orlando shut down though the theme parks I went to still seemed busy enough. The drag fans I spoke to at Gainesville all disliked the 1,000ft rule and were all very dubious about the benifits to safety and engine damage {it didn't save Urs did it!}.
The thing I do wonder is with the NHRA determined to stop the cars going faster how the lack of new TF records will affect things. All the fans talked about Bernstein's 300 mph and Garlits with all his records is still a legend but there won't ever be a 3 second or 350mph quarter if the NHRA has it's way.
Bill
Generally though drag racing is big in the US and draws big crowds media wise it's still very much still second fiddle to Nascar in the motor sports arena and much below NFL, NBA ETC overall. You can see the effect of the downturn in Florida with lots of places even in Orlando shut down though the theme parks I went to still seemed busy enough. The drag fans I spoke to at Gainesville all disliked the 1,000ft rule and were all very dubious about the benifits to safety and engine damage {it didn't save Urs did it!}.
The thing I do wonder is with the NHRA determined to stop the cars going faster how the lack of new TF records will affect things. All the fans talked about Bernstein's 300 mph and Garlits with all his records is still a legend but there won't ever be a 3 second or 350mph quarter if the NHRA has it's way.
Bill
footage of urs' incident for anyone who hasn't see it yet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvZxaZ3UdzE
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