PHOTO: JAMES SISK |
and when not to lift. You’ ll see a lot of drivers that just don’ t get in trouble and they’ re off the throttle quick enough, where the other guy is repeatedly in trouble.
Where does the onus lie in making sure safety keeps up with performance, especially when it’ s coming at such a dramatic pace in the drag radial world?
LB: It’ s nobody’ s fault, but as a radial community, which has grown exponentially over the past five years, we don’ t really have a sanctioning body that polices that. There’ s really good tech at the big races. I think Donald( Long) does a good job with John Sears and those guys, and I think there’ s really good tech at the big races – Tyler’ s( Crossnoe) race, there was a pretty rigorous tech there, the same thing at Bradenton. But it’ s tough.
I think there should be some gray area and some lines in the sand, but if you’ re running alcohol on a boosted setup, if you don’ t have a( SFI) 15 on, you’ re not racing. Or if you’ re not running alcohol and you’ ve got a nitrous setup and you don’ t have at least a( SFI) 10, there should be some hard lines on it. If you come up and you don’ t have the right stuff, tough luck, bud. And I know a lot of people have done that, but I definitely
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think there should be some hard lines drawn. You either have it and if you don’ t, tough luck.
Ultimately, what’ s the key to continuing to advance performance without throwing caution to the wind with safety?
LB: The biggest thing is you have to self-police. I get the pleasure of driving Jason Digby’ s car and we’ ve done really well. I wear big nitro boots, a headsock, big( SFI) 20 gloves,( SFI) 20 suit. But at some point, these guys aren’ t out there to hold your hand. At some point, you’ ve got to be a big boy and take it upon yourself and realize you’ ve
“ At some point, you’ ve got to be a big boy and take it upon yourself and realize you’ ve got to wear what you need to be racing,” Barnett said.
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got to wear what you need to be racing. A lot of these guys have wives and kids, and at some point you have to realize you have to make sure to go home to them. At some point, you just have to quit skimping by and stop bouncing around in the gray area and do it yourself.
AB: Just in tuning the cars, one of the biggest things I work on in terms of being safe, is spending a lot of time with the driver. Some listen, some don’ t. Some learn, some don’ t, but at the end of the day you’ re not out there to do anything for me. That thing shakes or does anything, or gets out of the groove, you need to get off the throttle and bring the car back. Don’ t go out there being a hero because once or twice that will be fine, but the odds are it will be a poor return on that investment. We talk about that quite a bit. I try to make sure that the guys I help are clear that you need to lift. Some don’ t. A lot of them, you get through to them eventually and they change slowly. But that’ s really important to me. I’ m not driving because I’ ve gotten in a couple wrecks, but they do happen and I always try to be careful in the car. Parts failures are parts failures, but at the end of the day I don’ t want anyone that I’ m tuning to get hurt. DI
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May 2017 |
DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 97 |