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Prep is killing the tires

“Tire chunking still a problem: The Goodyear tire folks have done everything they can to deliver a safe tire for Top Fuel and Funny Car vehicles, but track prep, track conditions, and the stresses on a car capable of accelerating to 327 mph in just 1,000 feet can still combine to destroy a tire...”

The tire chunking problem is caused by the track prep from 1000' to 1320', when the driver lifts, the arch of the chassis is suddenly reversed and the tire is pushed into the pavement and the center is pulled out. We have proved this by driving the car to the 1320 and the tires last. The answer is to stop prepping the track from 1000 to 1320. The Pro Stock cars may need to put a little more wing in it or run to 1000'.

Allen Hartley
Omaha, Nebraska

Keeping the issues straight

To chunk or not to chunk that is the question.. I have a question, how many rounds did these tires go? If this is one pass BIG problem, if it's more than two it's a potential problem. The nature of the beast is to get from point A to point B as quickly and as fast as possible.

In my opinion you have three issues here, one being economics, second safety, and the third pride.

The economic slant is this: how many tires does it take to run the car at a national event? The better the traction/conditions, the more power is going to be applied, the faster the tire is going to wear away! How much budget/money is there?

The safety slant, you’re on a tight budget and those tires are a pass away from becoming junk, and you’re in the finals. What do you do? I've seen enough written and also have seen too many racers lose their lives over this.

The final slant: PRIDE! We have seen since the institution of the 1000 ft race the crew chiefs have reinvented the bomb; it's fast and goes boom sooner.

Who is going to be the first owner to swallow their PRIDE and say enough is enough OR that the sanctioning body called NHRA needs to put a stop to this madness they ultimately created.

As the NHRA world turns....

Harry T Garland III
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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