Spectator killed at Firebird race track in AZ

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Female  spectator  was hit by a tire and wheel off fuel dragster ,  she died .

You can google about the crash , a few videos of the crash

[unklian]

The Nitro cars have been having wheel problems for a while now.

Of course, things get changed quicker when someone dies.

[DaBatCave]

Female  spectator  was hit by a tire and wheel off fuel dragster ,  she died .

You can google about the crash , a few videos of the crash

Yea that sucks real bad.    I always think of that "HAPPENING"  when we are at the track. Specially at big TRUCK Drags.

[cr55]

That was terrible news! I'm sure everyone's thoughts and prayers are going out to the family. I saw a biiiiiiiigggg tire come off one of those "monster" trucks one morning going to work. It passed me and went across 3 lanes of heavy morning traffic, hit a guard rail next to a gas staion, bounced up in the air, and came back across 3 lanes before finally stopping!! SCARY!!!......CR

[wayne petty]

i would think that a redesign of the rear hubs is coming..   so the wheel is trapped by a big center nut also.. so if it shears the drive studs... the wheel just spins...

or since CNC machines are everywhere.. ever seen a super torx bit.. with the inner and outer curve round..   why not have the wheel hubs with that shape and the wheels centers carved to the same shape... and then bolts to hold the wheel to the hub..

the torque is transfered via the flange shape...  the studs hold the wheel on...


this would also work on other motorsports.. like indy car.. and formula 1...

this would stop the drive pin shearing problem on the single bolt wheels...

the wheel might only need half its thickness milled for the drive shape to fit...  but testing would need to be done..

think of a flanged nut... but with a super torx design..

[kb426]

I watched the video. I'd sure like to look at the hub and the wheel to see what's left. That wheel had tremendous momentum going. It didn't fly up into the air, more like straight ahead. The couple of crashes I've seen in the past, the tire and wheel tend to take off into the air rapidly. Sad day for the fans. Considering how we used to sit about 10' from the strip, it's a wonder that there hasn't been way more accidents.

[Carnut]

Just saw video on Fox news.

Looks like a bare end of the rear axle sticking out in the air, so would think hub, brakedrum and backing plate and probably a broken piece of axle, all went away with the wheel. A really catastropic failure and apparently the cause of the entire accident.

[tomslik]

one of the guys on a racer bbs i go to said the lug bolts sheared (most likely when it went into tire shake)

a LOT of crashes and near crashes last weekend and a LOT of *' about the track.
i've never been there but i betcha crosley can fill us in on it....

bad deal..... :cry:

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I talked to a person that was there saw the tire & wheel  hit the gal.  He said the tire clobbered the woman at the head   and continued on.

The tire hit the trailer next to his and caved the side door in

[Charlie Chops 1940]

A picture on one of the reports I Googled showed the axle flange still on the car, but no studs left.

Charlie

[Carnut]

Yeah, I just took a closer look at an online video and the caliper and disk do seem to still be on the axle and just the studs are missing.

[chimp koose]

Those cars use a floating axle so that in the event of axle failure you still have brakes and an intact wheel. I would expect as a result of this incident that there will be a new SFI regulation regarding wheel studs and a scheduled replacement interval as with other safety devices. There are already rules in place regarding axles and wheels . Tire shake is an amazingly destructive phenomenon and while some people have theories and even solutions to it they are not always likely to share that info as it is a definite performance advantage not to.

[Digger]

Wayne
I had an idea similar to what you describe. I was thinking along the lines of the top fuel couplers or perhaps machine bosses the thickness of the wheel and make the holes the size of the boss with the lug going through the center,then all the lugs have to do is hold the wheel on. I passed it on a couple days ago and got a e-mail today telling me that Strange Engineering and Weld Wheels have been working on a drive dog system for about three months.

[unklian]

After the failures last year, in TF and FC,
they started working on a new SFI spec.

Obviously too late for one lady and her family.

Slowing the cars down doesn't seem to be an option.    :evil:

[unklian]

If it was up to NHRA and SFI, they never would
have changed the FC chassis specs last year.

John Force made it happen, and his fellow competitors should be glad.