The Official Challenge Rules Questions Thread

I am not a drag racer but I seem to remember there is some clothing rule.
Are long sleeves or long pants required, or both, to be a driver in the drags?

In reply to dankimber:

It will be more like 5 minutes. The judges just don't want to be held hostage for 15 minutes per car.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I am not a drag racer but I seem to remember there is some clothing rule. Are long sleeves or long parts required, or both, to be a driver in the drags?

Long pants.

Even if you are on a tandem bicycle.

In reply to hobiercr:

Yes it will be an issue as you will not be able to pass tech unless you have an complete windshield with no cracks. Scratches, dirt, grime, no problem, but cracked is an accident waiting to happen for you and your fellow competitors.

SVreX wrote:

JohnRW1621 wrote: I am not a drag racer but I seem to remember there is some clothing rule. Are long sleeves or long parts required, or both, to be a driver in the drags?

Long pants. Even if you are on a tandem bicycle.

And a sleeved shirt.

Really? I'm 99% sure I did not even pack any long pants last year.

Right, but NHRA says short or long sleeved shirt.

I guess that mean no bare chests, bikini tops, or wife beaters.

John, were you considering a bikini?

In reply to JohnRW1621:

This link should help:

http://www.nhra.net/2012/images/gainesville/how%20to%20drag%20race3.pdf

Okay, I'll makes some changes to my wardrobe.

Lof8 wrote: Really? I'm 99% sure I did not even pack any long pants last year.

Yep.

They have stopped me twice.

Once I had to wrap my skinny ass up twice in a pair of britches borrowed from one of the Hongs.

Yes, short or long sleeves are fine, but it must have sleeves.

Rick Goolsby wrote: In reply to hobiercr: Yes it will be an issue as you will not be able to pass tech unless you have an complete windshield with no cracks. Scratches, dirt, grime, no problem, but cracked is an accident waiting to happen for you and your fellow competitors.

Is that a GRM rule or NHRA/Martin Sports Car rule? I haven't searched in years but NHRA used to qualify the severity of the crack that would keep you from competing.

In reply to MrJoshua:

NHRA has always said:

"Windshield: Stock bodied vehicles: Mandatory, must be in good condition and free from cracks."

I do, however, question the safety concern, especially for other competitors.

Broken windshields don't shatter or leap from their frames. All windshields since 1936 have been made from laminated safety glass, and Ford has been using it since 1919. When they break, they stay hanging in the frame.

In fact, the only safety issues I've ever seen for other competitors have had to do with improperly installed Lexan (how DID that windshield fly all the way through the car and out the back window??)

But the rules are the rules...

Always is a strong word. I have been with someone through the Gainesville Raceway safety inspection where they qualified the crack as not being able to fit a pencil lead tip and not all the way across the windshield. That was a long time ago and I realize it doesn't mean the rule book read that way.

I didn't say they always fail. I said the NHRA rules have always said no cracks.

MrJoshua wrote: ..... That was a long time ago and I realize it doesn't mean the rule book read that way.

But I am curious if you have read every rule book written since 1954 to be sure of that "Always"?

In reply to MrJoshua:

You are a PITA.

SVreX wrote: In reply to MrJoshua: You are a PITA.

Indeed, and you gave me unlimited access to your challenge car.

So hobie, I guess you need a new windshield.

In reply to MrJoshua:

NHRA

What if you have no windshield or glass at all? Technically still follows the "free from cracks" rule.

That's fine, a few teams run without a windshield.

In reply to maschinenbau:

As long as your goggles or fullface helmet shield does not have a crack in it.

So we ran into a major issue and it looks like our original Challenge car is not going to make it in time for the event this week :(

If we wanted to buy something and throw it together for the event to compete in the "Last Chance Challenger" class how do we go about that? Just send an email over and change our original entry to whatever it is we can find in time? We have already entered and paid for the original car we were building.

It looks like the rules are exactly the same but we would be competing in a sub-class, kind of like a "novice" class at an autocross, so our points would only be against the other "Challenger" class entries, is that correct?

I think it is more like an extra available award.

You are still competing against everyone. If you win the overall, you win the overall AND the last chance award.

But the only people eligible for the last chance award are last minute cars. There will be no cars returning after winning last year.