Heavy Smoke on the Drag Strip

Everyone had a lot of fun telling me how far my head is up my butt on the thread where I was pushing common rails as the future of diesel drag racing and how I'm not a fan of smoke down the drag strip. Here are a few questions I would like everyone to seriously consider. To date, I'm not aware of any problems associated with smoke down the strip during the run, but this was discussed a bit on another forum and I'd like some of you guys comments on them. Would appreciate your honest opinions, no cute remarks that will derail the thread into name calling just what you honestly think. Thanks. These thought are my own as well as a compilation of others.

I for one and I'm not alone in this thinking don't believe that heavy smoke down the drag strip will alway be allowed. Sometime in the future there will be an accident happen and smoke will be blamed, right or wrong.

Heavy smoke that drifts into the other lane into the patch of a slightly slower vehicle causing it lose vision and crash.

Heavy smoke covering the fact that some fuild of some sort is spilled and the track people don't see it due to the smoke, say in the 1/8 mile or 1000' area. Next racer down that lane looses control and hits the wall.

Don't track officals take special note when a vehicle smokes at some point during a pass that there might be a problem and go and investigate? That is my experience when watching the races. That would be difficult to see if the track is covered in black smoke.

While it's very popular to say, the smoke is part of the show and that's what people come to see, I haven't seen enough specators at any diesel drag race event I've attended that would cause the owner to over look the potential for an accident especially if one had already been documented somewhere. Be it right or wrong.

How about insurance rates for the track owners? What will the insurance companies say or do if they think the track is allowing what the insurance company considers risk outside the normal operations due to smoke from diesel racers.

Other than the potential safety issues other things track owners have to consider are slowing down the event waiting for smoke to clear for the next racers, potenital for smoking out the down track lights for the next racers, etc.

Smoke free events are not going to happen, I know that, it's not realistic to think that will ever happen. But I would hate to see any track ban diesel vehicles due to down track smoke. There are tracks now in the west at least that do not like diesel racers do to the street tires tearing up the groove and yes all the smoke. I don't have any easy solutions but I think we need to start considering what we as racers can do to get in front of this. Waiting till something happens will be too late IMHO.

How many real full out diesel racers are there in the country, not that many, and at any one time probably half of them are down for one reason or another. But these are the vehicles many of the slower daily driver diesel owners try to emulate. Just like the kids smoking out people on the street think it cool, if they think heavy smoke is where it's at in drag racing due to the fast trucks doing it, that what they will want in their daily drivers they race on Friday night. Since there are literally thousands of these type of racers I'd bet that is where the problem will happen. As a lot of others, (some of you who don't speak up on forums but who PM my in agreement), we need to be proactive and see what might be accomplished to help the situation.

Waiting to read what you guys an gals have to say. op:

You have valid points that I agree on... And while your expectations may be overzealous, they are not practical. Have you seen today's Diesel Events? Not too many trucks actually really press this issue.... I think that most Diesel Drag racers are making an effort to keep the Track smoke free. There are a few bad apples out there that ruin it for all... But then again you have it in every group, such as "Ricers". We can't ban all of them because of someone else's mistakes... Many Pro Street Trucks that are dedicated Drag Trucks may some smoke due to the associated power that they are making to run very quick. IMO, they bring almost all of revenue to this sport, and without them, this sport wouldn't even exist.

Im not sure if Im agreeing with you or not. But I wouldnt say "Smoke shouldnt be on the strip" more of a "Lets try and reduce the smoke".

Now you do have a good point in that the smoke could and very well may cause a problem in the future. I think the not being as able to see an oil down or restricting a racers view. That just comes out of pure safety.

Is it going to stop? Ill bet money it wont (at least for a VERy long time!) but racers like yourself and other "Big Guns" can help the problem. I for one, look up to the guys that can go out there and run 9's or pull a 2,000HP truck 330 feet. Those are the guys that have WAY more knowledge than I do. I listen to everything they say and sometimes do what they do in hopes that I can one day learn enough to do the same!

I know a lot of the Pros dont go around blowing smoke on the streets and racing everyone stop light to stop light. And that great, it shows someone like me that its not nessasary to do. this is a small step to getting the Drunk 16 year old kids to quite their dumb ways. Even though I doubt it will, only a bad accident, jail time, or some sort of punishment will.

Anyways, Im babling now....I let the guys that know more talk!

Maybe you could lobby against smoke at the strip. It would be in your best interest to do so. Bring it to the track owners attention. Maybe invite the EPA and local ARB(air resources board)to view it and let them help with the legislation. Banks would probably be willing to help you financially. Shouldn't be that hard to do really. With all the smoke gone you would be able to lump all the remaining diesels into a catagory that allows turbo charged and blown gas motors into the same class. I thing watching a turbo diesel running against a blown or twin turbo'd large cu/in gas motor with 8-9k rpm capability and 2k hp is just what this sport needs to take it too the next level.

That lasted 4 posts before a Banks Bash.

Is that a new record?

I agree that less smoke will certainly be better in the long run, for everyone involved. But I don't see it going away entirely. I don't think you will ever get everybody to go with electronics.

MY truck smokes like a freight train and is pretty slow, so I plan to fix some of that before it goes down the track again. And I try not to smoke on the street.

why couldnt the drag guys run their exhaust into a big box like pullers have to do inside?

sure it has some weight but if made out of aluminum or something light it wouldnt have that much affect on times..

bna5017 said:

why couldnt the drag guys run their exhaust into a big box like pullers have to do inside?

sure it has some weight but if made out of aluminum or something light it wouldnt have that much affect on times..

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Interesting point, never thought of that. Not sure how practical it would be however.

Kat said:

That lasted 4 posts before a Banks Bash.

Is that a new record?

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That's entirely my fault. When I first started writing my response no one had replied. By the way, your 2 minute response time was excellent. Hopefully you didn't get a BBA(Banks Bash Alert) while you were street racing some punk and have to pull over to write a response.

even though i dont race or pull yet, i would be interested in seeing someone test this out. it wouldnt even have to be very big for just one pass, but it would have to have some kind of pressure relief..

Bo Layne has been running Top Dragster for 2 years in the Scheid Rail. NHRA does not see a problem with his smoke.

RonA said:

That's entirely my fault. When I first started writing my response no one had replied. By the way, your 2 minute response time was excellent. Hopefully you didn't get a BBA(Banks Bash Alert) while you were street racing some punk and have to pull over to write a response.

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That banks bash alert would show up on the PDA or the IQ?

Their super ultra air filter has built in BanksHater alerts...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZ23JklE0w&feature=related

in cab video of how bad smoke can be. In most cases a truck has technical difficulties in order to lag this far behind to be affected by the smoke. No smoke in diesel motorsports its like telling Nascar that they cannot rub or bump each other. Both are hazards to each sport

JasonCzerak said:

That banks bash alert would show up on the PDA or the IQ?

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Actually, on any new thread involving diesels and smoke, I just type in that same response and hit enter as fast as I can. I can't help it if my internet is slow.

Smoke danger? LMAO

Line up next to a 6 sec. car on a bike at test and tune and have it lose a tire at half track in front of you. I would think there are hundreds of issues sanctioning bodies would like to correct before they even think about smoke.

bna5017 said:

why couldnt the drag guys run their exhaust into a big box like pullers have to do inside?

sure it has some weight but if made out of aluminum or something light it wouldnt have that much affect on times..

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???

I think it goes into an exhaust fan that is then duct outside of the building.

My vote would be for less smoke. I think it would be smart for us to clean up before the EPA steps in. Everyone that has a government job is working over time to keep ones job.

Although there may be something to this thought, some racers want classes or orginizations built around just thier truck or race cars. So a 6510# truck w/o nitrous of course would like the rules to state a min. weight of 6509# and no nitrous allowed......same for a 'fast' smoke free race. Bringing early neg. attention to 'our' sport by pointing it out to people with athority and the idea to do something will be the demiss of our or short lived sport. Let it be. Most all of the fast camps understand whats being said and prob. agree to a point, every racer cares about the well being and saftey of his fellow competitor, no one would question that. The point is at very elevated hp levels it's not practical to ask for them to burn super clean, for sure with a mechanical inj. system, not all of us have any desire to race a Issuzu diesel with someones else's tuner on it...just an opinion. Let it be.

stock600 said:

Although there may be something to this thought, some racers want classes or orginizations built around just thier truck or race cars. So a 6510# truck w/o nitrous of course would like the rules to state a min. weight of 6509# and no nitrous allowed......same for a 'fast' smoke free race. Bringing early neg. attention to 'our' sport by pointing it out to people with athority and the idea to do something will be the demiss of our or short lived sport. Let it be. Most all of the fast camps understand whats being said and prob. agree to a point, every racer cares about the well being and saftey of his fellow competitor, no one would question that. The point is at very elevated hp levels it's not practical to ask for them to burn super clean, for sure with a mechanical inj. system, not all of us have any desire to race a Issuzu diesel with someones else's tuner on it...just an opinion. Let it be.

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Nice post.