I posted something similar to this on a "sand drag website" and my thoughts were basically pushed aside from the people who run the circuit. Ive been all over the country racing at sand drag tracks, Ive seen WAY too many crashes, and time after time I wonder how long its going to be before some changes are made, and thus far there has been very few changes that Ive seen. I agree that too many rules is going to upset some people, but those same people will be elated when one of their own is involved is a crash and live to tell about it. Ive seen 5 crashes in 10 years that I was truly concerned that the person involved was not going to live. One of which involved a friends wife, and another involved a good friend. I cannot type well enough to explain how you feel when you load people into an ambulance with the expectations of you not seeing them alive again.
The first place Id like to turn attentions to is for those people that have seen the video that Brett has recently released. If you watch what many of the racers are wearing as they pull up to the light will tell 75% of this story. You see tennis shoes, t-shirt, no neck braces, no gloves, questionable helmets, etc, etc..... At one point you see a person who is a well know racer take off head first on a lay down 3 wheeler with nothing more than a helmet, jeans, tennis shoes on. Ive personally seen that bike run 3.30 @ nearly 100mph.... Its things like this that will prevent ANY major sponsor from putting their name anywhere near these races.
Id like this thread to stay positive and directional. This first part I think we need to talk about what we as racers can control the easiest and that is rider gear. Track surface, and track configuration safety can come soon, as well as track staff qualifications.
One thing people need to remember, is that there are both mechanical failures and human error that can/will cause accidents. And its not ONLY you and your bike that can have these, there is a person/bike right next to you that with either of these things happening can instantly be in your lane!
Things I would like to see checked/worn/enforced
1- DOT or Snell approved FULL FACED helmet (some will jump on the full faced thing as they think visors will fog. I get it, but there are things that can be done to prevent it)
2- Full armed skid resistant jacket (not just a long sleeve shirt) Either a leather jacket or a skid resistant material jacket.
3- Long pants- no sweats, cotton, etc... Need to be denim material or some sort of skid resistant material
4- Over the ankle foot wear... This is a bit of a sticky subject as many people struggle to shift with a pair of heavy boots on. I get it. But there are many types of "shoes" that are over the ankle that will provide good support but are thin enough to be able to shift without issue.
5- Gloves
6- Neck Support-- 4.0 and faster requires a LEATT or similar device! Slower than 4.0 a roll is adequate. (This is where people are going to piss and moan that the braces are 300 bucks.. GET OVER IT! You have a 10k bike.