Safety loop?

So I'm going drag racing at Milan Dragway (Detroit area) tomorrow with my wife and father-in-law.

My father-in-law just called me and told me that ALL cars are now required to have a driveshaft safety loop. He's installing one on the GSX right now.

Can anyone confirm, deny, or clarify this rule? It sounds pretty crazy to me.

Thanks!

Thats a new one to me. I don't think this could become a mandatory thing all of a sudden without more talk about it so I am going to say your father in law is incorrect on this one.

Does anyone know what cars are required to have a safety loop? Milan's web page says 11.49 and faster, plus any car running slicks. Do BFG DR's or Nitto 555R's count as slicks?

I could see the GSX hitting a high 11, but I don't think it'll happen tomorrow... Milan's reputation for traction is crap, and the forecast says 92 degrees.

Call the track and ask! :thumb:

I agree with Compstall.

Also, DR's don't count as slicks, this I know.

Also, at 11.49 you are required to have some form of a roll bar in the car, so having a driveshaft loop at that point I could see.

It's usually up to the track's discretion if they choose to go above and beyond NHRA rules

NHRA General Requirements, para 2:4 DRIVETRAIN:

"In place of a crossmember, in the vicinity of the front universal joint, all cars in competition using open driveshafts must have a retainer loop 360 degrees of enclosure, 1/4-inch minimum thickness and 2 inches wide, or 7/8-inch x .065-inch welded steel tubing, securely mounted and located within 6 inches of the front universal joint for support of the driveshaft in event of U-joint failure."

Milan is an IHRA track.

What is an "open" driveshaft?

Not enclosed in anything like a torque tube (example of a torque tube enclosure - 5th, 6th Gen Corvettes)