RACERS BATTLE WINDY CONDITIONS
Thu, 2008-05-29 17:28
A collection of weather conditions dogged the competitors throughout
the first day of qualifying. The most prevalent of those elements were
the estimated 30-mph winds blowing across the track.
Some racers were bothered by the winds and others just considered as an inconvenience.
"Conditions were terrible; the wind was really deceiving," said Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier Rivas. "I had to do a lot more driving in this round because when I took off from the starting line, the motorcycle tried to go right, so I had to bring it back to the center; then when I got to the grandstands it tried to push me left, so I had to bring it back right.”
Bob Tasca, in his rookie season, wondered how the NHRA would react to the winds. A collection of weather conditions dogged the competitors throughout the first day of qualifying. The most prevalent of those elements were the estimated 30-mph winds blowing across the track.
Some racers were bothered by the winds and others just considered as an inconvenience.
"Conditions were terrible; the wind was really deceiving," said Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier Rivas. "I had to do a lot more driving in this round because when I took off from the starting line, the motorcycle tried to go right, so I had to bring it back to the center; then when I got to the grandstands it tried to push me left, so I had to bring it back right.”
Bob Tasca, in his rookie season, wondered how the NHRA would react to the winds.
“I kept asking [crew chief] Chris [Cunningham], ‘Will they cancel this?’ Because I’ve never run in conditions as bad as that,” Tasca said. “But truthfully, you go so fast, and the car is moving around when there’s no wind out, so I don’t think you notice a lot of differences out on the run. When the chutes came out is really when I noticed it. The parachutes hit harder; it grabs the car and wants to move the car left to right. It’s just learning as a driver how to react in those conditions. That was pretty cool though. In the first run, I did more driving after the finish line than I did before the finish line.”
Of course, being one of two female drivers in the Funny Car division, Ashley Force had her own perspective of the gusting winds.
“I haven’t had any effects from it (the wind) other than it pushed me around the pit area as you can see by my hairdo going on right now,” said Force.
Some racers were bothered by the winds and others just considered as an inconvenience.
"Conditions were terrible; the wind was really deceiving," said Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier Rivas. "I had to do a lot more driving in this round because when I took off from the starting line, the motorcycle tried to go right, so I had to bring it back to the center; then when I got to the grandstands it tried to push me left, so I had to bring it back right.”
Bob Tasca, in his rookie season, wondered how the NHRA would react to the winds. A collection of weather conditions dogged the competitors throughout the first day of qualifying. The most prevalent of those elements were the estimated 30-mph winds blowing across the track.
Some racers were bothered by the winds and others just considered as an inconvenience.
"Conditions were terrible; the wind was really deceiving," said Pro Stock Motorcycle low qualifier Rivas. "I had to do a lot more driving in this round because when I took off from the starting line, the motorcycle tried to go right, so I had to bring it back to the center; then when I got to the grandstands it tried to push me left, so I had to bring it back right.”
Bob Tasca, in his rookie season, wondered how the NHRA would react to the winds.
“I kept asking [crew chief] Chris [Cunningham], ‘Will they cancel this?’ Because I’ve never run in conditions as bad as that,” Tasca said. “But truthfully, you go so fast, and the car is moving around when there’s no wind out, so I don’t think you notice a lot of differences out on the run. When the chutes came out is really when I noticed it. The parachutes hit harder; it grabs the car and wants to move the car left to right. It’s just learning as a driver how to react in those conditions. That was pretty cool though. In the first run, I did more driving after the finish line than I did before the finish line.”
Of course, being one of two female drivers in the Funny Car division, Ashley Force had her own perspective of the gusting winds.
“I haven’t had any effects from it (the wind) other than it pushed me around the pit area as you can see by my hairdo going on right now,” said Force.
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