CompetitionPlus.com has learned the NHRA will inform fuel Funny Car teams today that use of  the tether system will be optional for the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Wash., and for the unforeseen future as more research is performed.

CompetitionPlus.com has learned the NHRA will inform fuel Funny Car teams today that use of  the tether system will be optional for the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Wash., and for the unforeseen future as more research is performed.

According to a reliable source, the explosion experienced by Johnny Gray's Funny Car at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals reportedly broke the saddle on the body, allowing it to move the body in a manner which made it unsafe.

While on paper it may appear the tether system worked as intended, we are told the double latching system worked better and could be viewed as a sufficient alternative to the tethering system. Our source also tells us  the Robert Hight body launch during the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals is being considered as a latch failure.

We'll have more on this developing story as it becomes available.

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