NHRA's Alan Reinhart explains why John Force's parachutes failed to deploy in Richmond.

#nhra #dragracing #johnforce
NHRA's Alan Reinhart explains why John Force's parachutes failed to deploy in his recent crash in Richmond, VA. Reinhart, goes into detail on information he received directly from the NHRA Tech Department.
Watch the full interview with Alan Reinhart on @WFORadioTV here: kzbin.info-IBPNn7q...
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Interviews on WFO Radio have become part of winning for drivers in the NHRA Drag Racing Series. Host Joe Castello, has over 30 years in drag racing an it shows. As part of the National Hot Rod Association, Track Announcing team, Castello brings insights directly from the world of professional NHRA Camping World and Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing. NHRA results and news are featured in weekly livestreams, NHRA's Alan Reinhart and other NHRA stars including John Force, Ron Capps, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, Greg Anderson, and Erica Enders all make frequent stops on the WFO Radio Podcast..

[@animal_SS70]

Really appreciate the explanation for the common fan. Safety is something that is always evolving. They will get this figured out too. Thankfully, John is still with us

[@savannanelson320]

I'm so thankful I stumbled across this today and at the moment having the explanation is so great with everybody making assumptions it is just truly a shame for everyone!

[@huracanmedia1661]

See my comments above -parachuted deployed or not in this situation would have made no difference. Not enough time to fully deploy between engine explosion and impact with the wall

[@markmcgoveran6811]

Give me a break and grow a brain cellar to this guy didn't say anything at all he starts out talking about what the parachute failed went on for 10 minutes about why the parachute failed and then he didn't tell us why? I've never seen anybody pimping out of car accident any better for more.

[@kevinwhitescarver8369]

@@markmcgoveran6811 Went on for 10 minutes in a 5:32 video. Seemed to me he explained why it didn't deploy. Maybe you should listen better. P.S. What's a brain cellar. Maybe your brain cells don't work so well.

[@markmcgoveran6811]

@@kevinwhitescarver8369 actually my brain cells work quite well and if you headline the video with details of the crash and you spend 5 minutes hinting and teasing before you finally say it so someone can correct me they spent a lot more time watching it than I did I don't watch anybody's resume for much more than about 60 seconds and if you're going to go over it with all this emotional stuff like Nascar has gone now it's not a video for me. I don't have to listen to everything you say on a video before I have an opinion and tune out and if it took 5 minutes and 35 seconds of your life to find out why that happened and you got to insult me besides icing on the cake. Thanks for saving me a minute.

[@dankerns171]

John is lucky to be alive! Heal up Champ 🏆

[@user-hd1kl5my8r]

@@dankerns171 AMEN 🙏 I JUST DON'T WANT TO LOOSE ANOTHER HERO 😞 I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY NO SAFFER BARRIERS 🤔 SINCE NASCAR R&D CAME UP WITH THEM🤔 YOUNG MAN YESTERDAY POINTED OUT THE COST AND SLIM MONEY DRAG STRIPS HAVE🤔BUT STILL 😞 WHY DOES SOMEONE LARGER THAN LIFE HAVE TO DIE 😞 BEFORE THE SANCTIONING BODY DOES SOMETHING PROACTIVE WITH TRACK SAFETY 🤔 YOU TAKE CARE AND BE SAFE 🙏❤️🇺🇸🍻🤠❤️😺💜 WYOMING 🇺🇸💞

[@user-hd1kl5my8r]

@@dankerns171 AMEN🙏I JUST DON'T WANT TO LOOSE ANOTHER HERO 😞🙏 I HAD A YOUNG MAN YESTERDAY POINTED OUT THAT THE DRAG STRIPS HAVE SUCH A SLIM OPERATION BUDG ET 💰 BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO LOOSE ANOTHER LARGER THAN LIFE HERO 😞🙏 BEFORE THE SANCTIONING BODY DOES SOMETHING PROACTIVE WITH TRACK SAFETY 🤔💰 YOU TAKE CARE AND BE SAFE 🙏❤️🇺🇸🍻🤠❤️😺💜 WYOMING 🇺🇸💞

[@insulman100]

@@user-hd1kl5my8r I worked in construction for 35 years and almost all of OSHAs safety rules are written in blood and it's the same with any profession the only time a safety rule isn't reactive is when it will save/make the companies money remember they all say safety first but it isn't the drivers the race teams the sanctioning bodies (NHRA) the track owners are all there to make money safety is at best a secondary concern

[@user-bl6ne3hc6n]

Not really, it's because of Eric Medlen death that's John is alive, he redesign the headrest and the roll cage, that saved his life, his head never moved, I guarantee when John starts doing interviews he's going to mention that I've been watching drag racing since 1960s that is by far the hardest hit I've ever seen on a concrete wall,

[@ronkrueger3496]

​@user-hd1kl5my8r nhra has looked them. The concern is that similated impacts like this have created a springboard effect that throws the car into the other lane

[@michaelstewart6544]

Alan and Joe, thank you for this explanation. I have full faith that everyone in the NHRA will do everything they can to make sure this never happens again. It’s one of the reasons I will always be a fan. The NHRA always puts the safety of the drivers first.

[@madirishman1333]

NHRA puts $$ first. To think otherwise is a result of their propaganda. Ask any Sportsman racer.

[@michaelstewart6544]

@@madirishman1333 The NHRA isn’t NASCAR. There is only so much money. That’s why they put the emphasis on the pro categories in national events. Most sportsman racers know that. We are lucky to have a sanctioning body as good as this one. Most sports do not. Again, I’m sure all the teams as well as the NHRA will be on top of this to try and make sure it never happens again. I find your comment unhelpful and irresponsible.

[@jeffdavis5841]

@@madirishman1333 I agree with you. see my comments above.

[@LarieTaylor]

Thank you for facts. Thank God for emergency personnel skills, and John Force is healing, if he decides not to race, he retires winning. And second in points only to his other car, FIRST in hearts!

[@yarpos]

The system used for automatic openers on skydiving rigs may be of interest. Instead of using a pulling device they have a small tube cutter with a charge that cuts the loop the closing pins go through. Been working for decades and it sounds like the system is already set up to send the trigger signal. The Cypres system is the main example.

[@santa-johnenoch2625]

Well said Alan. Let the teams address the issue. 👍🎅👍

[@JT-dj9hc]

J.F. You make America proud Sir.

[@daveinvictoriavirginia7959]

Having asked Alan R questions before to get better knowledge about NHRA rules is like having your own direct access to racing! Thank you for sharing all you know to us.

[@jayer-su3hu]

Yep he provides his email address often so you can send him questions and I've done it when things come up I don't understand and he's always answered my email. Awesome man. We all appreciate his knowledge and him being him

[@gkelley47]

thanks for the info. Sometimes when there's an incident no information is forthcoming with "respect the family" and "don't ask questions" being the response. IMO that's counterproductive - glad that's not happening here.

[@Whatsthedealsquirter]

It's a shame it happened,but to such a legend in the sport,makes it tragic,hope he heals quickly

[@paulkarpen9059]

Miss you john And get well

[@timtrax918artisan8]

Great information for us fans ( non racers / engineers) thank you so much for sharing

[@alvintarrer6914]

Thanks for the information, it's appreciated 👍🇺🇸🇨🇱✌️

[@markb1764]

John Force is one of a kind and unfortunately had a one of a kind problem Wishing him all the best in his recovery

[@landroverdisco4404]

Thanks for explanation Alan.

[@thequadzillaking]

The Motorsports World Loves John Force. What an Inspirational Man. Racing is an Inherently Dangerous Pursuit. We all know he understands the Risk. Imagine if half the World’s Population possessed the same Type of Ambition and Confidence ? Prayers for a Positive Outcome.

[@jayer-su3hu]

As a drag racing fan of over 30 yrs I kinda had a feeling the failure was something to do with the body interfering with the Leahy system activating properly. This explanation as always is perfect. And we all know the teams will figure out a fix moving forward so "hopefully" this doesn't happen again. We are ALL praying so hard for John's continued recovery. I just hope this isn't how he goes out. He always said this car will not beat me. We all hope it still hasn't

[@ksoblv]

Just watching this and I’m sure all the FC teams will pull together and help each other. Yes on raceday everyone is on edge against the guy in next lane(s), when it comes to safety everyone in the racing community works together. Let’s continue to pray for John’s recovery as well as the safety of the racers.

[@JohnMarler-yw3ot]

Alan and Joe thank you very much for explaining that that makes perfect sense

[@FishNFoolLures]

The fact they are allowed to use an unshielded cable for this critical part makes ZERO sense.

[@mikestailey5242]

You guys are on top of this. Thanks for letting us know. Also, agree with Alan - fans WANT to know, teams NEED to know.

[@VGMurders]

Body leaving the chassis would have deployed the chutes as it has always been the case for the last 40 yrs. I understand NHRAs position regarding debris making it’s way into the crowd but the tether system seems like a bad trajectory as a whole. Driver can’t see, chutes didn’t deploy etc. Most tracks don’t even have seating downcourse anymore where you would even need to worry about it.

[@endosrc]

yet there was still a piece of it that shot off and probably went over the fence into the camper area

[@Dealete420]

@@endosrc Nothing is perfect

[@darrinb5249]

Exactly , but they're worried about the crowd I think

[@stephenspears4023]

I’m not too knowledgeable when it comes to how a funny car or top fuel dragster system is set up when it comes to the chute. Are there not sensors that detect any abnormalities whatsoever in the car that would automatically trigger the chute? Was there some kind of malfunction to the chute system as well? There needs to be some kind of a light inside the car that comes on the second the chute opens, and should that light not come on there should be a secondary switch. I know it’s a lot to think of in seconds, but sometimes those seconds could mean the difference in lives saved. Another idea: as I said when I started to post this, I don’t know much about how these cars are built or for that matter what the drivers wear other than flame retardant suits, what I want to know is are they able to communicate with their pit crew through their helmets? If they’re able to communicate then maybe somebody from the crew could let the driver know if the chute has deployed, then the driver could react if need be. That way he could concentrate on the track. Now I’m going to sit back and wait on the insults to come at me lol I’m 63 years old and an old street racer from back in the day ran a little nitrous, but these firebreathing dragons I don’t know much about other than 0 to 300 is something I would love to experience before I die!

[@540nitroracer]

As a sportsman racer and a certified mechanic, my suggestion would be to hook said air cylinder directly to the chute handle if possible. Or maybe make somewhat of a solid link instead of a cable to the handle. Just my 2 cents

[@kooldawg6]

Thank you for the simple explanation of what happened. John is no doubt very fortunate to have survived that crash as well as he did and great thanks goes to the car designers and fabricaters for making that possible given the chute failure! Now that the teams know what happened, I bet there will be over a dozen different designs to make it more fail safe within the month. My question is...what kind of testing do the teams or NHRA have access to to test safety measures like this? Is it simulated computer models or is there real world tests?

[@jeffmachul9562]

Thank You for this I did not catch that. An Earnhardt moment. Robin and I are sending positive energy to John. Team Force ❤

[@funnycardriver]

The air cylinder was mounted not to manufactures diagram. Leahy shows mounted to levers directly.

[@rodneycaupp5962]

Look at it this way ,John, "a WIN is a WIN. Mount the parachutes back a little further. WE are so blessed to have you doing the entertainment all these years. Keep on engineering and winning . Much was learned this time.

[@don7680]

Mounting the parachutes back a little further does nothing. The wire that goes back to open it was damaged.

[@paulles1377]

​@@don7680no it wasn't. Did you not understand his explanation?

[@kenmoule825]

Solution makers know best. Thanks for the update.

[@Diggy96]

Thanks Alan! You and Bob Frey are the best in drag racing. You two are the encyclopedias of drag racing. Soooo much knowledge. Hearing you two at the races for 30 yrs has made it so much more enjoyable and entertaining. I wish you could commentate every event I was at.

[@kurtbyars766]

In one airliner I used to fly, if we did certain things it automatically triggered the prop levers fwd and it was directly co no linkage from cables.. THANK YOU for this video !

[@deelowe3]

I always assumed the cutes were failsafe meaning static pressure is needed to keep the pin in place, not to remove it. It's bizarre to me that the design works the other way. In every safety design I've worked on, we always require pneumatic pressure to prevent the safety from deploying not the other way around. That way if you lose pressure for any reason, the safety deploys.

[@brianiswrong]

A bit like a lorries air brakes, the air is used to hold the brakes off not on, no air = brakes

[@deelowe3]

@@brianiswrong Exactly.

[@michaelwhite278]

Converting the approach would probably have some injuries in the pits during adoption.

[@halofreak1990]

@@michaelwhite278 Not really. Chutes are often fixed in place with a locking pin while in the pits to prevent accidental deployment.

[@alanblyde8502]

Sharing Saftey knowledge is caring not a competition well said Alan 🇦🇺👌

[@davesnodgrass2074]

It's the configure out the way to fix it cool but the main thing has we want John Force to be all right

[@DR-jo7fg]

John, your my hero

[@michaelbrill6609]

You're

[@user-zz9vt5mc4n]

Thank you, Alan for your clear and easy to follow explanation

[@robertpsotka3525]

Excellent conversation and explanation, well done

[@lewislambert4590]

As Austin Coil said after Eric Medlen's accident..........."All safety rules are written in blood" and this one hits even closer to home than Eric's did. The chute pin may have helped some BUT I believe it's time for safer barrier walls.

[@vehdynam]

Thank you for that information.

[@jfrockon]

JFR seems to get these first time problems a lot. Bless you John.

[@jayer-su3hu]

Yep. Think back to Eric Medlen. We now have the titanium shields in front of the driver as well as the significant padding in and around the cockpit.

[@BB..........]

@@jayer-su3hu That would have been avoided if McKinney hadn't been building frames out of hardened tubing, material that didn't meet the SFI spec.

[@jfrockon]

@@BB.......... I don't know enough about collision dynamics to make any claims like that. Just curious about your background... If that causes the frame to buckle/collapse well there ya go.

[@BB..........]

@@jfrockon Hmm, my comment disappeared. Read the Jon Asher article on CompetitionPlus called Tubular Tales, it's a great read. Hardened tubing was not in the SFI spec for FC at the time, yet NHRA let them run them anyway. Arnie Kuhns from SFI never answered Bill Miller (Engineering) on how those frames got approved.

[@ZZ430T56]

Maybe they make a shield for that short section of solenoid to lever, or reinforced box or cage tubulat around it.

[@dochlldy]

This gives a little more insight as to just how powerful that explosion really was.Pretty safe bet that now that they know the what and why's of the question,they will come up with a solution for it.

[@chrisgrundberg9212]

NHRA took something that worked beautifully in a natural way and complicated it beyond necessity and efficiency. Back in the day, a nitro motor would backfire, it would lift the body, sometimes completely off the car and the parachutes would manually deploy. Insurance companies don't like when the bodies come off because there is a crowd there, so the bodies get double latched on the front and pinned in the back - they are "tethered" to the car. Bad things happened, so they added the Leahy device which deploys the parachutes pneumatically when there is too much pan pressure, when the supercharger backfires, or when the car passes a remote transmitter just after the finish line. Safety is important, but there are always side effects of making things safer. For example, we have all seen cars shutoff or chutes come out when the Leahy device malfunctions in some way. I have also watched a lot of drivers become dependent on the Leahy to shut the car off and deploy the parachutes. And the other thing that exists, the remotes to shut the car off that crew chiefs have on the starting line just completely removes a driver's "feel" and competence from the equation. I think this has all become overcomplicated. But, I'm sure someone will come on here, call me a keyboard crew chief or whatever, I really don't care. The sport we grew up on doesn't exist anymore and I can complain about it if I want to.

[@55mjlangdon]

Why are some of the comments hidden???

[@michaelpiecewicz9748]

Nice explanation thank you. So it sounds like the safety system needs a safety system! Just remember folks whenever we believe we have seen it all or thought everything through… well we really do know anything can go wrong at any time. Thankfully John is still with us

[@jackmooney45]

Thanks so much for that. I knew that something was damaged that didn't allow it to deploy chutes. It figures that it would be John that it happened to. He put in so much time and money into safety with the Eric Medlen project. Are they still active there, or is it just a museum? Agree that the amazing engineers in NHRA will come up with something great to add onto what already exists. I worry about that guy daily. He means so much to the sport, and would do anything for any team if he could (I was told that by another team driver). I hope his TBI isn't that bad. Im a Veteran, and see so many guys with TBI's at the Dr's offices. Some are awful bad, and some are just a bad concussion, that just takes time. I was happy to see hi head was not bandaged. I have seen men that have had the skull removed until swelling in brain comes down make amazing recoveries. Age will play a part in his recovery. I would love to see him race until his final breath, but I would also love to see him just commanding the young drivers and teams at races more. Be well John. I wonder if Robert will be coming back now? So much is secret, but that is a personal issue he is dealing with, and frankly not our business. I hope Brittany is going to get back in the saddle next race, only if it is something she wants to do. I know John is worried about sponsors because his car is empty. He is under so much pressure all the time it seems

[@TroyOttosen-jg7tt]

I am simply thinking about John! He took time to visit with me at Vegas many times when he was busy! Great man, he loves his fans and we love you John! Simple!😉👍

[@kallsop2]

Thank guys for the explanation. It was something I have thought about since his crash and knew there would be an investigation and an answer. Thanks again.

[@RevLarry]

Thank you, Alen! Great to have someone with your knowledge. Appreciated

[@burtbrooks7731]

I’d say that’s the last 300 plus mph rip we ever see John take again, if it was that was a hell of a last pass!!!

[@KennethFlite]

Glad to hear that and hope it never happens again and John and his group will find a fix for it.

[@williambarry8015]

I don't think John Will drive professionally again but i ain't counting him out either. And if he doesn't drive again that may not be because he isn't able to, it may be because his family wants him to relax a while.

[@user-jp2el2uw6i]

Question for Alan; what is the red tag flapping from the left chute pack after John's car hits the wall?

[@caleba440]

It’s been looked at up close before. It’s the pilot chute man, the chutes were NOT pinned.

[@Ash_Dean]

that explanation was so simple it was good!

[@williambarry8015]

Its risky business. The only way to eliminate risk it to stop racing.

[@johnunruh1086]

Thanks for the thorough professional answer!

[@christophersanders5007]

Maybe they could mount the solenoid closer to the chute pin.

[@jayer-su3hu]

Or stop mounting the release levers and thr air cylinder on/close to the body. Whatever the fix is we know they will figure out what works best

[@gordonoehlers4803]

Perhaps a lateral G meter to pop the chutes sooner maybe they would have had enough time before the frame it the wall and bent???

[@eastender74]

When John was on the stretcher going into the ambulance he sat up and was talking. It definitely seemed like he had made through it with no problems. Of course we all found out what his condition really was when they released it to the public but when you reflect on it at that moment he looked ok 🤷‍♂️

[@jamestone265]

Adrenaline

[@cwilliamsphoto]

And unfortunately with a TBI no two are alike. He could recover quickly with little to no side effects, or he could be impaired in some way for the remainder of his life and need some form of therapy. There's no set of rules for how the brain heals, but one thing is for certain is that John isn't one to let things get the best of him if he can help it. If that mentality is still strong in him right now he'll have a good chance of making a better/faster recovery.

[@7viewerlogic670]

Good info.

[@alkennedy1124]

Ok , so get rid of the cable pull,and put a air trigger push bar in encapsulate the end of the safety parachute handle, but with out a cable that pulls it, and instead,put the air cyclinder on the push side ,on the same pivot point as the parachute handle if the driver pushes, ok😢that’s one way, thanks BigAl California.

[@johnmckenzie6262]

Make the mounting point for the solenoid common to the main shoot lever .

[@geofschwer1625]

If the activation line was compromised, how did the parachute happen to opened later on?

[@joshuaharris4484]

So the chasis folded during the explosion, or did the folding happen after the impact of the wall?

[@studboy9244]

From what I have seen of Force his biggest concern in racing is safety, basically in a nut shell after his driver crashed and died in a practice run he was all over a design change that may prevent what happened to his driver from happening to another driver and was willing to help the drivers that couldn't afford the design changes, Force is the best and has real concern for everyone involved in his sport.

[@Slugg-O]

3:10 So what caused the compromise? I'm assuming the actuator is mounted to the frame. Did the engine explosion bend the frame where it was mounted? Frames are made from some pretty hard metal. I get what's being said, but not how or what resulted in the area (distance) between the two points being reduced to the point of being ineffective.

[@CHOCKO895]

John Force steered that car away from the right wall immediately after the explosion. He was driving his butt off

[@mikerhoads7010]

Alan you’re a legend buddy🙏

[@briannelson6259]

Mount a plate at the handles with the air cylinder connected directly to handles no cables. Then, the tube can bend, and it won't affect the system .👍

[@mushmouth]

You would think they would have the air cylinder hooked directly to the parachute handle like most other cars that are in the slower classes

[@hayaghost9772]

Id say stay away from any linkage and use only a cable mounted loosely to allow for bending of the chassis

[@benhull1506]

I'm also curious as to why the body didn't completely lift off the chassis? Is it possible that John might have course corrected if he could see? It looked like he had no vision because of the bunched-up body pieces in front of him.

[@broughxtreme]

If the pull-cable had an "outter cable" then it wouldn't matter if points A and B changed in relation to eachother or just put the air solinoid at the activation lever and leave a bit of slack in the air line.

[@jrlaymance]

Isolate the parachute lever, Morse cable clamp and air cylinder to a fixture that then attaches to a single vertical bar on the cage.

[@ChrisLinsinbiglrr]

Could they mount the air solenoid directly to the parachute lever. Just mount it on the bottom of the lever facing the opposite way ? We use it on the hydraulic cylinders in the farm industry. Heal well, John. Continued prayers

[@jdoggsgarage4494]

Just by the description of that assembly it seems obvious that this would be a mode of failure. The handle and air cylinder and solenoid need to be all one assembly so no matter what happens to the chassis it works

[@jayer-su3hu]

I agree. No cables connecting the 2. This was a perfect example of one man's simplicity may have caused the serious injuries to the champ. There will be a better way devised and implemented ASAP.

[@jdoggsgarage4494]

@@jayer-su3hu motion race works already makes a really nice billet lever/actuator assembly that's one piece. It's an off the shelf part 🤷

[@fivestar8337]

Needs to be mounted on a bracket at the handle like an air shifter

[@ruffnut1000]

I think the chute release needs to moved to the chassis, that way they avoided the body crushing and causing this type of issue, I also think it might be a better idea if the system worked on a lack of pressure to pull/push rather than using pressure to pull/push the lever. The system is used on truck brakes

[@terrymode2543]

But chutes are mounted on the body, so unhook the cables every time you take the body off? Maybe reinforce the body where the handles are mounted?

[@ruffnut1000]

@@terrymode2543 the packs are mounted to the body, the straps are usually mounted to the diff. I would be amazed if they ever take the body off with the chutes in the packs. The only issue with the cables is if they go through a hole in the back of the body, no reason they couldn’t run them under the back of the body

[@jtea84]

Tapered SAFERBarrier at top end

[@phillipsprague3275]

And that would do what?

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

Yeah , that system works great for cars that are approaching 200 mph . What would happen if it's hit at 300 or 330 mph ? Would you care to volunteer to be the first person to find out if it would work as you think it will ?

[@jayer-su3hu]

Anything such as the safer barrier would be better than bare concrete. I've been advocating for this since they came out. I'm sure they will no doubt act differently when you add 100 mph+ to the equation but I feel it has to ve better than what we have now-nothing.

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

@@jayer-su3hu okay , I got a question for you guys , how well will the SAFER barrier hold up to exposure to sunlight and the elements ? Will it start breaking down ? What is it's life expectancy ?

[@jayer-su3hu]

@bobbrinkerhoff3592 not sure. I believe at the nascar/Indy tracks they leave it up all yr. While this is far easier than pulling the foam out and storing it until it's needed for the nxt event your question is very valid. UV destroys nearly everything, given enough exposure over time. That said, even though the other applications seem to leave it out all yr I have yet to see an incident where this caused an issue.

[@grogman1911]

Once is one time too many. The manual and automatic systems should be in parallel or entirely separate without any linkage connecting the two.

[@gregm784]

Very well explained guys. Thank you.

[@JeffSherlock]

Good, clear explanation. Makes sense.

[@neverstoplearning7214]

Thank you for the explanation

[@TheRange7]

Hey guys I don't follow NHRA. How's John doing? I always loved him. He seems like such a great guy and so good for the sport. I hope he recovers fully and quickly.

[@CH3NO2Semonious]

I would like to see something crushable added into the area between the side of the body and chassis. In our A/FC the only thing between me and the guard rail is a sheet of fiberglass, the zoomies, a bit of aluminum tinwork and the chassis itself.

[@jeffdavis5841]

A micro switch that trips when the handle is pushed forward that activates the solenoid would work. Being wired would be a back up to the cable actuation. If the cable isn't actuated due to chassis compromise as outlined here, the chutes would still deploy through the micro switch and solenoid activation. On another note from someone that helped build and crewed with BB/FC and AA/FC cars back in the 70's / 80's / into the 90's ....I think its time the NHRA needs to put an age limit on licensing drivers. Johns been a pretty capable driver but in the past few years we've seen some questionable driving (most likely due to reaction time slowing down with age). Add to that the more physical the cars have become (1000 ft 3.80s 340mph) is much different than when John started out! The stress that puts on the body is huge and a nearly 80 year old men simply isn't capable. Period. There is a reason you don't see pilots flying F35's, F18's F22's etc into their 50s....typically their more comprehensive physicals basically say nope, despite what they feel they can do! Airline pilots flying left seat have to still retire at 65 in the US whether or not they pass the FAA physical. And lets face it an NHRA's physical in no way says a guy can drive a car under multiple positive and negative G forces, with deteriorating reaction times (hey happens to all of us with age, just a fact) at 300 plus mph. I was shocked the NHRA continued to license "the Greek" at 88 years old for a T/F license! Its time with the increased violence of the cars and physical requirements as well as deterioration of humans that limits have to be set.

[@allanstephenson9336]

Everything happens in a mill a sec. #1 thing. I hope and pray John will be ok. Hes a Awesome guy and very strong. God willing , he will be ok. God bless ❤❤

[@semperfidelis8386]

3:20 to hear the reason why

[@markgentry6688]

I truly pray that a fail safe system for chute deployment is figured out. We don’t need to lose anymore drivers. I’m still praying for John’s recovery ❤

[@mikeweber5382]

Thank you for Ann excellent explanation, safety is first, but unfortunately wrecks like this let us know actually how dangerous this sport is, get well John. I hope we gain from this without losing a legend.

[@nicolassanchez8318]

Why a fan am I for not noticing that? Good stuff

[@rbszx14r56]

Thank you for this great information

[@precbsfender]

I appreciate the update, I believe they've already found a solution, hopefully it'll never happen again.. Godspeed Champ..

[@JT-ht2hc]

Maybe a wireless system? Like a front door sensor?

[@KartmanPCR]

A wireless system with all the RFI coming off those magnetos? No thank you.

[@latoyamcdaniel6179]

Thanks for the detailed explanation 😊

[@billy-bo-dilly]

My thought is that the area of the car containing the chute system was not compromised until impact with the wall. The chutes should have deployed at the time of the engine explosion.

[@BB..........]

With it all mounted to the body, as soon as it exploded everything lost shape long before it hit the wall.

[@christianfritz6333]

I was actually so caught up in the moment I didn't realize until I saw this that the chutes didn't deploy. I'll also say this. JFR has always been the forefront of safety in a funny car, John knows more then most what bad can happen. Driver safety is the one thing he cares about more then winning.

[@flyingfortressrc1794]

Hopefully they make it a rule that that area is somehow reinforced so this never pops out of the blue again. The joys of racing with what's basically a human crash test dummy. Head and neck restraints were never a thing until we lost Dale Sr. Now that they've been mandated we haven't lost a Nascar driver since in that kind of accident....

[@ryanstuckey8677]

Head and neck restraints were never a thing until we lost Dale Sr. they were a thing long before that. dale refused to wear them. they were mandated after he was killed.

[@joefin5900]

The drag chute should lift the car from the ground, not fight against the roll.

[@We_the_People_2A]

Does that answer why the engine explosion didn’t trigger it without the wire pulling it ? ? ? Why would it have bee different than an upper end explosion ?

[@randytingen]

Smart minds prevail.

[@markbassett8937]

Did that happen to Scott Kallitta?

[@darylb5564]

Why did that area deform? It must have been the explosion since that should have deployed the shoots. Was this caused by the body being strapped down? Don’t know but you will never convince me that containing an explosion is a good idea. Is it safer for the fans? Without a doubt but I’m convinced there’s a way to have the body vent while staying with the car. I don’t know if the right answer is hinges or tethers I’m not an engineer. It’s just good common sense not to have a person in a semi sealed compartment with a bomb. Please leave your hateful comments below. Thanks!