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The Era of the
Oswego Dragway 
"Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races" - Carroll Shelby
It doesn't matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses. - Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Jay:
As for your documentary project, I think
that the evolution of safety in drag racing hasn't really been done yet,
whereas the evolution of technology has been done again and again....though
usually not very well. I'm sure that someone (maybe you?) could bring fresh perspective to it.
I should mention a book that you might not be aware of. It's called
'The science of safety,' by David Tremayne. The entire book is devoted to the evolution of safety in Formula 1, from its
inception up to the late '90s. It is an excellent read. You can get a used copy from Amazon for $16, or you could do as I did, and
get one from the public library (real easy for me, as I also work there).
Incidentally, the same author did a book on the evolution of technology
in F1 titled, 'The science of speed.' - David Hapgood
The Evolution of Safety Technology
This page inspired by and with the assistance of David Hapgood.
"One of my longtime safety concerns at dragstrips across
the country has been the proximity of the scoreboards to the racing surface.
While track safety and overall amenities have improved greatly over the years --
at an expenditure of millions of dollars -- whenever I look at the scoreboards I
see a layout that was 'state of the art' way back in the 1970s. In light of
another recent fatality involving a race car hitting a scoreboard I wonder if it
isn't time to do things another way.
In this sketch you will note that the main hazards -- the
vertical support posts -- have been moved away from the track behind a second
retaining wall. The beauty in this design is that the scoreboards could stay
exactly in the same place, except they would be suspended at the end of 'booms,'
similar to those on construction cranes. The spot where the vertical support
posts now stand would be replaced by open air -- one less concern for any driver
unfortunate enough to wind up traveling at 200 or 300 mph on the wrong side of
the wall.
I'd be the first to admit that an upgrade of this sort
wouldn't be cheap, and justifying the investment would require a major shift in
thinking on the part of the decision makers. Then again, sometimes things need
to change: after all, just a few weeks ago who would have imagined that funny
car roll cages would be redesigned to accommodate extra padding? Sadly enough,
tragedies inspire change. My only question in regards to the scoreboards is
this: why wait?"
David Hapgood Reprinted with permission from Draglist.com
Here are a couple of my photos, chosen at random. I hope I've answered your questions. Thanks for writing. - David Hapgood
Safety equipment a few years ago?
Nice shot from photographer William K. Gommel, Jr.
Mission Statement: To research, record, document and preserve the personal histories of the young people from here in the Fox Valley and the Midwest who played a vital role in merging land speed racing and hot rodding creating modern drag racing. And also to simultaneously note the myriad of positive benefits that accrued to the lives and avocations of these young people by the very nature of their activities and labors at the track. Whew! Jay Thompson
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