more challenge rules questions

forgive me if these have been asked already, but i couldn't find them if they were! we are trying our first entry this year for the 2009 challenge and i am little confused on some of the rules. can someone help me figure some of this out?

we are running a convertible car and i think i understand that we need to run a cage to be legal. we aren't going to be breaking the sound barrier (or probably 13.99) so will a 6 point work or will we need more? will ERW tubing work or do we need DOM? (id prefer to use DOM but we are having trouble finding stock around here)

also, the rules seem to say we don't need windows for a convertible car. so i am assuming we can remove the glass and frame from the doors for safety? is this correct? we are considering welding up the doors for safety too, and we wouldn't be able to put the glass up or down if we do because of the roll bar would block the handle.

and last but not least, the rules allow certain safety gear to be out of the 2009 budget on the premise that it doesn't aid in performance of the vehicle. can a roll bar be considered in that category since our convertible requires it as safety equipment? it definitely wont make it faster! ha!

thanks in advance for any advice! and i look forward to meeting the other racers in october! mike

Rules are here:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/events/2009-challenge/rules/

If you're not going to break into the 13's, you don't need a cage.

Cage does not fall under "safety equipment." If you do plan on running a cage, the rules state it has to be NHRA legal, which means you'll have to dig through the NHRA rule book. Can't help ya' there.

You WILL need arm restraints, which do fall under "safety equipment."

TECHNICALLY door glass can be REPLACED. However, lots of teams have gotten away w/no glass, and instead used a window net. It's a crap shoot. One of these days, the tech. inspectors might say "no side glass, no drags." We encountered this at our local drag strip.

Anything else?

Be sure to add yourself (and your car) to the entrants list (http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/events/2009-challenge/entrants/) so people can track your progress.

Note: Not a substitute for actually entering. You still have to send in your forms and all of that.

i think we have entered already but i don't see us in the list. it is under team monkey racing. it was sent monday by mail so it probably isn't there yet. i'll post updates soon.

no cage? we may not need one for our time slip, but i'd like to have one for headache prevention anyway! i'll check the NHRA rule book for the cage. guess i have to buy one. the rule book doesn't count towards the $2009 does it? ha!

has anyone in a convertible ever run (or been asked to run) the races with the windows up? that seems pretty dangerous to me!

are there any rules about welding up doors? are there any minimum standards for fuel line materials? (will rubber lines of any length be allowed? this is what the car has now.) is there any requirement for an electrical kill switch?

poopshovel wrote: TECHNICALLY door glass can be REPLACED. However, lots of teams have gotten away w/no glass, and instead used a window net. It's a crap shoot. One of these days, the tech. inspectors might say "no side glass, no drags." We encountered this at our local drag strip. Anything else?

For a convertible, we've did 3 challenges with arm restraints and no windows. And our local track in SE MI was ok with the arm restraints for the tune days.

E-

Got your entry yesterday. thanks.

Per

alfadriver wrote:

poopshovel wrote: TECHNICALLY door glass can be REPLACED. However, lots of teams have gotten away w/no glass, and instead used a window net. It's a crap shoot. One of these days, the tech. inspectors might say "no side glass, no drags." We encountered this at our local drag strip. Anything else?

For a convertible, we've did 3 challenges with arm restraints and no windows. E-

Ditto.

i just bought my nhra book. thanks for the advice on the windows. i hadnt noticed any pictures of the past events with convertible windows up but i didnt want to get to gainesville with a nonconforming ride!

i'll look through the NHRA book for this too, but are there any non NHRA based rules about using 4 point belts? our seats aren't made for 5 points and a factory belt seems inadequate. i could cut the seats for the fifth belt but i dont know what i am going to run into under the upholstry.

Factory belts will pass tech.

The entrants page (http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/events/2009-challenge/entrants/) has now been updated with the latest confirmed entries.