NHRA MOVES FORWARD.

Initial evaluation of the accident that claimed the life of two-time drag-racing champion Scott Kalitta (Competition, June 30) in New Jersey has NHRA officials addressing several areas of concern, including shutdown areas, braking systems, engine failures and parachute assemblies and materials.

NHRA brass said that Kalitta's massive engine explosion caused his Funny Car's body to separate mostly from the chassis. Kalitta's dual parachutes did not blossom properly, and he continued down the track at a high speed before crashing through a sand trap and into a catch net, hitting a wall and a television camera boom.

In an effort to make shutdown areas safer, the NHRA asked the FIA to share how it designs and constructs runoff areas. The NHRA also will research different catch nets and other restraint devices to slow runaway vehicles. Additionally, it will examine braking systems to see if cars can be stopped more effectively. Because the catastrophe started with an engine failure, the NHRA is working with Kalitta Motorsports to determine what happened and how to avoid such explosions. The series is also talking to parachute manufacturers to see if mounting techniques and materials can be improved, including making parachutes out of fire-resistant fabric.

"It's a step in the right direction, but I hope they take a look at the speeds. These cars don't have to run 320 mph to be exciting and good entertainment,'' said reigning Funny Car champ Tony Pedregon.

MOSLEY TARGETED?

Dean Attew, CEO of Titon International, a London-based security and intelligence consultancy, revealed his belief that FIA president Max Mosley was the target of a deliberate smear campaign when Mosley was filmed participating in a sex orgy with five prostitutes. Attew has previously advised both Mosley and Bernie Eccle-stone's Formula One group.

"I received a call from a friend in January this year. We had a meeting and I was told there was an open budget to effectively go out and source material that would bring Max to his knees, remove him from office, and discredit him publicly,'' Attew told the Times of London. "I asked: `Are you after Max, the FIA, or Bernie?' They came back and said they weren't going to pursue it for the time being. I told Bernie what I'd heard and I asked him if there was anything anyone was going to find out about Max. He said: `You're not going to find anything because there's nothing there, he's Mr. Boring in that sense.'