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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, July 20-22, 2005, The Park Record B-8 G-forces on drag racers too much?a By BILL BRIGGS MediaNews Group Wire Service Drag racing legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits says he occasionally grew woozy at extreme speeds, and he believes high G-forccs have left other drivers similarly disoriented, causing some to crash. Garlits, one of at least three drag racers who also has suffered eye damage from years of blistering starts and rapid stops, says the National Hot Rod Association needs to formally study whether massive G-forces arc jeopardizing drivers. "We're at the edge of the envelope," Garlils, now retired, said Friday. "There may be some point here where they just can't accelerate these men and women any faster. You dont want to accelerate them and knock them out. I'm worried about the guys off the starting line. We get them going so quick. "They need to know: What is the human tolerance?" Graham Light, the NHRA's senior vice president of racing operalions, responded that drag cars already contain G-force meters so crews can watch any spikes in those gravitational numbers. What's more, the league is not seeking to boost track speeds beyond the modern mark of 336 mph. "Do we need them going 340 or 350? The consensus among race teams is no," Light said at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., host of the Mile-High Nationals this weekend. "There is no other barrier to be broken other What Happens When You Die? Where Do You'Go'? Where is Heaven? What is Eternity? What is Time? Dr. Ralph Rohr, Prof. Univ. ofUtdh Next Two Tuesdays July 19 and 26 - 6:30 PM Christian Center - 1100 Iron Norse Park City 649-2260 Refreshment included than 400 mph. and that's totally beyond anybody's imagination. "We are obviously concerned about the conditions of our drivers." Top fuel racers say they typically hit 5 Gs, or a gravitational force of five times their body weight. But that exposure is brief, with sprints lasting less than five seconds on quarter-mile tracks. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, prolonged exposure to 4.1 Gs can squeeze so much blood out of the brain and into the legs, all color can wash out of a person's field of vision. Fighter pilots, who wear special pants that push the blood back to the upper body, call that a "gray out." After a period of time at 4.7 Gs, a person's sight can go black, and at 5.4 Gs, they can eventually lose consciousness. One American oval track has shown racers how quickly high G s can play tricks. During practice laps at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2001, almost two dozen open-wheel racers complained of dizziness- A CART doctor found the drivers were hitting 5.5 Gs during 18 seconds of each lap. The race was postponed. By contrast, space shuttle astronauts zoom into orbit at about 3 Gs. "That ain't nothing," Garlits said. The icon, who ranks fourth alltime among NHRA top-fuelers with 35 wins, said he sometimes felt woozy after the initial, explosive burst of a race. How often did that happen? "Every run that was good," Garlits said. "You wouldn't get over it till you were 300 feet down the track. "We think some of the cars have crashed because of it. But we dont know if they got knocked out by the G-force or by the crash," he added. "Sec, a lot of guys may not say anything about it. They want to keep driving." During Garlits' heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, some drag racers were knocked unconscious inside the cockpit by a horsepower-caused recoil dubbed "lire shake," Light acknowledged. But thicker padding in helmets and on roll bars helped the NHRA prevent that phenomenon, he added. Drivers also must undergo aviation-caliber medical exams each year. Drivers 55 and older receive electrocardiograms. Light said. To the delight of fans and drivers, the sport remains equal parts fiery fury and sudden thunder. Races begin with the violent shudder of an exploding rocket, cooking the cockpit to as hot as 130 degrees and jerking Ihe car from zero to 100 mph in less than a second. "It forces your eyes to the back of the socket." said Mitch Stott, a pro-modified driver from North Carolina. Strapped stiffly into their scats, drivers are slammed from head lo chest by a crushing, frontal force. "It takes the wind right out of you," said funny car racer Gary Scelzi. "Do I breathe? I don't know. I honestly dont know." Some drivers shift gears, depending on the type of dragster. They steer, trying to maintain a straight line, and many grab a peck at the next lane. They arc busy. "I can tell you seven different things I do in 4.7 seconds," Scelzi says. "Drag racing is not as cut and dried as il appears," Stoll added. "These cars definitely have to be driven. It's not aim and shoot." At the midpoint, some drive say they feel like they are riding "from inside the windshield." Then, it is over. They pull their parachutes, unleashing up to 3 nega-'' live Gs of force. They're immediatef. ly yanked toward the front of the;' cockpit. The straps grab hard against. their shoulders and back. Their eyes'; bulge. "Once, I saw stars," Garlits said. "That was in 1992. Then, off in the; distance I saw flashing lights, like lightning." It wasn't looming weather. Garlits was suffering from a, detached retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue thai lines the inside of the eye. A doctor later repaired the tear with a laser, and Garlits returned for a handful of races a few years ago. "But it put me oul of business eventually." 'Hie constant mash and lug of starts and finishes caused similar retina tears in Stott and Joe Ainato, top fuel's all-time wins leader. Amato retired in 2000. Stott. who has suffered some headaches and eye soreness, said he plans to race five to seven more years. Stott's doctor told him he doesni risk blindness and his vision will worsen by only about 10 percent if he continues. "I still have a tremendous desire to win. I wouldn't race if I didn't," Stott said. "Besides, there aint no ride like this at the county fair." RVs roam roads despite pain at the pump Kitchen • Bath • Gifts Check out our New Location 1685 Bonanza Drive - 649.9700 By ELECTA DRAPER MediaNews Group Wire Service Durango, Colo. _ The happy wanderers of American highways are not letting record-high gas prices deter them from vacations in recreational vehicles that get 7 to 12 miles per gallon. Indeed, the national RV industry is experiencing a double-digit increase in sales, overflowing campgrounds and exuberant disregard for pain at the pump. Shawn and Melessa Witkowski drove their RV from Buffalo, N.Y., to the Alpen Rose RV Park near Durango, where armadas of RVs are tucked between a river and sheer red cliffs. "We did discuss gas prices. We figured it would probably cost us $1,000 just in gas. And here we arc," Melessa, 38, says with a shrug and a grin. "We planned this trip for too long," says Shawn, 37. "We weren't going to let gas prices slop us." Gas prices in Colorado hit a new high last week, an average of $2.30 per gallon for self-serve regular, according to the AAA survey. The national average was $2.32 a gallon, a 9-cent jump over the previous week. RV enthusiasts' devil-may-care attitude toward fillin' 'cr up has surprised park and campground managers. "I cant believe it," says Alpen Rose manager Joan Beverly. "We have had the most fantastic July we have ever had. We've had to turn so many people away." Kathy Palmeri, who runs Yogi Bear's Jellyslone Park Campground near Rocky Mountain National Park, was concerned enough about fuel prices that she marketed heavily to nearby Denver-area residents. But she has had as many out-of-slate reservations as ever, she says. And bookings overall are up 23 percent from last year. Ferrari Color found it pays "People enjoy the RV lifestyle so much that an extra 10, 15, 20 cents per gallon is not going to stop them," Palmeri says. Linda Profaizer. president of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, says double-digit increases in RV park visits are being reported around the country. Last year, when gas prices started soaring, RV park bookings were flat or up slightly over 2003. "This year people are saying: 'Gas prices are what they are.' They dont give up their vacations, but they might stay a little closer to home," Palmeri says. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association commissioned a study in June that found that almost 70 percent of RV owners surveyed said they planned to use their RVs more this summer than last year. And 27 percent planned to use them the same amount. Arnold and Darlene Sanderson of Fort Collins wait tofillup the 40and 60-gallon tanks of their 20-yearold RV in Wyoming when they can because of cheaper gas prices there. Arnold, 78, says their RV and square-dancing club has elected to limit their forays to within a 50-mile radius of members' homes. But when it came time this week for the Sandersons to head to Darlenes high school reunion in Montana, they gassed up and headed out in their RV. R.C. "Pete" Evans, a retiree from Fort Worth, Texas, had to make some trade-offs to keep his date this summer at a Durango RV park. But he didnt consider canceling. "Nope. Never," he says. "That (RV) sat in my driveway all winter. I've been saving up for this trip." With an RV, there is no need to run the gantlet of airport or rail security measures. Families have control, says Ken Sommer, director of media relations for the Virginiabased Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. "The RV industry has been a growth industry for 10 years, and it's expected to continue that way for years to come," Sommer says'. "People like the freedom, flexibility and control they have with an RV They like sleeping in their own beds. They like traveling with their pets. In 2004. RV shipments rose l 5 percent despite then-record fuel prices, and this boom, the bigges! since i 978, is attributed by the industry to baby boomers. The University of Michigan Research Survey Center found that boomers' RV purchases increased faster than any other group's from 1998 to 2001. But Americans 55 and older still own more RVs. Nearly 10 percent of that age group has one, compared wiili almost 9 percent of boomers. Nationwide, nearly 7 million households own an RV. "Yeah, so gas is costing more," says Randy Billes, owner of Pikes Peak Traveland Inc. in Colorado Springs. Biles says. "RVs are still a bargain. It's still the most economical form of travel." (Vew skaiesh©p! to have a cool image When building its new headquarters in Salt Lake City, Ferrari Color wanted to save energy and money on cooling but without the fine print. The digital imaging company took advantage of easy cash incentives from Utah Power's FinAnswer* Express program to purchase and install high-efficiency air conditioners. Ferrari Color is saving more than 25,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity and nearly $2,6(10 in energy costs each year with this equipment. 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