In an interim move to address concerns regarding the safety of 300-plus-mph Top Fuel and Funny Cars, the NHRA has moved the finish line from the current 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet until more permanent safety rules can be written. This move comes in the wake of the recent death of Funny Car pilot Scott Kalitta, who died of injuries suffered after the engine in his Funny Car exploded, sending the car into a series of violent tumbles at the Lucas Oil SuperNationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, in June. The NHRA announced that the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver would be the first race in which the 1,000-foot finish line would be enforced.
In conjunction with this temporary change, the NHRA will also be investigating other technical issues such as what might be done to reduce engine failures, parachute mounting techniques, and materials that would make parachutes more fire resistant as well as other methods that could be used to help safely arrest high-speed vehicles beyond the sand trap and catch fences already in place. The current NHRA Funny Car top-speed record is held by Jack Beckman at 333.66 mph, only slightly slower than Tony Schumacher's Top Fuel 336.15mph speed. At 330 mph, these cars are traveling at 484 feet per second or more than one and a half football field each second. When the parachutes deploy, the driver is hit with roughly 6 g's of instantaneous deceleration.