[Jeff Higgins]

Great perspective, Mike - thanks for posting it. While I have never instructed, nor have I ever aspired to do so, I do hear a lot of that kind of discussion among my friends who do instruct. It seems the ante has been raised substantially in the last decade or so, with factory hot-rod track cars getting faster and faster by the year. At some point everyone is going to be forced to acknowledge that these cars are indeed approaching the capabilities of dedicated race cars, and come to grips with the fact that they need safety equipment commensurate with their speed.

As an old drag racer in years past, I well remember the NHRA's approach. Below certain E.T.'s, or above certain trap speeds, safety requirements increase in steps until at some point a full cage, seat, harnesses, suit, fire, and more are required. Granted, that's easy to implement across the board as a quarter mile never changes, but even with the variety of road courses out there, there is going to have to be a way, based on lap times or something, to take the same approach.

Like mom used to say, it's all good fun until someone loses and eye...