Driveshafts break everyday there is drag racing. It's going to happen no matter how nad ass your DS is. They're only made of metal and they get a lot of stress. There is no way to prevent them from breaking. You as a car owner and driver have to determine that your parts, no matter what thier function, are al in good safe working order. Does anyone know when thier DS is going to break, I would say no unless its physically apparent that something is wrong with it. Dual safety loops are not meant to satisfy a DS failure more so that they're meant to contain a U-joint failure which is more common and that is why a tunnel is not mandatory for classes below pro stock. My guess is someone after the fact asked why she didn't have a tunnel and that's what started the process of sueing. I can't believe she would have raced a car previously thinking
'hey, why don't I need a safety tunnel for my DS in case it breaks and shredds my arm? "
The NHRA is very strong for safety. To the point that some of us at lower levels of racing question why do we need to do (fill in th e blank)? If they made and inforced rules to prevent any and all injuries no matter small or large then there would not be any fun in racing. If they require a safety tunnel of that class as a "reaction" to an event, would a proactive safety measure be to require a tunnel on all vehicles regardless of class, HP, speed or E.T.? So I would be required to install a safety tunnel on my Trans Am that runs 13's? Drag racing is not a high risk sport, it's an extremely high risk sport. Whe she decided to man a ????HP car to run somewhere in the 7,8,9,10,11,12+ second range she decided to accept the risk of personal injury or even death. Thats part of the rush of drag racing.