Tell me why a stock car racer can walk away from a crash like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrfpWhLOTfY , a head on crash at roughly 180, but a drag racer gets sent to ICU with a glancing blow at slower speeds.

I think it is time to take a look at chassis certs.  I know everyone goes by SFI and that this has been debated on other boards but the evidence is pretty clear. 

Anyone have an opinion?

My name is Chris Ragle the manager with Pro Photo Productions and I feel I know alot about this issue. I just started being around drag racing in the last couple of years ORSCA particrly other than that all I have ever done for both hobby and for a living has been working in racing (95% stock car racing). ORSCA and drag racing as a whole quite frankly SUCKS at safety in comparison to stock car racing. This goes for tracks, series, teams, and drivers. What i have said over the last year or so since drag racing has lost so many is this: Each one will be considered just another tragedy until some something is done. On the NHRA/IHRA the series need to make the tracks install safer barriers along the way and make for ample run off room or we aren’t racing at your track, plan and simple just like NASCAR did. They also need to make head restraints mandatory if not already and as a series devote a total research team (money) into nothing but safety. You may say well they wont do that because that cuts into their money but its seems Nascar has done so just fine at it.

On the local/regional level head and neck restraints should be mandatory AT LEAST for all classes above the index no questions ask. You look in these cars and some I shake my head in disbelief in what they let go down the track. No roll bar padding or not enough, drivers in seats that look more like lawn chairs, and some don’t even where full fire suits. If you are a racer be a racer, racing cost money and the safety is part of racing.

I saw that car in the video up close you wouldn’t believe what was bent or broke do to just brute force but the driver was fine and raced the next weekend!  

That has been debated at length on other sites and I am not an expert but I will refer you to my first post the evidence is pretty clear.  Just look at that video and ask how can we argue with results.

also you guys must realize a nascar ,car wieghs in at about 3800lbs [i think] and most of that is cage, yes its mild steel[more forgiving thn CM] but they have a whole lot more cage in thier cars, to protect from all angles, i,ve always said a drag cage will not hold up in a head on, thats a given, just look at the front of any drag car,compared to a nascar car,so why would any one think a drag car is as strong as a nascar car, there is so much more cage in a nascar car,, where drag cars are not prone to the accidents of nascar racing, but if you want a drag car to withstand the same abuse than your back to the wieght factor, which nobody wants,  all thing have to meet somewhere for each type of application, the drag cars are getting faster ,and the cages are not meeting up to the wieght/power levels of some of these cars,and if they are brought up to specs[or above] most guys complain about to many bars or gussets...........we personally put in more than required ,always have ,but by no means are they nascar cage,s........