Nationals Tech. Rear firewall need to be intact?

#1

I vaguely recall some controversy coming out of one of the Nationals from some years ago. SpecE30’s that had big holes in their rear firewall for their cage bars ran into trouble because Nationals Tech said that the rear firewall needed to be largely intact in order to protect the driver from, I don’t know, the brake lights or something.

Does anyone recall this? I have big holes in my rear firewall and I have to remove a seat to get back there. I have a seat removed right now so if I need to patch those big holes, now is the time. But I want to make sure that I’m doing it for a good reason and not because I’m imagining the whole thing.

15.6.11 Rear Braces
The main hoop should have two (2) braces extending to the rear. The braces shall be attached as near as
possible to the top of the main hoop, and no more than six (6) inches below the top. The braces should not
contain any bends*. There must be at least 30 degrees between the plane of the main hoop and the plane of
the rear braces. The main hoop rear braces may consist of an “X” pattern design. The main hoop braces may be mounted at the rear shock mounts or suspension pickup points (providing that the braces remain in compliance with all other sections of the CCR). They may go through any rear bulkhead(s) provided the bulkhead(s) is sealed around the cage braces.

#2

The issue was for those who had the acid batteries. The driver wasnt protected form any gassing off the batteries.
The solution was to require a battery box for acid batteries and the gel batteries dont gas so its not required.
Whomever built my cage just cut a huge square out of the area that rear bars go thru. Meh…

I also recall something to do with mid engine cars too, even tho its not specified. It was meant to “catch all” yet, vaguely vague.

#3

This is what we had to comply to in Nor Cal at the start of 2012, at the Nationals in 2011 it was talked about but not enforced, at the time it was a Nor Cal thing!

This all came about because of all the holes in the bulk head so the battery was deemed to be in the drivers compartment, I think some people passed the rule by completely taping the bulk head holes…

"To accommodate those racers who missed either the June/August 2011 event(s) and were not aware of this enforcement action, NASA Tech has moved the compliance date for getting batteries compliant with CCR Rule 18.8 out until the first event of the 2012 season.

2012 Annual Safety Inspections will enforce Rule 18.8 therefore all our SE30s should be compliant by the first event.

NASA warns that non-compliant cars will be subject to fines.

18.8 Battery
The battery shall be securely fastened down to the car. No Bungee cords or rubber cords may be used to function as the sole hold down mechanism. An electrically non conductive material must cover the positive battery terminal. Any battery located inside the driver’s compartment shall be fully covered and firmly secured to the chassis in a marine type battery case. True dry cell batteries may be mounted without a surrounding case, however a case is still recommended. Note- there is a difference between “dry cells” and “gel cells.” Gel cells still need to be mounted in a case."

#4

The rear bulkhead has quite a bit of venting into the trunk, even before you cut holes for the rear down tubes. But it is part of the chassis structure, and compromising that is a bigger concern in my opinion.