Quote Originally Posted by Chev malibu View Post
As to no master cutoff necessary, does this only apply to the VW, as to the ET/mph, or any car that runs slower then that? I'm sure there is some class, maybe street class (?)that runs without external cut off switches. Least I have never noticed them on the cars. They race, then drive home in them..If I ever take the Cobra to a strip, I hope I'd be in that class, and still drive it home after..

So would the manual "ignition off switch" that Denny mentions include the keyed ignition switch, after all that's manual?
A master cutoff switch mounted on the rearmost part of the car is required with any battery "relocation" or when the car dips into the nines or exceeds 135. On a Cobra, it's a matter of interpretation by the tech official. If the car was built as a turn-key by a professional builder, then it's hard to argue against the battery being in the "original location", no matter where it is in the car. A car built entirely by a home builder might be interpreted another way, but if a Cobra shows up at Firebird with a front-mounted battery that is secured well in the car and separated from the driver by a firewall, I'm gonna sign off his tech card and let him make passes. If the battery is in the back, secured well in the car and separated from the driver by a rear bulkhead or firewall, I'm gonna sign off his tech card and let him make passes. The tech inspector has to use a modicum of common sense in making these decisions. It all depends on safety. If the car will be safe for the driver, the guy in the other lane and spectators on-looking, then common sense says to let the car go make passes, regardless if it is exactly within the scope of the rulebook.

I'm not saying to skirt the rules, I'm just saying that if the battery in a Cobra is mounted in the rear, well secured and separated from the driver with a bulkhead, it could well be argued that the battery is in the "original location" for that specific vehicle and thus needs no rear mounted master cutoff switch until 9.99 or 135. Let common sense prevail.

As far as the other kill switch in the driver's compartment, it is separate and apart from the rear-mounted master cutoff switch. Here is the verbage from the 2009 NHRA Rulebook....
General Regulations, Section 8:3, Ignition.....
"Each car in competition must have a positive-action on/off switch, capable of de-energizing the entire ignition system, in good working order and located within easy reach of the driver. Momentary-contact switch prohibited. Magneto "kill-button" type switch prohibited."