April Fools?

Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon will be racing on a shorter drag strip beginning this weekend's NHRA event near Denver, Colo.

Was it an April Fools' joke?
It sure sounded like one when the NHRA announced a radical change for Top Fuel and Funny racing, reducing the length of a competition lap from the traditional quartermile or 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet.
But this was no joke. It's the NHRA's initial reaction to the horrific crash that resulted in the death of veteran Scott Kalitta.
NHRA says the reduction in track length is an interim step as it continues to investigate and decide whether and what changes may be made down the line in the eye of safety.
My initial reaction, is that it will not really solve the problem.
Crew chiefs try to make maxium horsepower through the entire quartermile, and if they miss, they miss short, resulting in engine explosions between the 1,000-foot mark and the finish line.
They will now try to make even more horsepower through 1,000-foot finish line, lowering the window for engine failures to the 800-foot mark. But the engines will still explode.
This will provide a much longer shut-down area, but I'm not sure that would have saved Kalitta's life. It looked like on the video that he never slowed down, and perhaps was unconscious following the explosion.
Some will argue that this decision is too radical for an in-season change. I will say, though, that if it saves lives, go for it. But I'm not sure they are addressing the right issue.
I just happen to like the other ideas, including one that will feature an automatic parachute release.