Five years ago rules changes were made to include an additional “headliner” carbon fiber panel in Pro Mod cars that would be an additional level of protection between the driver and the outside of the car should the roof come off, be ground off after sliding upside down, etc. This rule came about after NHRA saw instances where drivers crashed and flipped cars that then lost body panels and allowed the driver’s arms to flail outside the roll cage structure of the chassis. Now I’m a big fan of wearing arm restraints in fast cars, and they are a requirement in some of the other racing I do, but it never ever hurts to have more protection from whatever may try to bite you on the race track.

Back in 2015 Tim McAmis, and other chassis builders, came out with retrofit kits to add this interior carbon “headliner” to protect the driver if the roof panel itself came off. The kits are simple, clean, and very effective. There is one scenario where they could possibly be susceptible to damage that could negate their safety improvement however and that has lead to NHRA mandating a new permanent mounting solution on any car built after January 2020 that will compete in either Pro Stock or Pro Mod. We agree with a lot of NHRA’s safety improvements and don’t think this one is a bad idea at all. It is easy, does not cost much, and gives another actual layer of protection to the driver. Sounds good to us, and thanks to Tim McAmis you can see just how the retrofit kit works, how the new permanent mounts are made, and what Tim’s thoughts are on putting them in other drag race cars you might be building.