NHRA Top Fuel Crash at Firebird Raceway

shock6906 · 02-22-2010, 07:01 AM

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?...v=st&type=lgns

Quote:

[CHANDLER, ARIZ.(AP) —A woman died Sunday after being hit by a tire from a crashing dragster at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

The woman was watching a first-round Top Fuel run at Firebird International Raceway when Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster went out of control on the strip and its left rear wheel came off.

Maisonet said she didn’t know the victim’s name or hometown.

“The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by today’s incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the woman’s family and friends,” the National Hot Rod Association said in an e-mailed statement.

Franki Buckman, the track’s executive vice president, said Firebird International Raceway also is deeply saddened by the incident.

Brown was released by the track medical staff, but went to Chandler Regional Hospital for further observation, according to a statement from Don Schumacher Racing. The NHRA said Brown wasn’t injured.

The Associated Press sent an e-mail to Brown’s Brownsburg, Ind.-based racing team seeking comment after the woman died.

The racing continued after the accident, and John Force advanced to his second straight Funny Car final before the session was postponed because of rain. Force, the 60-year-old star who ended a 40-race winless streak last week with his record 127th victory, will meet Jack Beckman on Monday.

I saw the recap of this race last night, and the crash was pretty nasty. The dragster went into pretty bad tire shake, it dug to the left, the wheel/tire came off, bounced off of the car, and went flying.

I think this is the video, but I can't watch it. I just Googled it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNpgz_JefO4

CaliChevyLover · 02-22-2010, 08:06 AM

video is the one

5SPDCHK · 02-22-2010, 08:17 AM

Very, very tragic accident. It's hard to believe Antron Brown was not injured.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the woman killed.

ZAZ · 02-22-2010, 08:22 AM

i heard this on the radio this morning. that is pretty sad. sucks for the driver and the woman.

the first time i took one of my GF to the track to watch me race, we were right behind the burnout box, (they probably let us get closer than we should have been allowed to be) and a piece of rubber flew off the tire or track from a first gen doing a burnout, and hit my GF leg. left a nasty welt too.. could have been worse if it hit her or anyones face.

5SPDCHK · 02-22-2010, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZAZ

i heard this on the radio this morning. that is pretty sad. sucks for the driver and the woman.

the first time i took one of my GF to the track to watch me race, we were right behind the burnout box, (they probably let us get closer than we should have been allowed to be) and a piece of rubber flew off the tire or track from a first gen doing a burnout, and hit my GF leg. left a nasty welt too.. could have been worse if it hit her or anyones face.

You should never be standing behind any car when they're doing a burnout. Things (like rubber and pebbles) fly off the tires ALL the time.

I don't know who this woman was or where she was standing so I don't want to speculate what may have happened. I did hear last night that she was the member of a Nostalgia Funny Car team?

shock6906 · 02-22-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5SPDCHK

I don't know who this woman was or where she was standing so I don't want to speculate what may have happened. I did hear last night that she was the member of a Nostalgia Funny Car team?

That's what I heard last night as well. Maybe she was in those side lanes. The tire flew over the wall and straight down those lanes from what I could see.