is everyone safe at arizona
 

read antrons car had a crash and parts were flying in the stands and pits

http://www.nitromater.com/nhra/24903...tml#post237256

looks like a fan was killed

god speed, hope all of our racers are safe

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Just talked to somebody that is there and was told a tire/wheel went into the stands and hit a female spectator.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

TRACKSIDE TRAGEDY

Nostalgia Motorsports’ Jim Broome phoned to share that during the NHRA Arizona Nationals first round eliminations Antron Brown’s top fuel dragster crashed shortly before the finish line losing the left rear tire. The tire flew into the crowd instantly killing one woman then leaping over the nostalgia Funny Car teams Powers Steel, Jolly Rogers and Candies & Hughes’s racecar trailers before slamming into Steve Plueger’s hauler. The tire caved in the hauler’s door and smashed out the window before coming to a final rest.

It is reported that the female spectator was pushing another woman in a wheelchair just below the grandstands when she was struck by the tire. NHRA medical and safety crew pronounced her dead on the scene. This is a somber reminder of the dangers involved with any form of racing and our hearts go out to the victim’s family.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

That is very sad news and is a terrible blow to NHRA. It is bad enough when a driver is killed but when a specatator dies it is way worse! I am sorry for the victom and her family and friends......It is almost unbelievable to be reading about this! I can''t recall it ever happening at an NHRA event before.

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I can't belive I just read this. An absolute tragedy to our sport. God help the poor woman and her family.

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Not good. Am wondering if the event will even now be completed today? On this morning's ESPN show, one Pro Stock driver (Greg Anderson during interview) said that the track was unsafe----both lanes, and that they were trying to somehow make improvements before eliminations begin.....Anderson sounded quite concerned about the track's condition and the fact that 2 Pro Stocks had already "turtled" on Sat....Maybe thinking out loud prematurely here, but I hope Brown's crash wasn't the result of a crewmember not tightening a rear wheel sufficiently.....WJ

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Picture from Competition Plus
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/8185/dsa2168.jpg
By goodscotch, shot with NIKON D300 at 2010-02-21

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

A truly sad situation.What's sadder is that it seems that NHRA might be trying to not acknowledge the situation.Bob Frey commented on the live coverage that a female
spectator was injured and was taken to the hospital.The Statement I saw said the woman was declared dead at the scene.Either NHRA, through their announcers, should acknowledge what happened or not mention the situation at all.Just my opinion.
I feel for the family of the victim.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Ed ~ I would imagine it best that nothing be said until family notifications are done, etc.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Ed i think they declare anyone who passes away dead at the hospital so they do not have to stop the race because then it could become a crime scene. But that is my guess. If you remember they declared Scotty K dead at the hospital.

Sad day for the family and also Antron, he is the nicest guy at the track and i know he would never want to hurt anyone.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

DRC (partial) post: A female attending the NHRA AZ national received serious injuries after being struck by debris at Firebird I. R.
She was transported by Helicopter to Good Samaritan center for treatment.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

The report listed here said she was killed instantly.If so then the race should have been stopped at that point.Here in NJ the NJ State Police are at every track when in operation.
They pretty much control the conduct of the event safety wise.
I would imagine Antron is devastated by the result of the crash.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

yeah but i dont think nhra wanted that to get out. Many people who were there said she was dead instantly from what i have been reading.

its a sad day no matter how or where it happen

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ED when the accident happened before they could clean up the track it started raining again built in delay buy mother nature.

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Also remember at Firebird , YOU ARE NOT ON US. SOIL!

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Please explain??

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That land is leased, owned by an Indian reservation.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Suppose i should shed some light on this. This land is Gila river Indian land.
It is a sovreign nation , us laws do not apply there. They are still accountable to the feds however. For example if you are driving to the track or casino and run over a cow [really] , the local police could put you in jail and you would have to wait to get a reservation judge to hear your case and most likely ,you bought the cow. Also i hear they can sue an american citizen, but you cant sue them in an American court.
Concerns me what will happen to NHRA when this poor womans family goes after them. A real tradegy all around.
Oh yeah ,i learned about this stuff in real estate law classes .

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

The Tribal Police were on scene almost immediaely. I am friends with the guys on one of the first ambulances to arrive on scene. The poor lady was killed instantly. It was very fortunate that there were not a lot more serious injuries. The area was crowded with a lot of people.

This weekend turned out to be a disaster with two Pro Stockers on their roofs, and then this. All the rain delays did not help either. They put the rest of Pro Stock over until Monday because the track was getting cold and it was not safe for them to run. That was a wise move since there were two Super Gassers that lost control last night right after the Pro Stockers ran. They both lost it at the 1000 foot mark in the left lane where Vinnie lost his Pro Stocker.

Hopefully tomorrow and the rest of the week will be better. I don't see how it could be any worse.

Raul

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

A tragic and shocking day for the family of the deceased.
How can NHRA prevent this in the future and make it safer for spectators?

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I'm sure they'll be looking for the reason the wheel came off. It happened last year with a AA/FC, I think it was Wilkerson's kid, and they found the wheel wasn't torqued.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

I noticed last year at Indy that the pro side pit grandstand was rebuilt-it was a good deal higher and noticeably shorter. I wondered then if it was rebuilt that way for safety.

Using tethers on the wheels may be a solution, I think IRL type cars use something similar.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

About the two Super gassers that "lost it" Saturday evening...do you know who they were?
And, were the drivers OK, or did they recover and not crash?

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

I'm sure tracks will soon be sporting the high "catch fences" that Nascar uses at their event venues to keep cars, parts, wheels, etc. on the track and out of spectator areas....an accident of this magnitude (it's already splashed everywhere on the major news networks this morning) is going end up costing everyone involved in this sport considerable $$, and sadly enough, probably tarnish the sport's reputation by our critics even more than it already has been.....WJ

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

They may make the tracks put up huge fences like Nascar!

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These cars need wheel tethers. NHRA has been playing with fire for years regarding flying wheels and tires. Anybody know where Larry Dixon's wheel and tire ended up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AnL9FLlvZY

I think this was 2000, or 10 years ago, and this was not the first instance of a wheel flying away. I believe there was one at Indy too, because I remember watching the video and thinking to myself, "Thank God that was before they started pitting the sportsmen all the way down there or somebody most certainly would have been killed."

Of course, I probably shouldn't even be posting this because next thing you know NHRA will create a rule that states that EVERY car needs to have wheel tethers, and any sportsman racer found to be racing without wheel tethers will be suspended and fined $27,000...

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

The two Super Gassers were able to recover and keep their cars off the wall. That was better than the poor driver who crashed Sunday evening before they stopped the race.

I believe that the cold track temperature and the NHRA policy on track preparation probably had a lot to do with the problems that plagued the race. The track becomes very tricky when it is cold. When the cold conditions exist we usually change the way the track is prepped. We change the VHT and Methanol ratio from 50/50 to 75/25 or even 80/20. That usually helps a lot. But when the track temperature drops into the 60 or 50 degree range the prep only lasts a short time

NHRA has a policy that all National event track preparation is the same at every track. They do this so they have a level playing field at all tracks at all National Events. They always use a 50/50 ratio of VHT and Mehanol. That works great almost all of the time at almost all of the tracks. Unfortunately that not the case in Phoenix. I understand why they have this policy and I agree with it.

There was also a lot of discussion about a dip in the left lane at 1000 feet. That must be fairly new because it was not there before. It could have something to do with the problems the Pro Stockers and sportsmen had in that lane. Another consideration is the fact that the Top Fuelers and Funny Cars only run to 1000 feet. They stop laying down rubber at that point, and may even pull a bit off when they deploy their chutes. There seem to be a lot of questions that should be addressed.

I hope NHRA and the track find a way to address the issues and get them resolved. It is in everyones best interest to make sure events like the ones that happened this weekend never happen again.

Raul

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

U tube video of the crash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...o&feature=youtu.be&a

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Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

I heard NHRA was using VP traction compound and not VHT. I know that the VP used to be terrible on a cold track.

Re: is everyone safe at arizona
 

Antron's tire landed in front of cart, still spinning. Launched into pass mirror of Semi and went straight up. Crew dude wrestled it to a stop b4 it hit F/C body. I was by Miss Tie-dye n got hit w/CB antenna. Studs/nuts were sheared out of wheel.

BTW - a S/ST car wadded up after dark and the track looked like it was an ice rink