Fatal explosion during his Top Fuel qualifying run....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DziJdGwFQjU
Well that just sucks :'(
I haven't followed drag racing like I used to, but those cars are anything but safe. Takes a brave soul to get into one.
RIP Scott.
Not familiar with drag racing - did he hit a wall at the end of the track?
There is usually a long sand/gravel runoff, that looks to have taken a damaged car already on fire and tossed it causing further explosion.
According to the Raceway's web site the track is 4,150 feet long. No mention of runoff.
:'(
Riposi In Pace
shit
He hit a wall at the end. A couple other drivers were questioning why the wall was still there last night on ESPN. :-\ I guess its an old track which hasn't been updated in quite a while.
I don't know much about drag racing, but that's what I got form the coverage last night. RIP.
:'( RIP Scott, You will be missed. I'm glad we had the pleasure to meet you and see you race. You will be in our hearts forever. RIP :'(
What a tragedy. :'(
He had a runner up finish last week, and it seemed like the team was starting to turn the corner.
Godspeed, Scott.
I love the movie Heart Like a Wheel. It is the story of Shirley Muldowney. Beau Bridges plays Connie Kalitta.
Holy shit! :o
That was a horrible accident.
RIP
A wall? :o That's what I thought it looked like.
If you're gonna leave the wall there, couldn't they put maybe 100m worth of plastic drums filled with water, to damp down some of the speed?
wow.... that is so harsh :'(
Quote from: roy-nexus-6 on June 22, 2008, 05:41:20 PM
A wall? :o That's what I thought it looked like.
If you're gonna leave the wall there, couldn't they put maybe 100m worth of plastic drums filled with water, to damp down some of the speed?
at 300mph, those water drums would be no better than concrete.
I used to watch Connie race at National Trails Raceway in Kikersville , Ohio back in the mid 60s. Really sorry about Scott. I've seen some terrible crashes and the driver emerges unscathed. If the wall wasn't there maybe that would have been the way Scott's day would have ended up ? RIP
Rest in peace
Damn! that sucks! Godspeed
Jebus!!, That Impact is massive!! Sad part is it takes a Death to highlight a safety issue and for it to be fixed (Not always I know, but sadly a lot of the time)
I didn't get to see as much of the Funny car racing as I would like, But he was one of the Drivers I used to watch with Interest.
My thoughts go out to his Family, friends and the whole Drag racing community.
After watching the video, and listening to some of the other drivers talk about what happened, it appears that Scott was probably unconcious after the explosion of the engine.
The chutes did not fully deploy, and it doesn't appear that Scott was trying to apply the brakes (normally in those scenarios, you'd see the back end hopping a bit from the rear tires getting locked up).
That being said, the run-off at that particular track it pretty poor. I don't know if the wall being removed would help, as right beyond that is a heavily wooded area. :-\
Unfortunately, this is the second death in 15 months for a NHRA Funny Car driver. Although major changes have been made to the cars in that span, there still is a huge inherent risk in the sport.