shmoov69
04-07-2005, 01:59 PM
Just an FYI, bad things can happen even in very unsuspecting places!
On Saturday, April 2, 2005 Shelly Howard, and her son Brian Howard, were
killed in a racing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The accident occurred
while making a test run of Shelly’s new dragster during the bracket racing
program. At 10:12 p.m., Shelly made her third pass of the evening in the
tower lane. The car left the starting line in what appeared to be a
problem-free run. After passing the 1/8 mile mark at 201 miles per hour,
the dragster began what is referred to as a blow-over. A blow-over occurs
when too much air goes under the front wing of the dragster causing the
front end to lift. At this point, Shelly lifted off the accelerator. As
the dragster became vertical, it rotated 180 degrees on its axis and then
touched down on all four wheels and against the wall with the car now facing
the starting line. The impact of the dragster to the pavement could have
been severe enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness. This
theory is supported by the fact that she did not hit the kill switch, deploy
the chutes or turn the fuel supply off to the motor. At that point, either
the throttle stuck wide open, or, Shelly’s foot jammed the throttle down.
Extensive damage to the dragster and the onboard “black box” made it
impossible to determine which occurred. The car continued down the track
backwards making almost continuous contact with the tower lane wall, while
the tires were spinning in the opposite direction. The dragster passed the
¼ mile stripe in 6.633 seconds at 115 miles an hour. The car continued down
the track backwards until approximately 1,500 feet from the starting line
when it ceased its rearward momentum and began to travel forward towards the
starting line, under full acceleration. After traveling several hundred
feet uptrack towards the starting line, the car swerved into the spectator
lane and then back into the tower lane at the 660’ foot line. The car made
hard contact with the wall in the tower lane at the 320’ foot mark and light
contact with the tower lane wall at the starting line while traveling an
estimated 250 miles per hour. At 125’ past the starting line, the dragster
struck the crew’s chase car. The chase car’s occupant, Brian Howard, was
sitting in the rear seat, and along with Shelly, was killed instantly. The
force of the collision hurled both the dragster and the chase car 225’
through a rear burn-out wall and into an open field and stream. An
investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled their deaths an accident.
No other injuries were reported.
On Saturday, April 2, 2005 Shelly Howard, and her son Brian Howard, were
killed in a racing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The accident occurred
while making a test run of Shelly’s new dragster during the bracket racing
program. At 10:12 p.m., Shelly made her third pass of the evening in the
tower lane. The car left the starting line in what appeared to be a
problem-free run. After passing the 1/8 mile mark at 201 miles per hour,
the dragster began what is referred to as a blow-over. A blow-over occurs
when too much air goes under the front wing of the dragster causing the
front end to lift. At this point, Shelly lifted off the accelerator. As
the dragster became vertical, it rotated 180 degrees on its axis and then
touched down on all four wheels and against the wall with the car now facing
the starting line. The impact of the dragster to the pavement could have
been severe enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness. This
theory is supported by the fact that she did not hit the kill switch, deploy
the chutes or turn the fuel supply off to the motor. At that point, either
the throttle stuck wide open, or, Shelly’s foot jammed the throttle down.
Extensive damage to the dragster and the onboard “black box” made it
impossible to determine which occurred. The car continued down the track
backwards making almost continuous contact with the tower lane wall, while
the tires were spinning in the opposite direction. The dragster passed the
¼ mile stripe in 6.633 seconds at 115 miles an hour. The car continued down
the track backwards until approximately 1,500 feet from the starting line
when it ceased its rearward momentum and began to travel forward towards the
starting line, under full acceleration. After traveling several hundred
feet uptrack towards the starting line, the car swerved into the spectator
lane and then back into the tower lane at the 660’ foot line. The car made
hard contact with the wall in the tower lane at the 320’ foot mark and light
contact with the tower lane wall at the starting line while traveling an
estimated 250 miles per hour. At 125’ past the starting line, the dragster
struck the crew’s chase car. The chase car’s occupant, Brian Howard, was
sitting in the rear seat, and along with Shelly, was killed instantly. The
force of the collision hurled both the dragster and the chase car 225’
through a rear burn-out wall and into an open field and stream. An
investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled their deaths an accident.
No other injuries were reported.