Image: WWAY News Channel 3

We in the drag racing community always hate having to report on a tragedy occurring at the racetrack.  As fans and bystanders, we like to believe that we are safe; that the unthinkable won’t happen.  But given the high-speed nature of our sport and the sheer number of drag races that are contested each and every weekend year round, the chances of tragic events – rare as they are – always exist every time a vehicles rolls through the gate.

On Sunday evening, at Harrells Raceway in Harrells, NC, grudge racer Joe Wactor lost control of his Pro Mod-style Corvette, likely near the top end of the eight mile track. Given the approximated speed at 130-135 mph, hitting the guardrail, disintegrating, and sending parts and shrapnel into the crowd.  The cars engine broke free from its mounts and struck a spectator, who died on the scene.  A second spectator was injured by a burning fuel cell and was transported for medical treatment.  Several parked vehicles were also damaged by the flying debris.

It had rained at Harrells earlier in the day, however, the track had been dried and cars had been down the track safely following the shower, thus track conditions are not thought to be the cause of the incident.

The last thing that we want to do is throw a track under the bus for unsafe practices or facility layout, especially one that we’ve never seen personally.  We can however, say that steel Armco guardrails – which reportedly made this crash much worse than it should’ve been and historically act as a ramp for these cars – isn’t safe no matter what facility you’re talking about.  Hopefully all tracks that still utilize these meat cutter rails will learn from this incident so that we can all feel safer when taking in a day at the strip.