The racer and the sanction always know – that during every run down the quarter mile – there is the risk of death or damage. Usually to the participant or his fellow racer. Yesterday during the NHRA Phoenix event, we saw a rare and terrible event occur – the death of a NHRA Drag Racing spectator. Yesterday during the NHRA Top Fuel first round of eliminations in Arizona, a tragedy that none of us could have expected came to life when Antron Brown and Troy Buff lined up in round one after a rain delay.
Many expressed their beliefs that the cars would either shake the tires or blow the tires off from the green track conditions, but something none of us could have predicted happened – Brown’s dragster went out of control and veered towards the left side retaining wall. During the accident, the left tire flew off and struck a fan. This fan was airlifted to Good Samaritan hospital in critical condition, but later pronounced dead. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the fan, this is a terrible blow to all of us who love the sport of drag racing.
For those who have not seen it yet can check out the video below, we apologize for some of the fan’s language: %CODE1%
The reasoning for the tire coming off is still undetermined and NHRA says that it is currently under investigation in hopes of preventing such a terrible incident from happening again. The safety of these cars are amazing these days but this goes to show there is always room for improvement. Brown was not injured from the accident but was shaken up.
We can’t imagine how he is feeling now, knowing what happened.
If you want to read more information on the incident, Fanhouse has some coverage.
NHRA STATEMENT – Posted on NHRA.com
“A woman who was struck by a tire earlier today at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital this evening. The tire became detached from Antron Brown’s dragster following an incident during the first round of eliminations. Brown was not injured.
NHRA is investigating the incident. The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by today’s incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the woman’s family and friends.”
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