It's now being reported on news sites that.... "The race-car driver behind the wheel during this weekend’s deadly accident in Selmer has a history of previous arrests, including a DWI, according to a ..."

Google "Selmer" and you can read it for yourself. A Bad Deal all the way around!

Way to kick a guy when he is down, huh?

Like he would drive a 3000hp race car drunk.

__________________
Tim Wilkerson: The REAL 2008 champion.
NY Giants: 11-1.
Visit my page on Youtube for eye candy, cars and racing clips!

That's such a load of crap, has no bearing on the day's events. He was participating in a charity fundraiser for crying out load.

That's the media for ya'...

The sad thing is that all of us get lumped into that statement Nunzio.

Besides the fact that according to other reports, Troy Critchley had already submitted blood for drug/alcohol testing, and results were negative. This may be a case where a reporter with nothing better to do found something from 10 years ago, and decided to make sure everyone knows about it. Unfortunately, the press gets this reputation (no offense to Mr. Bennett).

My sentiment exactly. That was just wrong to even bring that to anyone's attention, especially, like Alan said, since Troy's blood tests were negative.

This pissed me off enough to make a call to WMCTV.com about their story. I asked them why they'd dig up something from 7 years ago that has absolutely nothing to do with this and the guy that I talked to said they were just trying to get more background info on Troy. I asked him when they were going to run a story about the countless times he's donated his time and money doing appearances and displays to help out people. I think I made my displeasure well known to the guy on the other end of the phone.

I suggest voicing your displeasure with this smear job by giving them a call:
WMC-TV
Main newsroom number (staffed at all times):
(901) 726-0416

__________________
"I got a fever, and the only prescription... is more cowbell!"

Buell's and Hardley's suck!

And didn't this same media do this to the current President while campaigning for his first term? Hmmmmmmmm!

__________________
******** AHDRA -- PG 144 ********
www.americancycleperformance.com
_____PROUD Member of ACWC _____

seven yers ago, why even bring it up????

Uh, they did.

__________________
Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

Bobby,

The problem is the media (TV, Radio, newspaper & Internet) that do not or care to understand the issue will get what they want and move on. Leaving behind the people that are hurt or unsatified with the outcome. I personal live in a flood area in north jersey (Little Falls along the Passaic River) that gets coverage all the time from NJ / NY media. I can tell you that living through some very bad floods over the last forty six years I have seen more than my share of bad reporting.

You and others give us your view of a issue and we understand the words that goes with the drag racing vocabulary. The others just don't get it. How do you describe the differents of a street race to a real drag race to a viewer that doesn't care about the differents.

A wise man once said " Thier is his side and then thier is her side and in between is the truth" I think the only thing to do is just keep doing what you are doing. Report the truth and stand by your princples.

Wait a minute folks...the driver's history is very relevant to his ability to make proper decisions. His history of being in trouble and wrecking cars is absolutely relevant to his abilitly to perform a safe exhibition.

It's his profile...law enforcement uses profiles as one of their key elements during investigations.

For instance...choosing to do a burnout on a public street with a 3,000 horsepower car, that's difficult to keep straight on a sticky drag strip, without guardrails to protect innocent bystanders, reflects an inability to make proper decisions.

There's no defending this guy or the people who promoted and approved this stupid exhibition...we don't allow this crap at a drag strip! Burnouts anywhere but the water box at the track are strictly against common sense.

__________________
Mopar to ya'!
Johnny Mopar

When was the last time you saw a news station report a good story, other than the firefighters saving a cat from a house fire and breathing life back into it??

Media is the wrong word IMO, Brent points out one station that did a background check on someone that was involved in an accident that claimed more than a few lives, injured up to 23, and hurt an entire community for years to come, if not much longer, some in that community for life...

The news stations do this sort of thing all the time because they can, and have access to the records... And his priors are relevant, because it shows a pattern of how someone acts, and lives their life... No priors, no problem, that anyone knows about...

The news is all bad, all the time... What are the first 18 minutes of a broadcast before checking Sally's weather forecast for the next seven days...

Look, I don't like this anymore than anyone else, but to use the word media, instead of a few news stations, is like using the word drag racer, and now every drag racer is bad and goes out doing these sort of acts...

The bottom line is, they are looking for a pattern of this sort of thing, right or wrong, whether or not you like it, they are going to keep doing it... Because it sells and pisses people off, I really think that's their job most of the time...

BTW- Blood tests for alky and or drugs takes between 5 and 7 days, so anyone saying test results show, is not telling the truth... Misreporting, what else is new...

And Brent, I am not singling out your post, I'm just using the content as an example...

__________________
theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

If you read the history of the event they do it every year. The cops, the fire department, the city, everyone is involved and rightly so. So, they book in some cars and they say here's what we do, show the cars, do a burn out , etc etc.

So, Troy, whose heart is in the right place says OK I'll do it. We'll give'em a good show. Where the problem is, is that the promoter had been doing it all these years never and concluded that this could happen some day and did nothing to make sure it was safe such as bringing in temporary concrete construction barriers etc. Afer, the first time (and Im giving him some slack here) he needed to evaluate what needed to be changed.

For Troy's part in this, he did too big of a burnout causing him to go out of control. At the track I have never seen a car go into the wall during a burnout except once.

So I believe everyone involved shares some responsibility in this, regardless of one's past criminal record. And yes it's a crime to drive drunk. So he does have a criminal record.