No doubt about it!

Wow that was a Scary sequence! I can only imagine what Dad thought if he was there and witnessed it!

I bet the Ratings for the Lucas oil show from Sonoma will be the Highest of the Year!

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Shift for Brains!!!!

Man those first 2 pages of photos so closely resembled Shelly's accident. It was like seeing it all over again.. I was scared to look at page 3.. I'm so glad things turned out so much better this time.

Im amazed/glad the car landed right side up after the blowover...glad shes alright, that must have been a scary ride.

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Quarter Mile Designs
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Really glad to hear Kate's alright, she's an awesome girl, and I'm sure she will be back real soon.

Mike

We were pitted past the finsih line on the right side of the track in the unofficial Impalla SS funny car body catch zone (hard hats required).

I saw the whole thing and wondered how far she would travel before the car came to a stop. The safety safari drove up to her about 300 feet past the finishline as she continued down the track, engine still running. She drove right past all three trucks then slide along the left side guard rail before coming to a stop as she was closing in on the opening at the end. The trucks made U-turns and caught back up to her. Even though she came to a stop the engine continued to run so they used fire extinguishers to shut it down.

Very scary from our vantage point.

I was telling one of the guys a few days earlier how I was pitted next to Carrie Neil and her A/FD at this same Sears Point event several years ago and actually joked with her minutes before her tragic accident. After that they extended the K-rail to the end which obviously did it's job in this case by bringing Kate to a safe stop.

I can't imagine what went through Tom's mind as he saw it happening today.

RG

Should anything close to the Shelly Howard incident ever happen at a Natl. event. The sport would be Toast!

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Shift for Brains!!!!

Some one was telling me not to go to Spokane because it's "a **** track and dangerous" but after Seattle in April I learned that no track is safe. These cars are dangerous and anything can happen at any time and any place.

Thank Goodness for Hans Deevices. Didn't see it but I'll bet that saved her neck.

There has GOT to be a way to shut these engines off when something like this happens. This could have been another incident like the tragic one a few years ago. Can there be kill switches on these cars? There sure as heck needs to be.

I know we talked about it in Eric Medlen's case, the crew chief having the power to shut the car down, but in this case, she blew over, has no chance of winning, crossed the line, destroyed a car, and yet the engine is still running. There has to be a way to stop this dangerous situation.

I agree with Joe. If something like with Shelly Howard happens again at a National Event, the NHRA will cease to exist.

I would guess you will see some "stout wheelie bars" appear on some cars. I am not sure how much that helps if the car is well down the track at speed.

Obviously, we're concerned about Kate first and foremost, but I agree, it had to be probably the worst deja vu imaginable for Tom.

Glad to hear Kate is okay... Such suspence from NHRA results when it tells you she crashed bad and they will update you later to see if shes okay....

Someone said something about her ankle... do we know if she's 100% okay (less nerves)?

CJ Curtsinger

Guys...I wrote the report that got cut and pasted and I can only say that I really don't give a good g#D Darn about that part. It is illegal to do that so I have to go along. I can only hope to get the stuff I say in these incidents correct so that the fans can know what happened, and not scare friends and family too much in the process.

The incident also reminded me of Shelly's crash and I was also present at this venue when Neal crashed. Because of that I was VERY concerned about Kate and I posted an update in the report on the final round...after an NHRA release confirmed her condition. For me the worst part is knowing the driver is out cold and has NO control over the car. Very, very scary!

As far as shutting off a fuel car...darn near impossible. If they are still getting fuel, they will continue to run. I've seen mags fall out of the engine at about 300 feet and top fuel cars run to the finish. Ask Muldowney, she had this happen several years ago and STILL ran a 5.3 something with the mag flapping around behind the car!

Here are some photo's I took of Harkers Blowover: nitromater - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

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re:wheelie bar.

wheelie bars aren't designed to work that far down track. they are set to prevent wheelstands based off the tire height at the starting line. as anyone that has seen a car go down track, the tires grow considerably. the wheelie bar also raises with the tire level. so a wheelie bar that will keep the front end within reason at the launch will allow a considerably higher wheelstand angle once the car is on the tire.

wheelie bar design and mounting may be something to look into. i started a thread on my site after gene snow had a blowover testing in dallas that effectively ended his driving career. my next column on dragracingonline will be devoted to this topic. i don't think the answer is at the wheelie bar, it's preventing wheelstands in the first place.

there was a lot of discussion in the thread. killing the ignition will not shut off a wide open throttle nitro motor. you have to kill the fuel. i think there needs to be an inline fuel shutoff connected to an inclinometer like they use on heavy equipment. i will elaborate more in my column.