 Freaaky accident, Drag racing related, but still freaky |
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 Apr 9 2005, 06:21 PM
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#1
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Nothing says 'I love you.' like a box of Hydroshoks  Group: Moderators Posts: 5,284 Joined: 23-December 03 From: Granbury, TX Member No.: 4  |
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Apr 9 2005, 08:12 PM
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#2
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Zero brand loyalty Group: Advanced Members Posts: 645 Joined: 22-January 04 From: Merryland Member No.: 145 |
(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)
Go down track, do a massive wheelstand and flip over, land on all four wheels and head the other direction ???!!!! That's gotta be one of those "never seen that before" accidents. Pat |
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Apr 10 2005, 12:23 AM
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#3
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Advanced Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 360 Joined: 24-September 04 From: Missouri Member No.: 468 |
QUOTE (patred @ Apr 9 2005, 14:12) (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) Go down track, do a massive wheelstand and flip over, land on all four wheels and head the other direction ???!!!! That's gotta be one of those "never seen that before" accidents. Pat Perhaps they should have a remote kill on those cars. Some guy watching with a big red button in case of a huge accident like this. Woludn't be that hard to setup in this day and age. I hope she was knocked out, and didn't know she was killing her son. Murphy's Law was working overtime on this one. They never had a chance. My sympathy to the family. Z28 |
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Apr 10 2005, 02:58 AM
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#4
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Mr. 3rd Place Group: Advanced Members Posts: 537 Joined: 24-December 03 From: Rindge, NH Member No.: 32 |
...or, I hate to use the term, a dead-man's switch, where you release the switch to shut down the engine. Something steering wheel mounted perhaps that the driver needs to keep depressed throughout the run. Releasing the button shuts things down. Presumably if unconsious the driver would be unable to keep the button depressed...
Condolences to the families as well. |
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Apr 10 2005, 07:30 AM
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#5
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Rennmeister Group: Advanced Members Posts: 781 Joined: 24-December 03 From: Mehlingen, Germany Member No.: 26 |
That is tragic.
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Apr 10 2005, 01:59 PM
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#6
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Advanced Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 697 Joined: 25-December 03 From: Athens, GA Member No.: 45 |
one of the other boards im on has this posted too. the people in there were saying that monster trucks have remote kill switches. id never heard of such a thing, but i think it needs to be looked into.
as for holding a switch while driving. possibly. if the switch were like a big ring(think lawnmower switch) that was grabbed as part of the steering wheel. |
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Apr 10 2005, 11:42 PM
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#7
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Nothing says 'I love you.' like a box of Hydroshoks Group: Moderators Posts: 5,284 Joined: 23-December 03 From: Granbury, TX Member No.: 4 |
Didn't I read an interview of Don Garlits where he stated on launch a driver of a top fuel car feels 10 Gs or something crazy like that?
Could a driver hold a switch at 10 Gs? A lot of sports cars have mercury switches in them. I'm sure something could be rigged to kill the damn thing in case of a massive wheel stand ... |
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Apr 11 2005, 12:10 AM
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#8
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FRRAX Owner/Admin Group: Admin Posts: 15,432 Joined: 13-February 04 From: Ohio Member No.: 196 |
To save a copy in case that link dies.
QUOTE Driver may have been unconscious in dragster
By SHAUN SCHAFER, Associated Press Writer April 8, 2005 TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Racer Michelle ``Shelly'' Howard may have lost consciousness and been unable to cut the fuel firing the engine of her dragster before it flipped over and shot backward, killing her and her son. During a Saturday night test run, Howard's rear-engine dragster suffered a ``blowover,'' where all four wheels left the surface, Tulsa Raceway Park said Friday in a statement. Howard, 59, apparently took her foot off the accelerator when the car went airborne at the 1/8-mile mark on the track. ``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 raceway said. ``The impact of the dragster to the pavement could have been enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness.'' The racetrack said the veteran driver never hit the engine's kill switch, deployed parachutes or turned off the fuel supply to the motor. ``At that point, either the throttle stuck wide open, or Shelly's foot jammed the throttle down,'' the raceway said. Tulsa police estimated the car was traveling 250 mph when it struck a chase car parked behind the starting line with her 36-year-old son, Brian, in the back seat. The force of the impact hurled the vehicles 150 feet through a fence and into a drainage area. Both Howards were thrown from their vehicles and pronounced dead at the scene. Because of extensive damage to the dragster and its onboard ``black box,'' it is impossible to determine exactly what happened. An investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled the two deaths an accident. Shelly Howard was a three-time national event winner in the rival National Hot Rod Association and a regional champion in 2001 and 2003. She raced in Division 4, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Howard raced in a category of vehicles one notch below the zenith in the sport, the Top Fuel dragster. Howard, who started racing in 1978, had won the Division 4 season-opening event three weeks earlier in Houston. |
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Apr 11 2005, 01:21 AM
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#9
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Senior Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 5,226 Joined: 24-December 03 From: Danville, CA, USA Member No.: 27 |
...that sucks in just about EVERY way imaginable...
(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) |
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Apr 11 2005, 01:55 PM
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#10
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Advanced Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 647 Joined: 30-December 03 From: Paris, Texas Member No.: 74 |
I read about this last week and I was amazed at how the accident must have looked like.
As morbid as this is, I would like to see the video of it. |
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Apr 11 2005, 05:28 PM
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#11
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CMCer Group: Moderators Posts: 2,932 Joined: 12-February 04 From: the sticks near VIR Member No.: 194 |
I was very sorry to hear about this especially as a woman racer. Hanging around the drag racing scene for a couple years I learned that women are excellent drag racers and many have very quick rts. To honor this lady and her son safety needs to be looked at to see if this situation could be avoided in the future.
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Apr 11 2005, 05:45 PM
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#12
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Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 43 Joined: 10-May 04 Member No.: 336 |
QUOTE Could a driver hold a switch at 10 Gs? They hold onto the steering wheel all that time (at least, I hope they do). |
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Apr 12 2005, 01:28 AM
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#13
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Advanced Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 366 Joined: 27-December 03 From: TEXAS Member No.: 54 |
I don't think the Fuel cars are anywhere near 10Gs....the instant force off the line might see 4-5 but thats only going to be for a moment then its going to slow somewhat during the run maybe dropping to 2....the stop is where most of it comes from....hitting 6-8Gs when the cutes pop...but again thats only for the instant.
It is very sad to hear what happend. It would be bad enough to loose one loved one but for both to go at the same time has to just be about unbarible |
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