Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
04-05-2005 | 12:10 PM
#17
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 862
From: Philly Suburbs
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
I read this on DragRaceResults.com. Truly a very tragic accident. From some of the things I read, it sounds like Shelly was unconscious when the car landed facing the starting line. Someone said the car hit the wall a couple of times before hitting the tow vehicle. If she were conscious, I would imagine that she would try to shut the car off, pull the chute, brake or something...
What a shame. Just an awful, awful accident. My condolences go out to her family and friends.
What a shame. Just an awful, awful accident. My condolences go out to her family and friends.
04-05-2005 | 12:32 PM
#18
Registered User
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 738
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
Originally Posted by frmula1
ken.... i think i've seen you there like every weekend i've gone... you got that black z with your name painted over the drivers window right?
do you know when the track will reopen? and the condition of damage at the starting line? with no barriers at the where you turn left to get to the tree... i would think at 200mph the rail might have made it out to almost the street
do you know when the track will reopen? and the condition of damage at the starting line? with no barriers at the where you turn left to get to the tree... i would think at 200mph the rail might have made it out to almost the street
I agree if that barrier was not there it would have gone out alot further. Sad to here that the say that she died at a non-NHRA track. This track was built for IHRA and NHRA specs. The track had a multi-millon dollar upgrade to it from one end to the other.
Her Husband had an interview on the local news last night and he pretty much said that if she was conscious she would tried everything in her power to make the dragster stop.
They are having a track side memorial service Tuesday night at the track for the local racers and anyone else that's want to attend.
04-07-2005 | 04:41 PM
#19
Registered User
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 738
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
Here is the official press release by the track.
On Saturday, April 2, 2005 Shelly Howard, and her son Brian Howard, were killed in a racing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The accident occurred while making a test run of Shelly’s new dragster during the bracket racing program. At 10:12 p.m., Shelly made her third pass of the evening in the tower lane. The car left the starting line in what appeared to be a problem-free run. After passing the 1/8 mile mark at 201 miles per hour, the dragster began what is referred to as a blow-over. A blow-over occurs when too much air goes under the front wing of the dragster causing the front end to lift. At this point, Shelly lifted off the accelerator. 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 impact of the dragster to the pavement could have been severe enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness. This theory is supported by the fact that she did not hit the kill switch, deploy the chutes or turn the fuel supply off to the motor. At that point, either the throttle stuck wide open, or, Shelly’s foot jammed the throttle down. Extensive damage to the dragster and the onboard “black box” made it impossible to determine which occurred. The car continued down the track backwards making almost continuous contact with the tower lane wall, while the tires were spinning in the opposite direction. The dragster passed the ¼ mile stripe in 6.633 seconds at 115 miles an hour. The car continued down the track backwards until approximately 1,500 feet from the starting line when it ceased its rearward momentum and began to travel forward towards the starting line, under full acceleration. After traveling several hundred feet uptrack towards the starting line, the car swerved into the spectator lane and then back into the tower lane at the 660’ foot line. The car made hard contact with the wall in the tower lane at the 320’ foot mark and light contact with the tower lane wall at the starting line while traveling an estimated 250 miles per hour. At 125’ past the starting line, the dragster struck the crew’s chase car. The chase car’s occupant, Brian Howard, was sitting in the rear seat, and along with Shelly, was killed instantly. The force of the collision hurled both the dragster and the chase car 225’ through a rear burn-out wall and into an open field and stream. An investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled their deaths an accident. No other injuries were reported.
Tulsa Raceway Park and its employees extend their deepest sympathies to Dr. Paul Howard, daughters Tracy and Jennifer and their extended family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
On Saturday, April 2, 2005 Shelly Howard, and her son Brian Howard, were killed in a racing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The accident occurred while making a test run of Shelly’s new dragster during the bracket racing program. At 10:12 p.m., Shelly made her third pass of the evening in the tower lane. The car left the starting line in what appeared to be a problem-free run. After passing the 1/8 mile mark at 201 miles per hour, the dragster began what is referred to as a blow-over. A blow-over occurs when too much air goes under the front wing of the dragster causing the front end to lift. At this point, Shelly lifted off the accelerator. 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 impact of the dragster to the pavement could have been severe enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness. This theory is supported by the fact that she did not hit the kill switch, deploy the chutes or turn the fuel supply off to the motor. At that point, either the throttle stuck wide open, or, Shelly’s foot jammed the throttle down. Extensive damage to the dragster and the onboard “black box” made it impossible to determine which occurred. The car continued down the track backwards making almost continuous contact with the tower lane wall, while the tires were spinning in the opposite direction. The dragster passed the ¼ mile stripe in 6.633 seconds at 115 miles an hour. The car continued down the track backwards until approximately 1,500 feet from the starting line when it ceased its rearward momentum and began to travel forward towards the starting line, under full acceleration. After traveling several hundred feet uptrack towards the starting line, the car swerved into the spectator lane and then back into the tower lane at the 660’ foot line. The car made hard contact with the wall in the tower lane at the 320’ foot mark and light contact with the tower lane wall at the starting line while traveling an estimated 250 miles per hour. At 125’ past the starting line, the dragster struck the crew’s chase car. The chase car’s occupant, Brian Howard, was sitting in the rear seat, and along with Shelly, was killed instantly. The force of the collision hurled both the dragster and the chase car 225’ through a rear burn-out wall and into an open field and stream. An investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled their deaths an accident. No other injuries were reported.
Tulsa Raceway Park and its employees extend their deepest sympathies to Dr. Paul Howard, daughters Tracy and Jennifer and their extended family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
04-08-2005 | 10:33 AM
#23
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,725
From: Oklahoma where trees are made of wood.
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
I think it is extremely tragic, but can you imagine what would have happened had the tow vehicle not been at that exact point when the accidnet happened?
04-10-2005 | 12:23 AM
#24
Registered User
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 356
From: Oakland City, IN
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
Good Lord, this just gets worse and worse.. From a Tulsa TV station - http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0405/218291.html
***********
Tulsa - It's a heartbreaking loss for one man. His wife and son died in a tragic accident at a Tulsa drag racing track as people watched and could do nothing to help. The man who lost so much spoke with NewsChannel 8 Monday evening.
"She loved racing. She loved people."
Dr. Paul Howard faces a future without the love of his life -- his wife Shelly.
"She was an accomplished racer," he says. "Been in the top ten in national NHRA several times."
Shelly Howard was testing a new dragster for an upcoming race. On the third pass at Tulsa Raceway Park, the dragster's front end flew up, flipped and landed facing the way she had just come.
"The engine was still running and the throttle wide open and it came back down the track all the way to the start line and hit the tow car that my mentally challenged son was sitting in," Paul Howard says.
Paul believes Shelly was unconscious.
"She would have hit the kill switch, pulled the chutes or turned the fuel off to the motor if she had been conscious," he says. "She may have been dead."
Paul wanted people to know about his wife and son. But, the loss of both is almost too much for him. His son Brian loved Special Olympics. He didn't go to the racetrack often. He went Saturday because it was close to home.
"He could come out for a few hours and enjoy it and be with his mom which he loved," Paul says. "He was very proud of his mom, what she did and he would tell people about it."
And Paul wants you to know he was proud of both of them.
"I've lost the center of my universe and my son," he says. "I will never forget the outpouring of love that I have received since this occurred."
Funeral services for Shelly and Brian will be held together on Wednesday morning at Newspring Family Church in Jenks at 11:00 a.m. The family has asked instead of flowers, donations be made to Racers For Christ in memory of Shelly Howard and Special Olympics in memory of Brian Howard.
************
Man, I can't imagine what that guy is going through. The kid probably didn't even understand what was happening. This was literally the one in a million accident. I bet they give serious thought to remote kill switches like on monster trucks due to this. Might not be a bad idea actually..
Sorry to see us lose one of our own...
Dave C.
***********
Tulsa - It's a heartbreaking loss for one man. His wife and son died in a tragic accident at a Tulsa drag racing track as people watched and could do nothing to help. The man who lost so much spoke with NewsChannel 8 Monday evening.
"She loved racing. She loved people."
Dr. Paul Howard faces a future without the love of his life -- his wife Shelly.
"She was an accomplished racer," he says. "Been in the top ten in national NHRA several times."
Shelly Howard was testing a new dragster for an upcoming race. On the third pass at Tulsa Raceway Park, the dragster's front end flew up, flipped and landed facing the way she had just come.
"The engine was still running and the throttle wide open and it came back down the track all the way to the start line and hit the tow car that my mentally challenged son was sitting in," Paul Howard says.
Paul believes Shelly was unconscious.
"She would have hit the kill switch, pulled the chutes or turned the fuel off to the motor if she had been conscious," he says. "She may have been dead."
Paul wanted people to know about his wife and son. But, the loss of both is almost too much for him. His son Brian loved Special Olympics. He didn't go to the racetrack often. He went Saturday because it was close to home.
"He could come out for a few hours and enjoy it and be with his mom which he loved," Paul says. "He was very proud of his mom, what she did and he would tell people about it."
And Paul wants you to know he was proud of both of them.
"I've lost the center of my universe and my son," he says. "I will never forget the outpouring of love that I have received since this occurred."
Funeral services for Shelly and Brian will be held together on Wednesday morning at Newspring Family Church in Jenks at 11:00 a.m. The family has asked instead of flowers, donations be made to Racers For Christ in memory of Shelly Howard and Special Olympics in memory of Brian Howard.
************
Man, I can't imagine what that guy is going through. The kid probably didn't even understand what was happening.
This was literally the one in a million accident. I bet they give serious thought to remote kill switches like on monster trucks due to this. Might not be a bad idea actually..Sorry to see us lose one of our own...
Dave C.
04-10-2005 | 11:22 AM
#25
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 795
From: Oak Ridge, TN USA
Re: Sad day in the drag raqcing world.
NHRA Today just did a very nice memorial piece on Shelly. So incredibly sad... The magnitude of loss for the Howard family is beyond comprehension. You have to believe some very beneficial safety advances will come out of this tragedy.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post