Blaine Johnson Killed at NHRA U.S. Nationals
Philip Gravel
Clermont, IN -- People in various newsgroups have posted asking for
prayers when drivers in their favorite form of racing have been
seriously injured or killed. The drag racing community now asks
that the favor be returned....
Blaine Johnson, driver of the Travers Tool Top Fuel dragster,
died of injuries suffered in a horrific crash during qualifying
at the NHRA U.S. Nationals which are being run this weekend at
Indianapolis Raceway Park. He is the first Top Fuel driver to
die during an NHRA event since 1971.
Blaine, who was leading the Top Fuel points this year, had just
made the quickest run in IRP history and one of the quickest in
drag racing history. He had just completed a pass in 4.61 seconds
at 309 mph, only slightly slower than his 4.59 pass at the Western
Auto Nationals in July of this year which is the current national
record.
As Blaine passed the finish line in excess of 300 mph, the engine
in his dragster erupted in a ball of flame. The fire caused the
rear slick tires to explode which, in turn, destroyed the rear
wing on the car. Without this wing and the downforce it provides,
Blaine could not control the dragster. It veered into the near
wall and began to break apart. It rolled across both lanes and
as it hit the wall on the otherside of the track, the car
disintegrated though the driver's cage remained intact. Long time
drag racing announcer, Dave McCelland, said it was the worst top
end crash he had ever witnessed.
The NHRA Safety Safari rush immediately to the scene and began
tending to Blaine. After being stabilized, he was extracated from
the driver's cage and flown by medical helicopter to Methodist
Hospital in Indianapolis while on life support. He underwent
surgery but was pronounced dead of massive head injuries at
5:17 PM CDT.
Blaine, his crew chief and brother, Alan Johnson, and team owner
and father, Everett Johnson, burst onto the drag racing season
at the beginning of the decade. They ran Top Alcohol Dragster
and won four consecutive championships, a feat no one else has
achieved in this class. In 1994, the Johnsons moved up to Top
Fuel, the sport's most prestigious class. They had limited
success that year as they learned the nuances of tuning a top
fuel car. They improved in 1995 and were dominating the class
at the time of Blaine's death.
Connie Kalitta, Top Fuel driver and owner of American International
Airways, dispatched one of his planes immediately after the crash
to pick up Blaine's wife in California and fly her to Indianapolis.
--
Phil
_____________________________________________________________
Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgr...@mcs.net
B.J. Vosti
It's pretty sad. I live in the same county as the guy. I had never
heard of him before but they had it on the local news last night.
--
B.J. "Macarena Hater" Vosti
gvo...@slonet.org
Dole/Kemp in '96!
Justin Amrhein
just saw this in another NG...
> Top Fuel Motorcycle rider Elmer Trett died from injuries
> in an accident Sunday during an exhibition pass at the NHRA
> U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
> Trett, 53, from Demorest, Ga,. died at Methodist Hospital.
> Top Fuel Motorcycle is an exhibition category. It is not
> a competition category conducted at NHRA Winston Drag
> Racing Series national events.
> Trett was a pioneer in Top Fuel Motorcycle racing. He
> recorded the quickest pass by a Top Fuel Motorcycle, 6.069,
> Aug. 18 at Indianapolis Raceway Park during the Pingel
> Thundernationals, not a NHRA event. Trett also recorded
> the fastest speed in the history of the category, 235.10
> mph, at the Thundernationals.
Rough year...
Justin Amrhein Londonderry, NH USA
jus...@zx7r.mv.com
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/zx7r/index.html
Lee
> > As Blaine passed the finish line in excess of 300 mph, the engine
> > in his dragster erupted in a ball of flame. The fire caused the
> > rear slick tires to explode which, in turn, destroyed the rear
> > wing on the car. Without this wing and the downforce it provides,
> > Blaine could not control the dragster. It veered into the near
> > wall and began to break apart. It rolled across both lanes and
> > as it hit the wall on the otherside of the track, the car
> > disintegrated though the driver's cage remained intact. Long time
> > drag racing announcer, Dave McCelland, said it was the worst top
> > end crash he had ever witnessed.
Please accept an added note here to those that are not familiar with the
nitro motors. On a top qualifying run such as Blaine's, and also in the
finals, the motor is a "one tripper". You lean it out towards the end of
the run which means--the leaner, the more cylinder pressure--meaning more
horse power--meaning tremendous heat--meaning inviting detonation. In
other words, one run and the motor's internals are ruined. This is if your
lucky. Blaine's detonated and literally exploded the motor taking the
tires.
Another pioneer lost his life there yesterday. Elmer Trett "was" the
cutting edge in fuel bikes. I have talked with Elmer over the past, and
the fear is always "tire shake", especially over 200 mph (the run was 232
mph), I haven't seen a replay, but I am guessing the fear finalized. a
sad loss.
Pappy
=======
Dwayne
Blaine was going places in top fuel, a real NHRA star. I have been a fan
of his since he began racing the alcahol car and was real happy to see
him performing so well in Top Fuel. I couldn't wait til race day to see
what record he could break next. Was looking forward to watching him blast
off in Topeka later this month, but it is not to be.
He WILL be missed.
Doug Finch
"Lee " <th...@bbs.pdcomp.com> wrote:
>Another pioneer lost his life there yesterday. Elmer Trett "was" the
>cutting edge in fuel bikes. I have talked with Elmer over the past, and
>the fear is always "tire shake", especially over 200 mph (the run was 232
>mph), I haven't seen a replay, but I am guessing the fear finalized. a
>sad loss.
I had heard of Blaine and Elmer's accidents while watching the
Nationals on TNN. It's always sad to say goodbye to a friend, even if
you've never met them in person. I don't remember much of Elmer
Trett, but I do recall being enthralled and mesmerized by Johnson's
performance over the past few years. As someone in r.a.s.indy said,
it looks like 1996 is a tough year to be a motorsports fan...
-------------------------------------------------
My 2 favourite drivers are Hill and whoever's
leading Schumacher.
Go Jacques & Damon - Williams Sempre Fi!
-------------------------------------------------
'Mad' Mark Chelap
In article <50b4ha$8...@Venus.mcs.com>, Philip Gravel <pgr...@MCS.COM> wrote:
>
>disintegrated though the driver's cage remained intact. Long time
>drag racing announcer, Dave McCelland, said it was the worst top
>end crash he had ever witnessed.
No matter if the driver walks away or not, all crashes of this sort are bad;
the crash that paralyzed top-fueler Darrell Gwynn a few years was similar to,
and was about as violent as Blaine's. Gwynn's dragster broke in half and went
straight to the wall at the top end in Montreal. NHRA and their Safety Safari
have to be doing something right if thats the first fatality in Top Fuel in 25
years like what was mentioned on TV. Safety Safari is probably the best at
what they do in motorsports (in all respect to the other organizations with
their own rescue crews).
>Connie Kalitta, Top Fuel driver and owner of American International
>Airways, dispatched one of his planes immediately after the crash
>to pick up Blaine's wife in California and fly her to Indianapolis.
For all the things that have been said about Connie Kalitta over the years;
hearing this tidbit shows me that he's a heck of a class act. The racing
community is unbelieveable about taking care of their own. Tragic loss for
the NHRA community--losing an up-and-coming championship contender; and a
person who appeared to be liked by most everyone around NHRA.
--
____________________________________________________________________________
|Mark Chelap | "FACE DOWN" Softball Team Mismanager |
|mch...@nyx.net | 1993/1995 Western Wasted Conference Champions |
|__U. of Nebraska Cornhuskers--1994 & 1995 NCAA Football National Champions__|
Dillon Pyron
Philip Gravel wrote:
> Connie Kalitta, Top Fuel driver and owner of American International
> Airways, dispatched one of his planes immediately after the crash
> to pick up Blaine's wife in California and fly her to Indianapolis.
Why does it take the very worst to bring out the very best?
My love and best wishes to Blaine's family and to Elmer's.
--
dillon pyron
dillon...@amd.com
PADI OWSI-54909 USPSA TY-26031
No wonder he is not winning the war, your president has no elephants!
John Ray
In article <50hkh8$k...@nyx10.cs.du.edu>, mch...@nyx10.cs.du.edu ('Mad' Mark Chelap) writes:
|> In article <50b4ha$8...@Venus.mcs.com>, Philip Gravel <pgr...@MCS.COM> wrote:
|> >
|> >disintegrated though the driver's cage remained intact. Long time
|> >drag racing announcer, Dave McCelland, said it was the worst top
|> >end crash he had ever witnessed.
|>
|> No matter if the driver walks away or not, all crashes of this sort are bad;
|> the crash that paralyzed top-fueler Darrell Gwynn a few years was similar to,
|> and was about as violent as Blaine's. Gwynn's dragster broke in half and went
|> straight to the wall at the top end in Montreal. NHRA and their Safety Safari
|> have to be doing something right if thats the first fatality in Top Fuel in 25
|> years like what was mentioned on TV. Safety Safari is probably the best at
|> what they do in motorsports (in all respect to the other organizations with
|> their own rescue crews).
Some clarification, Darrell Gwynn's crash was at a track in England if I am
not mistaken. Also, I thought he suffered severe tire shake, and his chassis
broke because of this which sent him into the wall at around half track.
Also, even though this was the first fatality at a NHRA National Event in
25 years, there have been other fatalities in Top Fuel, Jimmy Nix comes
to mind, he crashed and was killed at the Texas Motorplex when his car
collided with a scoreboard pole. But I do agree that the safety safari
is the absolute best in the business, and safety is of highest concern
with NHRA.
|>
|> >Connie Kalitta, Top Fuel driver and owner of American International
|> >Airways, dispatched one of his planes immediately after the crash
|> >to pick up Blaine's wife in California and fly her to Indianapolis.
|>
|> For all the things that have been said about Connie Kalitta over the years;
|> hearing this tidbit shows me that he's a heck of a class act. The racing
|> community is unbelieveable about taking care of their own. Tragic loss for
|> the NHRA community--losing an up-and-coming championship contender; and a
|> person who appeared to be liked by most everyone around NHRA.
Connie is a class act, this is not the first time he has done something
like this, he is quite a humanitarian.
|>
|>
|>
|> --
|> ____________________________________________________________________________
|> |Mark Chelap | "FACE DOWN" Softball Team Mismanager |
|> |mch...@nyx.net | 1993/1995 Western Wasted Conference Champions |
|> |__U. of Nebraska Cornhuskers--1994 & 1995 NCAA Football National Champions__|
--
John Ray (513) 865-1077 | "Rather than writing a great operating system |
jo...@lexis-nexis.com | I wrote a small, not so great operating system |
------------------------| and then made it free. That turned it into a |
RB Racing - Home of the | great operating system" - Linus Torvalds |
Motorparts Distributors |------------------------------------------------ |
206 MPH Top Dragster | IHRA S/R #6812;NHRA S/G #312C;IHRA T/D #2367 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rich Bemben - Cayenne Software
Philip Gravel (pgr...@MCS.COM) wrote:
: Blaine Johnson, driver of the Travers Tool Top Fuel dragster,
: died of injuries suffered in a horrific crash during qualifying
: Indianapolis Raceway Park. He is the first Top Fuel driver to
: die during an NHRA event since 1971.
:<Rest of announcement deleted for brevity>
Must have been an awful downer at the U.S. Nationals this past weekend:
From: Justin Amrhein <jus...@zx7r.mv.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <ne...@linus.mitre.org>
Subject: [Fwd: NHRA Elmer Trett Dies]
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From: Joe Brake <cr...@gnv.fdt.net>
Newsgroups: rec.autos.sport.misc
Subject: NHRA Elmer Trett Dies
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 20:28:11 -0700
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>From NHRA Communications :
Top Fuel Motorcycle rider Elmer Trett died from injuries
in an accident Sunday during an exhibition pass at the NHRA
U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Trett, 53, from Demorest, Ga,. died at Methodist Hospital.
Top Fuel Motorcycle is an exhibition category. It is not
a competition category conducted at NHRA Winston Drag
Racing Series national events.
Trett was a pioneer in Top Fuel Motorcycle racing. He
recorded the quickest pass by a Top Fuel Motorcycle, 6.069,
Aug. 18 at Indianapolis Raceway Park during the Pingel
Thundernationals, not a NHRA event. Trett also recorded
the fastest speed in the history of the category, 235.10
mph, at the Thundernationals.
Joe Brake
Crest Motorsports
http://crestcomm.com/motorsports
Race in peace guys....
Rich
--
Rich Bemben bem...@cadreri.com
DoD #0044 (401) 351-5950 x 159 (R.I.)
UB #12 (617) 273-9003 x ??? (Ma.)
The street giveth and the street taketh away - Catmother
*********************************************************************
Brent Mazur
On 2 Sep 1996, Lee wrote:
> Please accept an added note here to those that are not familiar with the
> nitro motors. On a top qualifying run such as Blaine's, and also in the
> finals, the motor is a "one tripper". You lean it out towards the end of
> the run which means--the leaner, the more cylinder pressure--meaning more
> horse power--meaning tremendous heat--meaning inviting detonation. In
> other words, one run and the motor's internals are ruined. This is if your
> lucky. Blaine's detonated and literally exploded the motor taking the
> tires.
I think you're incorrect about the internals being ruined on every pass.
The motors are taken apart after every run but being ruined, I don't
think so.
> Another pioneer lost his life there yesterday. Elmer Trett "was" the
> cutting edge in fuel bikes. I have talked with Elmer over the past, and
> the fear is always "tire shake", especially over 200 mph (the run was 232
> mph), I haven't seen a replay, but I am guessing the fear finalized. a
> sad loss.
The speculation is he came out of his tuck a little early and the wind
took him off the bike after the finish line.
_ _
|_)(_`|\/| Brent Mazur | America borders on the magnificent...
|_)._)| | Winnipeg, Manitoba | CANADA!!!
Donovan Bailey - World's Fastest Man!!!
~RW~
Christopher A. Poterala
John Ray (jo...@lexis-nexis.com) wrote:
: In article <50hkh8$k...@nyx10.cs.du.edu>, mch...@nyx10.cs.du.edu ('Mad' Mark Chelap) writes:
: |> In article <50b4ha$8...@Venus.mcs.com>, Philip Gravel <pgr...@MCS.COM> wrote:
: |> >
: |> >disintegrated though the driver's cage remained intact. Long time
: |> >drag racing announcer, Dave McCelland, said it was the worst top
: |> >end crash he had ever witnessed.
: Some clarification, Darrell Gwynn's crash was at a track in England if I am
: not mistaken. Also, I thought he suffered severe tire shake, and his chassis
: broke because of this which sent him into the wall at around half track.
: Also, even though this was the first fatality at a NHRA National Event in
: 25 years, there have been other fatalities in Top Fuel, Jimmy Nix comes
: to mind, he crashed and was killed at the Texas Motorplex when his car
: collided with a scoreboard pole. But I do agree that the safety safari
: is the absolute best in the business, and safety is of highest concern
: with NHRA.
I've only been to two national events, but from what I've seen on tv and
what my wife has told me, the Safety Safari rules. These guys are on top
of a car before it stops moving.
BTW, wasn't a divisional racer killed at a track out west last year?
Maybe that's the Motorplex fatality. Vegas keeps popping into my head.
: |>
: |> >Connie Kalitta, Top Fuel driver and owner of American International
: |> >Airways, dispatched one of his planes immediately after the crash
: |> >to pick up Blaine's wife in California and fly her to Indianapolis.
: |>
: |> For all the things that have been said about Connie Kalitta over the years;
: |> hearing this tidbit shows me that he's a heck of a class act. The racing
: |> community is unbelieveable about taking care of their own. Tragic loss for
: |> the NHRA community--losing an up-and-coming championship contender; and a
: |> person who appeared to be liked by most everyone around NHRA.
: Connie is a class act, this is not the first time he has done something
: like this, he is quite a humanitarian.
I can speak personally about Connie. My wife watches his grandson, Corey,
and attends about half of the races with Scott and his wife. My wife was
at IRP over the weekend. Connie is definitely a rough and tumble kind of
person, but he definitely loves racing and the people that are part of it.
Everybody on the AIA crew talks about how excited he gets when the car's
running well. They said he was like a 12 year old after winning at Indy
in '94. He's been trying hard all year. I'm hoping he at least makes the
Classic in Pomona this year.
Many folks think of Scott as the spoiled kid who can race b/c his dad's
got a lot of $$$. Both Scott and his crew told me it was one of Connie's
first race victories that helped fund his first airplane. I think many
folks assume Connie bought his way into drag racing with his airline $$$,
but it just isn't true.
The funniest experience I ever had with Connie was flying down to
Columbus this year. The nanny's husband doesn't usually get a spot on
the plane, but Scott's wife shoved me on board just before take off. I
was preparing to drive down with my wife, Corey and Scott's wife.
Now Connie's got one working eye. Lovely. I ask a crew member how Connie
flies and the crew member says "By the size of things." An interesting
landing happened next at a tiny airport in Granville, OH. Of course, if
the man can pilot a T/F dragster down the track I guess landing a plane
should be quite a bit easier.
Cheers,
Chris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christopher A. Poterala |
Network Services Librarian | Email: pot...@umich.edu
Library Systems Office | Voice: (313) 764-5124
2026 Shapiro Library | Fax: (313) 764-2025
University of Michigan | "Who's on first?"
'Mad' Mark Chelap
In article <50k4o7$m...@lastactionhero.rs.itd.umich.edu>,
Christopher A. Poterala <pot...@news-server.engin.umich.edu> wrote:
>
>I've only been to two national events, but from what I've seen on tv and
>what my wife has told me, the Safety Safari rules. These guys are on top
>of a car before it stops moving.
Yeah, I remember my first Mile-High Nationals a few years ago when TF Funny
Car driver Don Gay, Jr. had an engine explosion/fire/crash in the cool-off
area. Opponent Don Prudhomme stopped/got out at the scene, and had just begun
to try and get the burning car body lifted to get to Gay; but the Safety
Safari was there so quick, that the Snake didn't even have it lifted a foot or
so until they took over and handled both the fire and extracating Gay from
his car. I remember seeing in the paper the next day and on "NHRA Today" about
how the Safety Safari was given high praise for the way they handled both the
critical situations at the same time. Although Don Gay was burned and injured
pretty badly, involving an airlift to the hospital; that could have been a
heck of a lot worse considering the amount of fire/smoke coming from that car
when it caught. Another poster on this thread was right about the fact that
the Safety Safari is only around for national events; so local/regional stuff
is up to the local tracks getting local emergency teams etc (I assume). Again,
Indycar has a good crew too; but NASCAR might be well-served to get a crew as
accomplished as the Safety Safari; with some of the nasty crashes this year.
>Everybody on the AIA crew talks about how excited he gets when the car's
>running well. They said he was like a 12 year old after winning at Indy
>in '94. He's been trying hard all year. I'm hoping he at least makes the
>Classic in Pomona this year.
Yeah, I've seen him like that in the pits, I think last year; when he went a
pretty good way into the eliminations before being put out (I think by Scott,
who won it here 2 years in a row before being put out this year). You gotta
root for and give a thumbs up to a class act; and hope he runs well.
To me, seeing Connie out there racing (and apparantly enjoying it after being
retired for awhile) is a throwback to the old days of drag racing; when it
was more regional and the money wasn't there (guys doing it for the love of
it). Considering I only became a drag-racing fan 10-12 years ago; I really
appreciate the fact that I've seen pioneers like Connie, Tom "Mongoose" McEwen,
Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Prudhomme etc. take a run down the quarter-mile
in person. Hopefully Connie will keep going for awhile; if he's having fun
with it and seeing another older driver like Eddie Hill still enjoy racing (and
Eddie won the Mile-Hi's this year to a rousing ovation from the fans; since
he's a big favorite at the races here).
Dillon Pyron
'Mad' Mark Chelap wrote:
> Another poster on this thread was right about the fact that
> the Safety Safari is only around for national events; so local/regional stuff
> is up to the local tracks getting local emergency teams etc (I assume). Again,
However, any NHRA sanctioned track can ask for a visit, in which the
Safari crew will show them how to set up for disaster. And they have a
nice list of equipment, start at the top with the crucial stuff and work
down until your budget runs out.
> Indycar has a good crew too; but NASCAR might be well-served to get a crew as
> accomplished as the Safety Safari; with some of the nasty crashes this year.
>
> Yeah, I've seen him like that in the pits, I think last year; when he went a
> pretty good way into the eliminations before being put out (I think by Scott,
> who won it here 2 years in a row before being put out this year). You gotta
> root for and give a thumbs up to a class act; and hope he runs well.
>
> To me, seeing Connie out there racing (and apparantly enjoying it after being
> retired for awhile) is a throwback to the old days of drag racing; when it
> was more regional and the money wasn't there (guys doing it for the love of
> it). Considering I only became a drag-racing fan 10-12 years ago; I really
> appreciate the fact that I've seen pioneers like Connie, Tom "Mongoose" McEwen,
> Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Prudhomme etc. take a run down the quarter-mile
> in person. Hopefully Connie will keep going for awhile; if he's having fun
> with it and seeing another older driver like Eddie Hill still enjoy racing (and
> Eddie won the Mile-Hi's this year to a rousing ovation from the fans; since
> he's a big favorite at the races here).
What I like to remember is when team were people's names and cars had
names. Remember Trojan Horse? Or Freight Train? How about Whipple,
McCullouch & Mr. Ed?
Or Rain for Rent (Connie's first ride/job was irrigation sprinklers)
John Ireland
Dillon Pyron <dillon...@amd.com> wrote:
>What I like to remember is when team were people's names and cars had
>names. Remember Trojan Horse? Or Freight Train? How about Whipple,
>McCullouch & Mr. Ed?
>
>Or Rain for Rent (Connie's first ride/job was irrigation sprinklers)
>
>--
>dillon pyron
I agree with you about the names of teams and cars. Those were
the good old days.
But you are a little off on the "Rain for Rent" car. That was an
enterprise out of Bakersfield, CA. Marvin Miller owned an
agricultural irrigation business called Rain for Rent. He
sponsored Roger Coburn and James Warren's fuel digger. They were
so successful their opponents dubbed them "The Ridge Route
Terrors," the ridge route being the road over the mountains from
Bakersfield into the Los Angeles basin. In the early-mid '70s
they held the record at just about every drag strip in the West.
Connie Kallita started in the '50s. His early top fuel digger
was called "Bounty Hunter."
John the welder
Nitronic Research
In response to John Ray query, yes, there was a fatality at the drags
in Las Vegas last year. Mike Bell, a Division 7 Top Alcohol dragster
driver, was killed in a crash there last September.