NHRA: Blaine Johnson Killed at NHRA U.S. Nationals

• pgravel@mcs.com (Philip Gravel)
• MCSNet, Chicago, IL
• Sun Sep 1 14:21:53 EDT 1996

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               pgravel@mcs.net