Our Thought And Prayers....

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WILDCHILDFAN

Member
Our Thoughts And Prayers Go Out To Darrell Russell From Nhra. Darrell Lost His Life Today At Gateway.

Our Prayers Are With The Russell Family In There Lose Today.
 
2nd Round on Sunday?

I think it was the second round of elimination, was more or less at the finish line, and I think they said that one of the rear tires come apart (exploded) and blew parts into the cockpit. The car looked to go into about (3) pieces, it didn't look good. This was the news I was praying not to hear..........

A sad day for such a great weekend of drag racing...............

God bless you Darrel Russell............
 
Top Fuel driver killed in crash

Darrell Russell was top NHRA rookie in 2001

By DAVID POOLE

The Charlotte Observer


MADISON, Ill. - National Hot Rod Association drag racer Darrell Russell died Sunday night from injuries suffered in a violent crash during the Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway.
Russell, a 35-year-old native of Hockley, Texas, had just lost to Scott Kalitta in the second round of eliminations when his Top Fuel dragster crashed while running about 300 mph at the end of the quarter-mile strip at Gateway International Raceway.

The crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. Central time. Just less than two hours later Graham Light, NHRA senior vice president of racing operations, announced to the media that Russell had died at St. Louis University Hospital.

"Unfortunately, Darrell has succumbed to his injuries," Light said. "He was one of our most popular drivers. All I can say is that the NHRA extends its condolences to his family, to the Joe Amato Racing team and to the racing community."

Russell is the first participant to be killed in competition at an NHRA national event since Blaine Johnson died in a crash during a qualifying run at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in 1996.

Sunday's event continued after Light informed the media of Russell's death. No announcement was made to crowd of about 25,000 in the grandstands.

"The event continues," Light said. "I think Darrell would have wanted that. We're not going to announce it to the crowd at this point, I don't think there's anything to be gained by doing that."

Russell, running in the left-hand lane, had lost to Scott Kalitta in the final pairing of the Top Fuel quarterfinal round when his car went out of control just past the finish line.

The car appeared to shred a tire after Russell pulled his parachute to slow his 2,200-pound car. The NHRA electronic timing system showed that his nitromethane-powered car, powered by an engine producing up to 8,000 horsepower, had averaged 322.73 mph in the final 66 feet of his run down the strip.

The car went sideways as it lost control and wound up going back against the concrete wall to the left of the lane in which Russell had been racing. The NHRA's traveling safety crew was rolling toward it immediately and quickly extinguished a small fire that erupted around the remains of the car.

Dan Brickey, director of emergency medical services for the NHRA, said Russell's driver's compartment was intact when the rescue team arrived. The workers cut away the roll cage, immobilized Russell's spine and then took off his helmet and the required head-and-neck restraint device before loading him onto a backboard and taking him to the ambulance.

Brickey said Russell was unconscious but breathing when he was taken to a helicopter waiting on a pad inside the adjacent oval track at the Gateway complex to be flown to the hospital in St. Louis, about 10 miles from the track.

Light said the recovered parts of Russell's dragster were impounded and examined by the NHRA technical staff before being returned to team owner Joe Amato.

Russell had been the fastest qualifier after two days of runs with a best elapsed time of 4.511 seconds. He defeated T.J. Zizzo in Sunday's first round, but ran a 4.611-second pass against Kalitta, who won with an ET of 4.594 seconds at 328.94.

Russell, the 2001 NHRA rookie of the year, won his sixth career national event two weeks ago at Columbus, Ohio. Light said Russell's wife, Julie, was at the track Sunday.

Light defended the NHRA's record on driver safety.

"I think the safety of these cars is second to none," Light said. "In an event like this, we'll run 3,000 runs down this race track." That total includes competition in the professional and various sportsman divisions over the three-day event.

"We do this week in and week out," Light said. "The protection these drivers have is the best that technology can give them."
 
i just returned home and found out. our thoughts and prayers are with the family. i couldn't see the crash that good from where i was and after seeing it on tv im glad i didn't. once again our prayers are with the family.
 
Thoughts and prayers go out to the Russell family in this time of loss.
I was at the track and from the way things went of no replay of the run, I could tell it was not very good.
 
i just seen it on sports center and it was a pretty nasty looking incident.....thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and team.....this is the only thing about racing that isnt fun.....is loosing someone thats so popular too people
 
Once again, a member of our family is taken far too soon. Godspeed and may your family and friends not grieve at your loss, but feel blessed they knew you while you were with us.

Brandon W. Mudd
KFNS/MB Motorsports
 
I was there Friday Night and thought wow this guy is fast. Hate to hear of a loss like this anytime or any place. Thoughts and Prayers to his family and team. :(
 
Darrell always seemed so clean cut and well mannered when being interviewed on TV. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and Joe Amato and crew members.
 
Maybe?

From what some people have told me they wouldn't be suprised if the injury wasn't very similiar to the one that killed Earnhardt. Didn't they call that a Base Skull Fracture or something, they were saying that when that car rolled over an hit the ground with the side of the cage (even though the cage didn't cave in) the g's that the car was pulling or displacing caused his head to snap forward or to the side.

Also, you need to check out www.nhra.com, they have some very nice articles in there about him.
 
I have not found any other info on this. The basil skull is self explanitive. Where the skull seperates from the base of the neck ( snaps ) in most cases from what I have seen over the years. Thanks for the web sight to read..
You are right there are some very nice reading on this young man.
 
A very reliable source told me what killed him was this: When the tire blew, the strut holding the rear wing pierced his helmet and killed him instantly. This would explain the large amounts of blood in the wreckage as head wounds bleed the most. This information will probably come out later, but due to legal reasons and the investigation, they are sticking with "head injury." The Earnhardt-type injury was immediately ruled out as he was wearing a HANS device. He was a good racer and a good man and it's an absolute shame the motorsports family has lost another brother.

Speed Racer said:
From what some people have told me they wouldn't be suprised if the injury wasn't very similiar to the one that killed Earnhardt. Didn't they call that a Base Skull Fracture or something, they were saying that when that car rolled over an hit the ground with the side of the cage (even though the cage didn't cave in) the g's that the car was pulling or displacing caused his head to snap forward or to the side.

Also, you need to check out www.nhra.com, they have some very nice articles in there about him.
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