I have to begin with an apology. I ended last week's blog by saying
I wouldn't be back with you until after the Gatornationals next
month. Well, low and behold, I clearly was not accounting for this
past Sunday's race at Firebird International Raceway, the Arizona
Nationals, outside of Phoenix.
As it happens, it was not a pleasant weekend out in the
Valley of the Sun for the U.S. Army Top Fuel team. We were taken
out in the quarterfinals by Steve Torrence. Much like Larry Dixon
did to me in Pomona, Calif., Steve beat me off the starting line
and that spelled the difference in the race.
While I was clearly disappointed in the Arizona result, it
was nothing compared to what my Don Schumacher Racing teammate,
Antron Brown, had to endure. I'm sure by now most of you know
Antron, who drives the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster, was involved
in a horrific crash during the opening round of final eliminations.
Just after Antron left the starting line in his match up with
Troy Buff, the left rear tire/wheel on his car broke loose, which
sent him into the wall in the opposite lane. Antron's car burst
into flames and then slid along the wall for a bit before coming to
a stop.
Fortunately, Antron was unhurt in the incident, but the same
could not be said of a female spectator who was hit by the loose
tire/wheel. Unfortunately, the woman lost her life after being
transported to a local hospital.
It ended up being a tragic and emotional day for everyone at
Firebird. My second-round loss was certainly put into perspective
in a hurry. Frankly, it didn't matter what we had or hadn't done
that afternoon. All we could think about was the woman and her
family.
To that end, I believe it's important I convey the following
statement my dad/team owner, Don Schumacher, put out on Tuesday:
"Don Schumacher Racing would like to offer its condolences to
the family and friends of a woman who was fatally injured Sunday at
the Arizona NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
"On behalf of everyone at Don Schumacher Racing, I want to
express my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the
victim in Sunday's tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the
family and friends of the woman. There are simply no words to
adequately express our feelings, but we can assure you that we are
conducting a thorough investigation to determine how this happened.
"Don Schumacher Racing is one of the leading advocates for
safety in the NHRA and we will continue to be at the forefront of
safety. Safety is and always has been our paramount concern.
Therefore, we intend to do everything in our power to carefully
investigate this matter as efficiently and thoroughly as possible.
We ask for your patience and assure you that we will have more to
report as information becomes available to us. In the meantime, we
extend our sympathies and ask everyone to keep the victim in
Sunday's tragedy, as well as her family and friends, in your
thoughts and prayers."
I don't think there's a need to write much more. Please
understand the NHRA family is hurting from this terrible incident
and that will likely linger for quite some time.
"The Sarge" salutes you all. We'll see you in a couple of
weeks after the "Gators" in Gainesville, Fla. Until then, stay well
and please remember the victim at Firebird.
