TRP incident

[Buck96LT4]

I heard there was a bad accident at TRP last weekend.

Anyone have any info?

Thanks,
Buck.

[billz260]

I was at the Tulsa Raceway Park on Saturday night and saw what was probably the oddest and most horrific accident ever in IHRA drag racing.

This car http://www.tulsaracewaypark.com took off, ran about 7/8ths of the course when the nose picked up and the car lifted into the air and landed upside down. At this point (about 6 seconds into the deal) I am freaking, and hoping that the driver is ok. You can see the flames shooting out of the exhaust easily and the engine was reving and stuff. It was really hard to tell what was happening. At some point the car got turned around backwards on the track and it ended up back on it's wheels. The next thing that happend is still stuck in my head and is unbelievable. The engine roars at full throttle and the car comes BACK down the track at full speed like it was doing a run and strikes the chase car at over 200 mph. This was the worst thing I have ever whitnessed and I am still freaked out by it. The entire ordeal was probably under 20 seconds, it's a blur...

The driver was Shelly Howard, 59, and her son was in the chase car, he was 36. My wifes uncle had been talking with them earlier, it was a brand new car and they were getting it ready for a Dallas event next weekend and were haveing problems w/ the front lifting all day.

They all knew the risks involved in this sport but it is quite un-nerving seeing it happen, I know alot of guy's here are racing, not just drag but autox and others as well, and would just like to say be carefull when doing this stuff. I know her car was quite a bit more extreme than ours but still, any accident can happen at any time.

Godspeed

RIP http://www.shellyhoward.com/

[FalconRacer]

easiest way to explain what happened.  At the 1/8 mile Shellys car experienced a MAJOR Wheelstand  that took the car completely into the air..  The car turned in the air and landed on its wheels but pointed back towards the starting line..  The momentum of going 200 in the 1/8 carried the car past the finish line.  Where it very temporarily stopped.  It then took off full throttle back to the starting line where it ran head on into the Chase Car in which her son was riding.  

Truly a tragic accident.  

My Prayers go out to Shelly Howards family, Her Friends, and Her multitude of fans. A great racer was lost.

[Ginger]

There will be a memorial service Tuesday night (4/5) at the track.  Larry Smiley from "Racers for Christ" will be there and will give a 15 minute service, then racers will be free to talk and walk the track.  This has been such a tragic event at our track that the memorial service hopes to give people closure who were there and witnessed the horrific incident, as well as those who supported Shelly's racing team in the NHRA drag racing scene.  She had a lot of fans out there!

I, as a fan, know that she will truly be missed.  I looked up to her and felt that she was a great role model for young girls and women who chose to live outside the "norm" of supposed girlie hobbies.  The first time I saw her race was in Memphis.  Ever since that time, I've seen so many of her races at Dallas, Memphis, and Topeka.  Godspeed to Shelly and Brian... may you rest in peace together.  You will remain in our hearts and thoughts!