Y2K_WS6_T/A

This happened in St. Louis this past weekend....take a look at the bold type.


Mir Naziruddin

Drag racer dies after accident at Gateway
By KEN ROBERTS Post-Dispatch
updated: 04/06/2003 12:45 AM


Phil Burghard, a veteran Super Gas class drag racer, died of injuries suffered in an accident Saturday afternoon during time trials for the NHRA Spring Sportsman Challenge XI at Gateway International Raceway.

Burghard, 33 of Worthington, Ohio, was driving a 2003 Corvette that had just made his second qualifying pass at 9.873 seconds (155.76 miles per hour) when the car went out of control at the end of the racetrack.

According to eyewitnesses, the car appeared to accelerate through the sand traps, through a catchfence at the end of the traps, through another fence that surrounds the track, over an access road and crashed at full speed into an embankment in the Cahokia Canal, a winding runoff area for the Mississippi River. That distance is about one mile from the starting line on the quarter-mile dragstrip.

The car hit the embankment with such force that it flipped in the air and landed upside down in the canal. Seven people immediately jumped into the canal, which is normally about 10 feet deep. But because of a recent dry spell, the canal was only about four feet deep.

Emergency medical and track personnel quickly removed Burghard from the car, and he was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital Trauma Center. He was pronounced dead at 3:19 p.m. A hospital official said an autopsy will be performed by the Medical Examiner's Office to determine the exact cause of death.

"The entire racing community grieves for the family," Gateway vice president and general manager Matt Strelo said. "He was an experienced racer and, from what I'm told, a real stand-up guy."

Burghard finished 15th in the NHRA Division 3 (North Central) points standings in Super Gas in 2002.

Burghard is the first driver to die in a racing-related accident since the new Gateway complex opened in September 1996.

TAMUz06

Jesus Christ, hittin' all the boards tonight, eh? <img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" />

Y2K_WS6_T/A

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by TAMUz06:
<strong> Jesus Christ, hittin' all the boards tonight, eh? <img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" /> </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sir!!! I know most folk worship me like some sort of God-like diety-figure!!

Coach 02 A3 Z/28

iTrader: (10)

This is very bad stuff. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="gr_sad.gif" /> God Bless his family. <img border="0" alt="[angel]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_angel.gif" />

Coach

Humanoid

iTrader: (3)

This is not the first time I heard of a car doing that. Sounds like the throttle sticking or something. I've never tried but can you pull it out of gear or cut the ignition? I know you have to do it quick.

This is sad.

sited12

Arent the vettes throttle controlled the by the computer instead of a cable. Maybe a glitch with the computer.

Villain281H

iTrader: (5)

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="gr_sad.gif" /> bummer! man, I've witnessed 2 accidents at my home track where people crashed didn't make it. One guy actually drove AROUND the catch net at the end of the track thinking he could save his car after the parachute failed to deploy! He ended up in the canal and pronounced DOA at the hospital. Seems lexan windows don't hold water out too well. Definately makes you think about all the rules and safety equipment used when you run fast. Granted, sometimes a tragedy happens, but think about all the people that survive.
My prayers to his family <img border="0" alt="[angel]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_angel.gif" />

Derek