Former racing Champion Mark Niver killed himself while competing in the Semi finals
Car racing can be a very risky and dangerous sport. Sometimes not only the drivers but the crew members and spectators can get unlucky during a race. It has always been said that tragedies are a part of game when it comes to car racing. In the racing world tragedies happen very often because thrilling speed can be very risky not only for the racer himself but for the spectators as well. It gets even more dangerous when the racing car crosses the high speed limits.
Drag racing is one of the most risky types of car race in the world. Sunday 11th July was not a good day for National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) because a sixty year old expert racer Mark Niver died by banging his car to the fence at the pacific raceways in Kent Washington DC. Mark Niver was a champion of O, Reilly summer nationals held in Topeka in 2008. The year 2008 was the best year in Niver’s career as he enjoyed being the top man of the drag racing world.
Niver died last Sunday while he got unlucky while losing control of his car. He was challenging Shawn Cowie in the semi finals of the peak alcohol dragster category in the oil drag racing runs of NHRA Lucas. This class is considered to be the top track for the full strangle drag racing series. Mark Niver of phoenix couldn’t stop his dragster from hitting into the protective grid at the end of the runway as the parachute applied by him to stop the dragster was slit away. NHRA is investigating the incident and has expressed its deep sorrows and sympathies for the Niver’s family. After the accident the racing event was pendant for about an hour to investigate the happening.
The race has to be more secure and friendly for the racer as well as for the spectators as this incident is the third biggest incident of this year. This was the third time when a racer has died at an NHRA event including the 60 year old Mark Niver. Before this accident, Neal Parker of Millville New Jersey expired during a qualifying round at the New Jersey Raceway in June this year. He died of a head injury after smashing his alcohol fuelled funny car. Not only this but in early this year a viewer passed away after receiving a wheel of a colliding hauler at the NHRA Arizona nationals in the first round. It is to be noted that the worst ever accident recorded in the car racing history was the accident of Pierre Levegh in 1955 which killed him and approximately 80 spectators faced serious injuries as well.
For the people who are unaware of drag racing it would be informative for them to know that Drag racing is a form of racing in which the racers compete to cross the finish line from a standing start in a straight line. NHRA presently has 4 categories in North American drag racing which include the class of Top Fuel Dragster, Top Fuel Funny car class, Pro Stock class and Pro Stock Bike racing.
In addition to the ongoing investigation of the AMID event by NHRA the association should reconsider all of the newly implemented safety rules. After the 2nd disastrous happening with in a very short period of time the safety precautions and measures still seem a little less. Later, after the incident on Sunday the races were won by Cory Mcclenathan in Top Fuel class, Tim Wilkerson won the race in Funny car class and Greg Anderson won the race in the class of Pro Stock.
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