Monster Jam tragedy
People go to motor sports events to be entertained not killed.
Although signs at most gates or on tickets warn of possible dangers at races, very few read them and those who do have become complacent about the inherent risks of being in close proximity to engines and race cars being pushed to the limit.
Reality — and tragedy — struck Friday night at the Monster Jam monster truck show at the Tacoma Dome in Washington when a 6-year-old was fatally injured when a piece from a monster truck sailed into the grandstands.
Witnesses in the crowd of about 10,000 described the boy, Sebastian Hizey, as being struck in the head by a Frisbee-size chunk of metal that flew off the “Natural High” monster truck while it was doing doughnuts during the Monster Jam, a series that will perform March 27-28 at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The father of the boy who died Saturday, Jessie Hizey of Puyallup, Wash., told The News Tribune of Tacoma, a metal ring weighing 7 to 12 pounds sheared off part his son's skull. They and other relatives were sitting in grandstands 20 to 25 feet above the arena floor.
"You go out for a night of fun, and you lose your son," Hizey told the paper.
On Sunday, investigators were examining pieces of the drivetrain from the monster truck to learn how the part tore off the truck and was flung into the spectators.
Feld Entertainment purchased the series and AMA Supercross last year from Live Nation.
Adding to the agony was that the show was never stopped, and some reports in Northwest papers quoted fans of saying it was difficult to alert race officials of the injury.
Up to the first 20 rows of Monster Jam events are cordoned off to protect fans, but someone was negligent in this horrific accident. The apparent parts failure was deadly, and someone should pay.
Series officials or part manufacturer or truck owner will learn the value of a 6-year-old's life if one of them is proven to have failed to properly inspect the truck or make/install the deadly part.
Sad, very sad.
RIGGS TO DRIVE FOR BALDWIN
Tommy Baldwin Racing announced Monday that Scott Riggs will drive its No. 36 Toyota for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Baldwin, who will hold the titles of owner and crew chief, announced the formation of his new race team earlier this month.
AT LEAST NAME LIVES ON
Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which merged with Petty Enterprises within the past month, will change its name to Richard Petty Motorsports.
That’s the only direct link to the 60-year history of the Pettys; Kyle Petty will not drive for the team and King Richard says he expects to be at the races as a figurehead.
The Pettys first sold controlling interest in the 60-year-old Petty Enterprises team to the financial company Boston Ventures last summer before it working out the merger with GEM to keep the Petty name in racing.
Reed Sorenson will drive Petty's famed No. 43 Dodge for RPM this season. A.J. Allmendinger will run Petty’s No. 44 Dodge in at least the first five races. They will join GEM full-time holdovers Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.
EARNHARDT-GANASSI COULD BE DOWN TO 2
Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team started by the late Dale Earnhardt — who with Richard Petty are the only seven-time Cup champions — has merged with Chip Ganassi Racing but might only be able to field two full-time cars in Cup: one for Juan Pablo Montoya, who drove for Ganassi, and another for Martin Truex Jr., who drove for DEI.
A third car for Aric Almirola is only assured for the Feb. 15 season-opener at Daytona International Raceway.
STEWART STARTS DOMINATING
James “Bubba” Stewart stumbled in the AMA Supercross season-opener on his Yamaha but has rebounded to win the last two events to set up another season when he’s likely to dominate as long as he stays healthy.
Stewart finished ahead of Suzuki’s Chad Reed before 43,009 Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
“I didn’t get the greatest start,” Stewart said. “It was a freight train out front, but I was able to get around (Kevin) Windham and Ryan (Villopoto). I came up short on the triple jump and lost my back brake for a few laps.”
On lap 18 Reed moved into second place and chased down Windham on the last lap to finish second and take over the series points lead.
“I tried to play damage control tonight,” added Reed. “It was a super difficult track to pass on. We have the points lead now, so I am so excited. Our team has been working their butts off, and I am confident. I tried to be smart for 20 laps. I knew these guys would get tired, so I kept my head down and charged hard.”
The series competes Saturday at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
DRAG TESTING IN FLORIDA
Several professional NHRA teams spent the weekend testing at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida, and few stayed over on Monday.
The full contingent of Don Schumacher Racing’s two Top Fuelers, three Funny Cars, a Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle was there.
The DSL Top Fueler with driver Tony Schumacher didn’t need much time to adjust to new crew chief Mike Green, who replaced Alan Johnson after last season.
Schumacher’s best run was 317.05 mph in 3.812 seconds over the 1,000-foot course.
That was nearly topped by Johnson’s new team when Larry Dixon clicked off a 3.813 at 313.73. The best Funny Car run over the weekend was 4.056 second (308.50 mph) by Del Worsham in Johnson’s new Funny Car.
Also testing were the Tasca Funny Cars of Bob Tasca III and Tim Wilkerson.
A few Pro Stocks participated with Jason Line’s 6.644 (209.23) the best among the factory hot rods.
The Schumacher teams and others test this weekend at Firebird Raceway near Phoenix. Some teams will test Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For complete results, go to DragRaceCentral.com.
Although signs at most gates or on tickets warn of possible dangers at races, very few read them and those who do have become complacent about the inherent risks of being in close proximity to engines and race cars being pushed to the limit.
Reality — and tragedy — struck Friday night at the Monster Jam monster truck show at the Tacoma Dome in Washington when a 6-year-old was fatally injured when a piece from a monster truck sailed into the grandstands.
Witnesses in the crowd of about 10,000 described the boy, Sebastian Hizey, as being struck in the head by a Frisbee-size chunk of metal that flew off the “Natural High” monster truck while it was doing doughnuts during the Monster Jam, a series that will perform March 27-28 at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The father of the boy who died Saturday, Jessie Hizey of Puyallup, Wash., told The News Tribune of Tacoma, a metal ring weighing 7 to 12 pounds sheared off part his son's skull. They and other relatives were sitting in grandstands 20 to 25 feet above the arena floor.
"You go out for a night of fun, and you lose your son," Hizey told the paper.
On Sunday, investigators were examining pieces of the drivetrain from the monster truck to learn how the part tore off the truck and was flung into the spectators.
Feld Entertainment purchased the series and AMA Supercross last year from Live Nation.
Adding to the agony was that the show was never stopped, and some reports in Northwest papers quoted fans of saying it was difficult to alert race officials of the injury.
Up to the first 20 rows of Monster Jam events are cordoned off to protect fans, but someone was negligent in this horrific accident. The apparent parts failure was deadly, and someone should pay.
Series officials or part manufacturer or truck owner will learn the value of a 6-year-old's life if one of them is proven to have failed to properly inspect the truck or make/install the deadly part.
Sad, very sad.
RIGGS TO DRIVE FOR BALDWIN
Tommy Baldwin Racing announced Monday that Scott Riggs will drive its No. 36 Toyota for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Baldwin, who will hold the titles of owner and crew chief, announced the formation of his new race team earlier this month.
AT LEAST NAME LIVES ON
Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which merged with Petty Enterprises within the past month, will change its name to Richard Petty Motorsports.
That’s the only direct link to the 60-year history of the Pettys; Kyle Petty will not drive for the team and King Richard says he expects to be at the races as a figurehead.
The Pettys first sold controlling interest in the 60-year-old Petty Enterprises team to the financial company Boston Ventures last summer before it working out the merger with GEM to keep the Petty name in racing.
Reed Sorenson will drive Petty's famed No. 43 Dodge for RPM this season. A.J. Allmendinger will run Petty’s No. 44 Dodge in at least the first five races. They will join GEM full-time holdovers Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.
EARNHARDT-GANASSI COULD BE DOWN TO 2
Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team started by the late Dale Earnhardt — who with Richard Petty are the only seven-time Cup champions — has merged with Chip Ganassi Racing but might only be able to field two full-time cars in Cup: one for Juan Pablo Montoya, who drove for Ganassi, and another for Martin Truex Jr., who drove for DEI.
A third car for Aric Almirola is only assured for the Feb. 15 season-opener at Daytona International Raceway.
STEWART STARTS DOMINATING
James “Bubba” Stewart stumbled in the AMA Supercross season-opener on his Yamaha but has rebounded to win the last two events to set up another season when he’s likely to dominate as long as he stays healthy.
Stewart finished ahead of Suzuki’s Chad Reed before 43,009 Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
“I didn’t get the greatest start,” Stewart said. “It was a freight train out front, but I was able to get around (Kevin) Windham and Ryan (Villopoto). I came up short on the triple jump and lost my back brake for a few laps.”
On lap 18 Reed moved into second place and chased down Windham on the last lap to finish second and take over the series points lead.
“I tried to play damage control tonight,” added Reed. “It was a super difficult track to pass on. We have the points lead now, so I am so excited. Our team has been working their butts off, and I am confident. I tried to be smart for 20 laps. I knew these guys would get tired, so I kept my head down and charged hard.”
The series competes Saturday at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
DRAG TESTING IN FLORIDA
Several professional NHRA teams spent the weekend testing at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida, and few stayed over on Monday.
The full contingent of Don Schumacher Racing’s two Top Fuelers, three Funny Cars, a Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle was there.
The DSL Top Fueler with driver Tony Schumacher didn’t need much time to adjust to new crew chief Mike Green, who replaced Alan Johnson after last season.
Schumacher’s best run was 317.05 mph in 3.812 seconds over the 1,000-foot course.
That was nearly topped by Johnson’s new team when Larry Dixon clicked off a 3.813 at 313.73. The best Funny Car run over the weekend was 4.056 second (308.50 mph) by Del Worsham in Johnson’s new Funny Car.
Also testing were the Tasca Funny Cars of Bob Tasca III and Tim Wilkerson.
A few Pro Stocks participated with Jason Line’s 6.644 (209.23) the best among the factory hot rods.
The Schumacher teams and others test this weekend at Firebird Raceway near Phoenix. Some teams will test Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For complete results, go to DragRaceCentral.com.
This entry was posted on Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 at 05:21 PM
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