Competition loss of one of drag racings stars SHELLY HOWARD 1945-2005

[COMP461]

Shelly Howard and her son Brian will be missed



http://www.shellyhowardracing.com/

 

[Tcolesanti]

What a terrible tragedy.

 

[ob1kobi]

Was it a car accident or what?

 

[Lock93]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?id=2029221



This was posted on another forum

 

[COMP461]

It is with great sadness we report the death of Shelly Howard due to injuries sustained in a high speed testing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The car did a blowover and came back to the starting line under power, hitting the tow vehicle with her son Brian in the vehicle. He died later of injuries sustained. This is truly a tragic day, and Shelly will sorely be missed.



As I get more details, I will post them here.



RIP and God's speed Shelly and Brian.



[ April 03, 2005, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: Will Hanna ]



--------------------

Will Hanna

Editor/Owner

InsideTopAlcohol.com

 

[ob1kobi]

wow, what a terrible accident. Thanks for the link.

 

[DHRA]

It is a horrible tragedy, Greg, did you ever get to meet her at a Division 4 race?

 

[Fletcher]

Shelly Howard and her son Brian will be missed



http://www.shellyhowardracing.com/

Greg, I finally read the article today, A sad tragedy.

Our prayers go out to the Howard family.

 

[COMP461]

Eric , I didn’t know her well, but I did speak to her on a few occasions , she was a racers racer . She did a lot of charity work with special Olympics , , involving her son Brian. And was always a fan favorite. The tragic of losing any racer is the loss of a part of a family of racers . Traveling Div 4 races you develop a lot of friends ,some you get to know better then others , but you have a since of kinship because of the shared interest. Shelly had just won the first of the Div 4 races in A/FD running several 5. 20’s @ over 270 mph , and was a favorite to win the division , and would have been a strong player in National points chase

 

[Hammer]

This is a sad day again in the drag racing world. The Howards were one of the nicest Alcohol teams you could ever meet and no matter how they did they always had time for a visit. Shelly was a accomplished driver who always had some of the fastest blower or A/Fuelers in the TAD division. I also agree with Comp she would have been a shoe in for the Division crown and been a major player in the national points. Her win at Chicago in the Jegs All Star race was a popular one and they will be sorely missed. Godspeed to her and her son and may they rest in piece... ... ... ..... Andy

 

[DHRA]

Didn't she have a couple of Div. 4 championships?

 

[Hammer]

Eric. .

Going back as far as I could remember I thought she had at least 2. So I went today and did some research and here is what I found off the NHRA site. I was correct with 2 Division 4 TAD crowns since 1999. They do not archive back beyond that though but she was in the thick of the Division 4 points race every year since 1999. She also has some very stiff company she raced with when she didn't win the crown. Here are her finishing places in points since 1999.



1999-3rd... She finished behind Troy Buff(2nd) and Darrell Russell(1st).

2000-3rd... She finished behind Troy Buff(2nd) and Jay Meyer(1st).

2001-1st... A Divisional Championship year for her.

2002-2nd... She finished behind Lee Callaway(1st).

2003-1st... Another Divisional Championship for her.

2004-3rd... She finished behind Gene "Snowman" Snow(2nd) and Ashley Force(1st,wonder who she is related to,LOL).

2005-2nd... She was currently in 2nd place right behind Ashley Force. Shelly had only claimed 1 race for points so far and Ashley had claimed 2 already.



Division 4 has always been a good division for TAD with some of the best names running from that division as you can see above. One thing that stood out in my mind about her team was their ability to field their blower car or A/Fueler,be fast with either car and always be in the hunt to win..... Andy

 

[sbentz]

Sad. It is always a tradgedy when you lose a great person, but to lose her and her son, my heart goes out to her family.

 

[COMP461]

On Saturday, April 2, 2005 Shelly Howard, and her son Brian Howard, were killed in a racing accident at Tulsa Raceway Park. The accident occurred while making a test run of Shelly’s new dragster during the bracket racing program. At 10:12 p. m. , Shelly made her third pass of the evening in the tower lane. The car left the starting line in what appeared to be a problem-free run. After passing the 1/8 mile mark at 201 miles per hour, the dragster began what is referred to as a blow-over. A blow-over occurs when too much air goes under the front wing of the dragster causing the front end to lift. At this point, Shelly lifted off the accelerator. As the dragster became vertical, it rotated 180 degrees on its axis and then touched down on all four wheels and against the wall with the car now facing the starting line. The impact of the dragster to the pavement could have been severe enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness. This theory is supported by the fact that she did not hit the kill switch, deploy the chutes or turn the fuel supply off to the motor. At that point, either the throttle stuck wide open, or, Shelly’s foot jammed the throttle down. Extensive damage to the dragster and the onboard “black box” made it impossible to determine which occurred. The car continued down the track backwards making almost continuous contact with the tower lane wall, while the tires were spinning in the opposite direction. The dragster passed the ¼ mile stripe in 6. 633 seconds at 115 miles an hour. The car continued down the track backwards until approximately 1,500 feet from the starting line when it ceased its rearward momentum and began to travel forward towards the starting line, under full acceleration. After traveling several hundred feet uptrack towards the starting line, the car swerved into the spectator lane and then back into the tower lane at the 660’ foot line. The car made hard contact with the wall in the tower lane at the 320’ foot mark and light contact with the tower lane wall at the starting line while traveling an estimated 250 miles per hour. At 125’ past the starting line, the dragster struck the crew’s chase car. The chase car’s occupant, Brian Howard, was sitting in the rear seat, and along with Shelly, was killed instantly. The force of the collision hurled both the dragster and the chase car 225’ through a rear burn-out wall and into an open field and stream. An investigation by the Tulsa Police Department ruled their deaths an accident. No other injuries were reported.







Tulsa Raceway Park and its employees extend their deepest sympathies to Dr. Paul Howard, daughters Tracy and Jennifer and their extended family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.