WILL CRASHES IN VEGAS TESTING
Sat, 2007-02-03 19:38
Barring an arm injury she sustained in a frightening accident Saturday afternoon
during the Last Chance Test Session, Top Fuel driver Hillary Will is expected to
be back in the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports Dragster this coming
weekend.
Despite her preference to stay at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
Will was transported to University Medical Center for assessment.
The second-year driver rode out the top-end crash, registering a
4.66-second elapsed time, and she was alert and talking with emergency personnel
immediately afterward.
Despite her preference to stay at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,
Will was transported to University Medical Center for assessment.
The second-year driver rode out the top-end crash, registering a
4.66-second elapsed time, and she was alert and talking with emergency personnel
immediately afterward.
"She's being checked out. She has a pretty good bruise on her arm but other
than that, she wasn't complaining about anything," car owner Ken Black said by
mobile phone from the hospital. "She was conscious the whole time. She's not
sure what happened."
Her dragster got sideways at around the 1,000-foot mark, traveling more
than 290 mph. Details are sketchy about the cause of the crash, which spewed
parts across the track and over the wall.
"The motor flew over the fence on the right side," Black said by mobile
phone from the hospital. "Someone told me he thought it went 100 feet in the
air. My heart went up to my throat."
From the cockpit forward, the Attac chassis was relatively intact and
appeared to have sustained minimal damage. However, the left half of the rear
wing was sheared off, the engine was destroyed, the supercharger definitely was
a lost cause, headers lay twisted and bent, and her shrapnel-strewn pit area
indicated Will was a lucky young lady.
"The car did its job. It broke apart [where it was supposed to]," Black
said. The rail broke apart just behind the cockpit enclosure.
"The roll cage didn't look that bad. I don't know if the car rolled or what, but whatever happened, she landed right-side up," the team owner said. "I was surprised how far it slid. She went almost to the sand trap, to the turn-off point."
"The roll cage didn't look that bad. I don't know if the car rolled or what, but whatever happened, she landed right-side up," the team owner said. "I was surprised how far it slid. She went almost to the sand trap, to the turn-off point."
Black said initial speculation was that the tires began to experience
trouble at about 700-800 feet.
"The tires never came off the rim,' he said, but he indicated the tread
came off a tire -- he guessed on the left side -- and took out at least part of
the rear wing.
As for the cause of the incident, Black said, "They're not 100 percent
sure, The NHRA guys are on it. The Goodyear guys are on it."
He said barring a sidelining injury, Will likely will be at the
season-opening Winternationals next week at Pomona, California. "If she wants to
hop back in the car, we'll do it. It'll be up to her."
The Attac chassis, which appeared to have done its job, is the handiwork of
Michigan builder Chuck Lett, who has crafted dragsters fulltime since 1997.
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