For a split second, Larry McBride found himself thinking about Elmer Trett.
The Top Fuel Motorcycle legend was thrown from his motorcycle during IHRA competition at Darana Raceway, and as he slid down the track at more than 200 mph, his mind went back nearly 30 years to the man who helped shape his career.
Trett was McBride’s mentor. McBride was waiting to run at the 1996 U.S. Nationals when Trett suffered the crash that claimed his life.
“I’m going to tell you right now it went through my head,” McBride said. “It was almost identical other than his was his right hand, not his left hand. And yes, I thought of it, yes.”
“It was almost the same scenario. I just thank God that I’m okay. But yeah, he rides with me every time. Elmer, I don’t ever race without his shirt. So he was with me.”
What made the moment even more sobering was that McBride had discussed mortality and faith less than 24 hours before the accident.
“Life is dangerous, as you know,” McBride said in a Friday CompetitionPlus.com interview. “We’ve lost some great people. I’m a firm believer. We all got a number. We just don’t know when God’s wanting to bring us home.”
After the crash, those words carried a different feeling.
“That’s what killed Elmer,” McBride said. “‘We all got a number and we just don’t know when it is.’ Trust me, I thought about all that stuff when I was in the ambulance too.”
McBride said the motorcycle appeared to be making a normal run before something went wrong near the finish line. Video footage showed the bike hit a bump in the track, seemingly about the same time wind forced his hand off the handlebars.Â
“Everything about the run was good, except right there at the end,” McBride said. “So we got to go back and reevaluate and look and hopefully we’ll come up with some kind of answer.”
Even after reviewing the incident, he remains uncertain about the cause.
“I don’t know what in the world went wrong. Exactly.”
As frightening as the crash looked, McBride said his first concern wasn’t the motorcycle.
“The first thing I was thinking about was my wife and kids, getting up so they’d know I’m okay because I knew they were watching it on TV,” McBride said.
The accident also did nothing to change his outlook on racing. He suffered minor injuries including a broken pinkie finger, road rash and a cut that required a few stitches. Still, McBride bets what he does is still much safer than driving a motorcycle on the streets with the abundance of distracted drivers.Â
“Yeah, is what we do dangerous? Yeah, but getting in a car and driving down the road is also dangerous,” McBride said. “So do we quit doing that? No, you got to keep going.”
Faith remains the foundation of that perspective.
“It plays a big part in it,” McBride said. “Faith is everything. And if you don’t believe, if you’re not a believer, then I don’t think you’re going to make it. I think you’re going to be an unhappy person.”
