NHRA: Hills Horrific Wreck of 97 Fills Sonoma Memory Bank
24 July 1998
SONOMA, Calif. -- The Pennzoil stable of professional drag racers arrive at Sears Point Raceway for the 11th Annual Autolite Nationals with many fond memories of trips to Sonomas Victory Circle. However, visions of the National Hot Rod Associations most horrific crash of 1997, when Eddie Hills Dragster disintegrated at 310 mph, will be impossible to ignore.In fact, when the 13th race of the NHRAs 22-event season kicks off tomorrow the happy thoughts of the numerous Sonoma wins of Top Fuel pilot Eddie Hill, Pro Stock driver-turned-crew-chief Rickie Smith and three-time world champion sportsman driver Mike Ferderer will be over-shadowed by the memories of Hills dramatic accident and his miraculous survival.
Heres a recap of each Pennzoil drivers thoughts and recollections of Sonoma.
Eddie Hill, the pilot of the Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster, returns to the site of his worst driving mishap filled with the desire to put the wreck behind him for good. Still, even a veteran of 43 years of racing admits visions of the accident will probably enter his head at some point.
"The first time I get strapped in the car and line up to race, Ill probably have a flashback," Hill said. "Then hopefully we can put it behind us for good. Ive watched the video tape enough to know that I was very fortunate to survive. The Big Guy (God) was definitely watching over me that day. The video is horrifying. You can see the guys in my crew searching for the piece of the car that I might be in as they make their way down the track. Of course the only piece left big enough for me was five-eighths of a mile away, upside-down in the sand bunker."
Remarkably, Hill escaped the carnage with only two broken toes and a severe shoulder contusion. In fact, he was back at the track and ready to race the following day. "The doctors released me that night and we had the spare car ready to go," Hill said. "I was ready. The fans wanted me to race and I believe the NHRA even wanted us to race. But there was a rule in place which said that in order to race on Sunday, you had to have qualified in the same car you were going to race in. There was nothing we could do. That rule has since been changed and you can now race any car that passes the safety inspection. They call it the Eddie Hill rule."
Hill knows that the best way to erase the bad memories of last years visit to Sonoma is to capture a win there this year. It certainly appears to be his turn. Hill is just one of five Top Fuel pilots who have qualified for every national event this season, extending his current streak of elimination round appearances to 30 straight races. He has qualified in the top half of the 16-car field in seven of the last eight races and has reset either his personal-best speed or elapsed time mark in four of the last six events (currently at 4.595 ET and 312.78 mph.) Despite his many successes, Hill has yet to win a race in 1998.
"Im astonished at how poor our luck has been on Sunday," Hill said. "Although Im not too discouraged because the cars running so well that the luck just has to turn our way. I truly hope that it happens right here in Sonoma. It would be a great ending to last years story."
Mike Thomas, the driver of the Pennzoil Pro Stock Pontiac Firebird, will have a decided advantage over the rest of the Pro Stock field when he takes to the track on Friday. Thomas crew chief, Rickie Smith, captured the Pro Stock title at Sears Point Raceway in 1993 and was runner-up in 1992. "Rickie knows this track better than anyone," Thomas said. "When he won here, he was doing all the work on his own car. So he knows exactly how to set up a car for this track. That should really benefit us."
Thomas is anxious to resume racing after a bothersome weekend in Denver. "We blew a motor in qualifying and had to fly one in overnight for the elimination rounds," Thomas said. "We were scrambling all weekend and I never really found a comfort zone. I did get one run in on this new motor and it felt great. We have some adjustments to make going from altitude to sea level, but well be fine. Our attitude is the same -- we want to win every race and the next one is Sonoma. Ive had some success here in the past and Id really like some more."
Bruce Allen, the driver of the Outlaw Fuel Additives Pro Stock Pontiac Firebird, is hoping to pick up where he left off in Denver. After a two-race elimination round hiatus, Allen stormed back into the fray at the Mile-High event by qualifying in the top half of the ultra-competitive Pro Stock field. He eventually drove himself out of contention in Round 1 when the Outlaw machine slipped out of the groove and headed for the retaining wall, forcing him to shut off the engine. Still, Allen was pleased with his teams effort that kept him in the top 10 of the points standings.
"You have to be in the races to contend and Denver gave us a real good indication that weve solved our problems," Allen said. "We should really have a handle on things by the time we get through Sonoma. Of course, doing well in Sonoma depends a lot on your luck. First of all, everyone has to change their set-ups back to sea level which makes the first run very tough. Then you have to hope you draw the left lane for the Friday night session or you probably wont make it in. The right lane is just too bumpy. No matter how you slice it, half of the field is going to be upset. I hope were in the right half."
Mike Ferderer, the sportsman-class driver of the Pennzoil Super Gas Pontiac and the Gumout Super Comp Dragster, is happy to be back on familiar ground. "I love this track," Ferderer said. "Ive won here twice before and was runner-up another time. Both of my cars are running well and the weather looks great. Im happy to be here. I need a little change in luck and hopefully it will happen here." Ferderer is in fifth place in Super Gas and 22nd place in Super Comp.
