GATEWAY HOSTS MEMORIAL EVENT

Only three days after the death of Darrell Russell, the management and staff of Gateway International Raceway held a memorial to the Top Fuel star during the running of the track's scheduled Wednesday, June 30th event.

Although organized in less than forty-eight hours, the GIR affair was attended by more than a dozen representatives of St. Louis-area media, including four network television affiliates broadcasting live from the event. GIR Vice President & General Manager Matt Strelo (shown) presented an emotional tribute to Russell followed by 2003 GIR Super Pro Champion Tim Foley idling down the quarter-mile in a "missing man" display.

After an equally inspiring live rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner", Strelo announced the proceeds of the Memorial event would be sent to Russell's widow, Julie. With the profits from several raffles, silent auctions, and donation booths added to the gate receipts, over $12,000 was raised for the Russell Memorial Fund.

Almost two hundred area racers turned out to offer a show for the fans. Along with everything from 7-second motorcycles to Junior Dragsters to nostalgia Funny Cars and modern Top Sportsman machinery, several of the area's best-known Outlaw Street competitors staged match races throughout the evening.

DRO commends the staff and racers of Gateway International Raceway for a tremendous effort and an honorable result. (Story and photos by Bret Kepner) [7-1-2004]

INTERNET IDIOTS AND THE RUSSELL INCIDENT

A racer who should know better got on Internet chat rooms almost immediately after the Darrell Russell crash and placed blame on the Hadman chassis. The Agent has had the opportunity to watch a digital frame-by-frame sequence of the accident and it appears crystal clear that the tire failed and a piece of rubber broke the wing, causing the rest of the crash. It was not a chassis failure. Get the facts, folks, before you start ruining peoples' lives and reputations on the Internet. It could be you the next time. This is why responsible, professional journalists wait until they have the facts before they rush to publish. The first information is often not correct, and it often takes many sources to get the complete picture.

It is clear from the taped sequence that some shrapnel or wing assembly part entered the cockpit and struck Russell. The press releases that came out at the track at the time of the accident indicated that there was some trauma to the back of his head.

And on a related subject, a tip of the Agent's fedora goes to the group of traveling photographers who regularly cover NHRA national events. They all declined to shoot Winners Circle photos at the conclusion of the St. Louis event, feeling there was not much to celebrate. By contrast, the insensitive representatives of some St. Louis television stations were trying to interview racers' wives about their "feelings" after the fatal crash.
[7-1-2004]