Blaine Johnson
| Blaine H. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
May 22, 1962 Santa Maria California United States |
| Died | August 31, 1996 (aged 34) Indianapolis Indiana United States |
| Top Fuel | |
| Years active | 1994-1996 |
| Teams | Johnson Racing |
| Best finish | 5th in 1995 1996 |
Blaine H. Johnson (May 22, 1962 – August 31, 1996) was a professional drag racer.
Blaine, along with his lifelong crew chief and brother, Alan, were competitors in the NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Series, a series which they entered in 1988. Johnson won four championships in that series (1990–1993). He entered the Top Fuel class in 1994 after receiving his competition license for that class prior to the beginning of the season that year.
At the time of his death, Johnson held a record 26 NHRA titles in the Alcohol Division, until he was later surpassed by Rick Santos.
However, on August 31, 1996 Johnson died from injuries sustained in a crash at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Johnson's engine exploded right as he reached the finish line. Debris from the engine cut down the rear tires; the thick rubber from the tires in turn sheared off the rear wing, causing a loss in aerodynamic downforce at the rear of the dragster, which caused Blaine to lose control. His out-of-control race car then slammed into a guardrail apex (an opening in the guardrail that existed for safety vehicles to enter the track), at around 300 m.p.h.. Johnson's car was heavily damaged as a result of the incident. He was sent to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Johnson was the first Top Fuel driver to die on track since Pete Robinson at the 1971 Winternationals, and would remain as such until 2004, when Top Fuel driver Darrell Russell was killed during an event in Madison, Illinois.
Johnson's final pass was a track-record run of 4.61 seconds, which remained for two years before Gary Scelzi (who succeeded Blaine Johnson as the driver of Alan Johnson's dragster) would beat it. Johnson was also the Top Fuel national record holder at the time of his death (with a 4.59 second elapsed-time), a record that would stand until 1999 when Larry Dixon would beat it.
Though Blaine did not get to compete in the last quarter of the season, he had amassed enough points to finish fifth in the season ending points standings. At the awards ceremony after the end of the season, Top Fuel Champion Kenny Bernstein gave his championship trophy to Blaine's brother Alan. According to Alan, that particular trophy is in "a place of honor" at his home in Santa Maria.
...
Wikipedia