Australian National Drag Racing Association Statement on US Tragedy at Tennessee
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Jun 17, 2007
The Australian National Drag Racing Association has issued the following statement in relation to the weekend tragedy involving Australian Troy Critchley in Tennessee.
“This is a tragic event and first and foremost we must offer our condolences to the victims of the accident and their families, ” said ANDRA CEO, Tony Thornton
“Our thoughts are also with Troy (Critchley) and his family, who have obviously been devastated by consequences of this accident, which occurred at a demonstration event being held in good faith to raise money for disadvantaged children.
“It is difficult for ANDRA to comment in detail on the circumstances, but we thought it important to make a statement considering the amount of misinformation that was being generated.
“This was clearly not an officially sanctioned drag racing event and was a charity burn-out demonstration which sadly went horribly wrong.
“Despite the fact that a drag car was used at the event, the activity had absolutely no correlation with a sanctioned drag racing event that would be held in Australia.
“ANDRA events provide an outlet for people who want to race in a safe and controlled environment. They take place at purpose-built facilities which are maintained to national and international safety requirements. ”
DRAG RACING FACTS
• ANDRA was formed in 1973 and it is believed that there has never been a spectator fatality at any of the thousands of sanctioned events in that time.
• Official ANDRA events are held in every state of Australia with safety always being a major priority for both participants and spectators.
• ANDRA has more than 3200 official license holders across the country competing in more than 270 events annually.
• The Willowbank Raceway in Queensland, where Troy Critchley did most of his Australian racing before heading to the US to further his career, last week hosted the 40th Winternationals which is the biggest drag racing event outside of North America and was attended by more than 35,000 fans.
