TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A top female drag racer and her son were killed after her car went out of control and struck his support vehicle at Tulsa Raceway Park, police said Sunday.
Michelle "Shelly" Howard, 59, and Brian Howard, 36, were pronounced dead following the Saturday night accident, Sgt. Tim Bracken said.
"When she started off, she lost control of the vehicle and somehow it went airborne, spun itself around and raced back up the speedway," Bracken said.
Her car then hit the car her son was in.
"The estimated speed at the point of impact was 250 mph," Bracken said.
Capt. Steve Bayles said both vehicles came to rest in a drainage ditch area, about 150 feet from the point of impact. Howard and her son were thrown from their vehicles.
There were no other injuries.
Howard began racing in 1978 and was a three-time national event winner, a Division 4 champion in 2001 and 2003 and the 2004 Jeg's Allstars champion, the NHRA said. She had eight divisional event wins.
"She was certainly a great competitor and a great champion with the NHRA," Anthony Vestal, director of media relations for the NHRA, told the Tulsa World.
"Certainly, incidents involving a fatality are very rare. We have millions of cars go down the track each year and while there are incidents, the results being that extreme are very rare."
Howard was a registered nurse and is survived by her husband, Dr. Paul Howard of Tulsa, and daughters Jennifer and Tracy, the NHRA said.
Apparently, it is speculated, that when the car flipped and turned around she was knocked unconcious, from that point on, there was no driver control.
