RIP Mike Walker
 

ADRL Statement on Pit Accident at South Georgia Motorsports Park
CECIL, GA (Apr. 24, 2010) — Mike Walker, a co-owner of Blake Housley’s Pro Nitrous team, was critically injured this morning in the pit area of the ADRL Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Walker was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel in nearby Adel, Georgia.

The American Drag Racing League (ADRL) is cooperating fully with local authorities in investigating the incident.

The entire ADRL community is deeply saddened by today's incident and offers sincere condolences and prayers to Mike’s family, teammates and friends. Mike was a dedicated father, a passionate competitor and a tremendous human being.

Post on Yellow Bullet Stated:
The bottle was in a heater when it let go, Mike was reported to have been checking on it when it let go. It was a carbon bottle, I am sure a thorough investigation will be done, so speculation is pointless.

It is sad that the first post on another site started pointing fingers and speculation on this topic just as they did about my accident. I was lucky that I was able to pull through, see my family again, regain the use of my hand, and one day I will walk again. This man lost his life, so people just give best wishes to his family or state RIP. Don't think you are the expert and say what he did wrong, or venture a guess of what happened, you were not there. I only hope that a better safety factor is created to prevent others from being hurt or killed.

RIP Mike our Prayers are with your family, Blake www.awalkwithblake.com

I regularly have 12 bottles sitting around in my trailor. What caused your bottle to explode? I mean, were you heating it or what?

I hope you're up and about real soon.

R.I.P Mike. I enjoyed his posts on ProModZone.com
Here's an example:

Nitrous Prayer

Yea, though I drive through the valley of Blower Motors
I shall fear no amount of Boost.
For torque and oxygen art with me;
Thy Bore and Thy Stroke, they comfort me.
Thou hast anointed my bearings with oil;
My 3-disc clutch overpowers.
Surely wheel speed and victory shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Big Nitrous motor
FOREVER.

So far DOT states the Bottle had major micro fractures that they are thinking were caused by the bottle being exposed to excessive heat over the years. The bottle came out of a car I purchased and looked brand new and several of my friends can vouch for that statement. We had never filled it, heated it, or used it. It was removed from the car, placed under a workbench, in my possesion for almost a year, and the day it exploaded it was picked up by my friend Chris,and then I picked it up and put it back under the work bench. Several moments later it exploaded and I was about three feet away from it standing straight up with my hands at my side. The DOT investigator said that the bottle had so many micro fractures on the inside that it was only a matter of time before it let go. We have obtained two more bottles that were heated with a torch for several years and are going to cut them in half and see if they show the same micro fracturing, if so maybe we can talk to someone about having bottles not only pressure tested, but also have the valve removed and check the internal for micro fracturing. I am only trying to hopefully come up with why it failed and how it can be prevented in the future as well.

Later, Blake www.awalkwithblake.com

That is scarey stuff. I'm a little nervous about some of my older blue NOS bottles now. 8 of my bottles are new Speedtech ones.

The NOS bottles are all full and have been in the cupboard in my trailor for two years. Hmmm.

Thanks
Wayne

?
 

R.I.P. Mike.
:(
Later
G

Sorry about the news of Mike. RIP

Most current info I could find. Hopefully this keeps anyone from speculating.

Later, Blake www.awalkwithblake.com

Cecil racetrack death a 'freak accident'
Nitrous oxide tank explodes, hits man
Dean Poling CNHI

CECIL — Race officials have described Saturday morning’s death of a race team co-owner as a “freak accident.”



Either the nozzle, gauges, or canister of an exploding tank of nitrous oxide struck a team co-owner in the chest before the canister reportedly skyrocketed over the suite boxes of South Georgia Motorsports Park, said Cook County Coroner Ron Lipsey.



“A deputy on the other end of the race track described it as a bottle rocket going up in the air,” Lipsey said Monday. “And that’s what he thought it was until he noticed that it was much too large for a bottle rocket.”



The blast killed Mike Walker, a 55-year-old Missouri native and a co-owner of the Pro Nitrous team of Blake Housley. The team was part of this past weekend’s American Drag Racing League Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park.



At approximately 9 a.m. Saturday, Walker was in the Pro Nitrous pit area. Canisters of nitrous oxide warmed in a warming container, the coroner said. The nitrous oxide canisters resemble a scuba diver’s oxygen tank. The nitrous oxide boosts dragsters to extraordinary speeds in drag races.



The warming container apparently worked fine, but something was wrong with the canister, Lipsey said.



At 9:04 a.m., the nozzle and gauges exploded from the top of the canister, the coroner said. The explosion made a terrific boom. The canister started up in the air, struck the side of a trailer before continuing up into the air. One piece struck Walker in the chest, leaving a gash.



Walker was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Adel, where he was declared dead at 9:42 a.m. Saturday.



Though it had rained Saturday morning, Lipsey said the motorsports park was still crowded but no one else was injured by the exploding debris.



The Cook County Sheriff’s Office found no evidence of foul play. The coroner led the investigation. Lipsey finished interviewing witnesses Monday morning.



Given the accidental nature of the case, an autopsy was not performed. Walker’s cause of death is listed as “blunt force trauma to the chest” caused by the explosion of the nitrous oxide canister.



In a pre-race ceremony Saturday, American Drag Racing League (ADRL) President and Chief Executive Officer Kenny Nowling dedicated the races to Walker. Race winner Jason Scruggs “donated the fourth ADRL Minuteman trophy of his career to the Walker family in victory lane,” according to the American Drag Racing League’s Web site www.adrl.us.



“Mike was a great guy, someone who loved racing, loved being out here and loved his family,” Scruggs said at the end of the weekend’s races. “I really felt like Mike was riding with me today and just feel like his family deserves this win after all they’ve been through today.”



The ADRL referred to the incident as a “freak early-morning accident” on its Web site and noted that drivers raced with “heavy hearts after losing one of their own.”



“This is without a doubt the toughest event we’ve ever had to get through with the ADRL and you have all been part of it and made it one of our most memorable,” Nowling said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to Mike Walker’s family and to see the way they responded to such unexpected adversity should serve as an inspiration to us all.”

That is scary....shows you how fragile life is...enjoy every day.. :D