Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.

15 Years Ago 2010

News: Tragedy struck during the NHRA Arizona Nationals Sunday afternoon at Firebird Intl Raceway as a spectator was killed when a tire and wheel came off of Antron Browns Top Fuel dragster in a first-round crash, jumped the fence and struck her.

Still unidentified Monday morning, the woman was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Brown was uninjured in the crash that saw his dragster contact the retaining wall and come to rest half in the lane and half outside it between the wall and the catch fence.

An NHRA statement issued Sunday night merely confirmed the incident had happened:

NHRA is investigating the incident, the statement said. The entire NHRA community is deeply saddened by todays incident and sends its thoughts and prayers to the womans family and friends.

Browns team owner, Don Schumacher, issued a statement Monday morning.

Don Schumacher Racing is one of the leading advocates for safety in the NHRA, and we will continue to be at the forefront of safety, Schumacher said. Safety is and always has been our paramount concern. Therefore, we intend to do everything in our power to carefully investigate this matter as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. We ask for your patience, and assure you that we will have more to report as information becomes available to us. In the meantime, we extend our sympathies and ask everyone to keep the victim of yesterdays tragedy, as well as her family and friends, in your thoughts and prayers.

The accident came on a day full of delays, including rain, which saw the event called off prior to the conclusion, with the finals in Funny Car and Top Fuel scheduled to be completed Monday morning.

Meanwhile. the Pro Stock portion of the program was also full of problems and because of concerns about the track conditions. The quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds of the event will be completed during the 41st annual Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway March 11-14.

Winners: Levi Jones led only the final lap of Sundays rain-delayed USAC Silver Crown Series season opener at Tucson Raceway.

The event was the headliner of the Rosemont Copper on Dirt, which was held at the three-eighths-mile dirt track for the first time after moving from the now-defunct Manzanita Speedway.

Three-time and defending series champion Bud Kaeding paced the first 49 circuits, but Jones, who had been the fast qualifier in the No. 10 Bass Pro Shops Kistler-powered Maxim. shadowed Kaeding throughout and made his winning move on the final lap.

The victory gave Tony Stewart Racing a record-tying 23rd victory as a car owner in the series. Team 6R Racing also has 23 Silver Crown triumphs to its credit.

Jones had won the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series event earlier in the day.

Kaeding finished second, while Bobby East. Jerry Coons. Jr. and Tracy Hines filled the top five.

30 Years Ago 1995

News: In early times the term cold war would have come to mind. I match your move

with my move, continuing an ever-escalating stalemate.

Gary Nelson, Winston Cup Director, doesnt believe the effort by NASCAR to deter teams on the Winston Cup circuit from using digital data transmission can be considered a cold war but the

small blue box resting on the post-race Inspection bench in Rockingham sure got a few

serious long-distance looks from car owners, engine builders and crew chiefs.

NASCAR issued a verbal warning at Daytona to put the teams on notice that digital data transmission will not be tolerated.

To enhance its ability to detect and deter such transmissions and to send a consistent stern warning, NASCAR has added Steve Peterson, an electronics wizard and former Roush Racing employee, to its inspection staff.

What are they looking for? According to Nelson NASCAR is looking to prevent the usage

of electronic items similar to those used in IndyCar and F-1.

I believe they are looking for ignition boxes that serve as more than just Ignition boxes, said Larry McReynolds, crew chief on the Texaco Havoline Ford. Some boxes can retard

and advance timing and operate traction control. Traction control operates when wheels reach a

certain speed by cutting a cylinder out thereby preventing wheel spin. They have been used on Indy ears. 

We looked at the timing but it makes no sense to use it since it is not legal, added McReynolds.

Petersons job is to deter usage of such electronic equipment. Nelson Is hopeful

that just Petersons presence will be enough to keep teams from trying to use any such device during competition.

Nelson would like nothing more than for Peterson to quietly do his job after every race and never find anything, hopefully because there will be nothing to find.

Theyve got their little box and now weve got our box, said Nelson.

Winners: It took a lot of horsepower, a tad bit of determination, a smidge of guts and yes, a little luck, but Fred Rahmer passed Lance Dewease with two laps remaining and held on to win the Eastern-sprint car opener Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Speedway.

With temperatures in the low 40s, a packed house looked on as the new season got under way.

Dewease, who won 31 sprint car races last season, drew the pole, while Rahmer drew sixth starting spot for the 25-lapper.

However, three consecutive aborted starts which saw outside front-row man Brian Paulus get upside down and also involved cars driven by Bob Howard, Bill Brian, Howie Locke, Bob Bennett, Dan Dietrich and Steve Siegel, saw the second and fourth starters eliminated. When the race finally got the green flag, Rahmer shared row one with Dewease.

The race went flag-to-flag with Dewease driving his Walt Dyer No. 461 to a full straightaway advantage over Rahmer during the mid-stages of the event.

But as Dewease struggled to find a way around the strong-running duo of Len Thompson and Kenny Adams, Rahmer closed the gap. Rahmer finally caught Dewease on lap 22 and as the pair powered off turn four to complete lap 23, Rabmer pinned Dewease behind a slow ear and took the lead.

Donnie Kreitz raced home third with Todd Gracey and Todd Shaffer completing the top five.

60 Years Ago 1965

News: Lee Roy Yarbroughs second attempt to break the existing world speed record on a competitive course in a 1965 Dodge will be made a few days before the 2,000-kilometer Daytona Continental is run at Daytona Intl Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 28, master mechanic Ray Fox has announced.

I clocked Lee Roy at 184.6 miles per hour on one lap of his preliminary runs last week, Fox said, and down the long backstretch he was going better than 220 miles per hour. Thats right-220.

Yarbrough and Fox are after the mark of 181.561 mph set by Art Malone in his Mad Dog IV, a hybrid, winged Indianapolis machine, in August of 1961.

The power plant for the Fox car Is a 196-t Dodge hemi-head with blowers and fuel injection. The body is a conventional 1965 two-door sedan.

Fox said that the car performed perfectly in the trial runs and that he had made only minor alterations in preparation for the assault this week.

Among the interested spectators when Yarbrough takes the track will be many of the worlds greatest sports, GT and prototype car drivers, including world champion John Surtees of England.

Theyll be here to compete in the Continental Americas longest track and road race.

Winners: Dick Atkins of Hayward, Calif., 1964 BCRA Midget racing champion, led a Northern California invasion at the CRA sprint car races on the five-eighths-mile Hanford Speedway, as he drove the Pestana and Lang Chevy to victory in the 50-lap feature race.

Atkins took the lead on the 16th lap, after coming from the third starting spit. Finishing a close second his teammate, Dee Hileman driving the second Pestana and Lang Chevy. Third went to Bob De Jong in the Pittman Chevy who nursed a blading tire in the final lap.

Fourth was the first Southern California car home, driven by 1964 CRA title holder Hal Minyard in the Surdam Chevy. Bob Hogle was given fifth after spinning out on the final lap in the Morales Bros. Offy.

Ray Douglas was sixth in Fisher Chevy with Jimmy Miller seventh in the Ansen Automotive Chevy, and Jack Brunner eighth in the Pratt and Williamson Buick.

The time for 50 laps was 19:51.53, a track record.