NHRA statement on Seattle death

UPDATE #2 Officials will conduct an autopsy Monday on Mark Niver, a drag racer who died when the parachute came off the back of his dragster — sending him slamming into the netting at the end of the track. Niver, 60, was taking part in the National Hot Rod Association's Lucas Oil Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Washington, on Sunday.

After the parachute came off, he was able to slow the car a bit before plowing into the net fencing at the end of the drag strip.

The death was the second this year in the association's drag racing series. Race announcers called Niver "a true craftsman and an innovator" who hand-built all his race cars from start to finish — he machined his engines and components and fabricated the car bodies. Niver had been racing in the hot rod association for more than 20 years, but won his first race just two years ago in a race at Topeka, Kansas. CNN.com

07/11/10 Top Alcohol dragster racer Mark Niver, 60, from Phoenix, was involved in a fatal incident today when his dragster crashed in the shutdown area during eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. NHRA officials are investigating the accident.

NHRA and Pacific Raceways officials extend their deepest sympathies to the entire Niver family.

07/11/10 A drag racing driver has died after he crashed at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle. Sixty-year-old Mark Niver of Phoenix was competing in the Top Alcohol dragster class in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing series, the top feeder circuit for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series.. Niver's death is the second in a month at an NHRA event. Neal Parker, a 58-year-old from Millville, N.J., died of head injuries after crashing during a qualifying round at the NHRA SuperNationals in June.