In drag racing the srip has concrete barriers running the full length, there is then a buffer zone before a fenced off spectator area, minimising as much as possible the chances of spectators being injured.
The track itself is specially prepared, a bit more than the local fire brigade spraying a bit of water, it is free of inperfections bumps or uneven texture and is srayed down with traction fluid.
Yet with all this things can and do go wrong, something a guy with 20 years professional drag racing experience would have known.
A case of sheer stupidity on the part of the organisers to put this event on in the manner they did and on the part of Critchley in agreeing to take part in it and drive his car in the manner he did in those conditions
