Ironic, isn't it?
 
Pacific means peaceful, calm, serene, soothing. Pacific Raceways this past Sunday during the Northwest Nationals was chaotic, catastrophic, and risky for the racers and still shabby for the fans.
 
So many troubles marred the 14th of 23 stops on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour that victories by Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) nearly became footnotes.
 
The second fatal alcohol-class accident in the past three National Hot Rod Association events, an earlier safety-related controversy with the Pro Stock class Sunday, and Courtney Force's blown-tire incident Saturday afternoon made a rough 24 hours at the race that kicked off the already-grueling three-event Western Swing.
 
The three issues were unrelated, but the sanctioning body has a heaping helping of serious problems on its plate, especially following the death of 60-year-old Top Alcohol Dragster driver Mark Niver, of Scottsdale, Ariz., in a top-end accident during the semifinal round of eliminations.

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