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Winston-Salem, NC, June 23, 2008 - On Tuesday, June 10, Douglas Horne of Aberdeen, MD, was testing his high-powered, nitro-methane-fueled race bike in Martin, MI. At a clocked speed of 204 mph, something went wrong at the top end, and the 20-year-old came off the 151-cubic-inch machine and found himself fighting with the asphalt as the motorcycle continued down the track without him.
For Horne's father, Steve, it was a feeling he doesn't quite know how to describe. "The clock lit up and showed his score, and next thing you know, all I see is smoke," Horne said. "It was the longest ride ever trying to get to the end of the quarter-mile track to him, and I didn't know what I was going to find when I got there."
Luckily for all involved, there was a full ambulance crew on hand. According to Horne, they provided top-notch treatment and transported Douglas quickly for evaluation.
His injuries turned out to be minor-miraculous, considering he was traveling over 200 mph when he came off the bike. "When I think back on the crash happening at 5:00 p.m. on a Tuesday and then on Sunday we were in the finals at the AHDRA event, I can't believe how lucky we were," Douglas's dad said.
It was indeed just days after the incident that the team had both the bike and the rider back in shape (with the help of Mike Romine and his assistant Scott at Mikes Shop in Michigan.) With amazing resilience, Horne competed in the Pro Fuel category that very weekend in Norwalk, OH. He advanced to the final round of the day where he finished runner-up and also scored the top speed of the weekend at 208.97 mph.
Things got off to a slow start for Douglas in qualifying. But contrary to what most may have thought, it had nothing to do with jumping back on the bike after the accident. It turns out the problems were with the tire. "I know everybody thought I was slowing down because I'm scared, but it's not that at all," he told his dad. The crew returned to the pits, changed the tire, came back out, and clocked a 6.81 at 207 mph. Point proven.
Horne took up drag racing just two years ago in Gainesville, FL. In that short time, he has earned AHDRA awards for Sportsman Rookie of the Year and was a front-runner for Pro Rookie of the year in 2007. He finished the 2007 season in second place of the national standings in both his Sportsman and Pro classes of racing.
Tommy Sloan, who's been racing since 1988, was Horne's opponent in the Ohio final round and joins several other veteran competitors in expressing respect for the young rider. Sloan said that it's great to see riders such as Horne keeping the sport alive and growing. "If I could race him in every final for the rest of the season, I would be perfectly happy. He is a great kid," said Sloan.
"He's a very special kid," said Steve Horne. "I'm not just saying that because he's mine. He truly is just a good kid."
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