Witnesses Question Dragster's Tricks

Jun 18, 03:37 PM

Current Headlines: n Boston

Forget the national polls for Mitt Romney.

Slowly, methodically, the Republican presidential contender has seized the advantage in the early states that count, relying on a solid organization, $4 million in advertising and an aggressive approach.

It's propelled him to the top of polls in the caucus and primary sites of Iowa and New Hampshire, and laid the foundation for what some analysts argue is greater success.

"Mitt Romney is now positioned as the front-runner for the nomination," said Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign. "There's a long way to go, but to date he's running the most logical, thought-out, structured campaign. He's marching in the right cadence, he's raising the money, he's spending it wiser and he seems to be on track."

See story on Page 10A

* Selmer, Tenn.

One day after a drag-racing car careened into a crowd and killed six people, witnesses questioned why the driver was allowed to speed down a multilane highway with no guard rails, lined on both sides by hundreds of spectators.

"It ain't really safe to do anything with drag cars on a city street," said 19-year-old Garett Moore, who said he was about 15 feet away from the wreck but was uninjured. "They shouldn't have done it."

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said Sunday the six killed were in their teens or early 20s. The accident injured at least 18 others, including a 5-year-old boy, who were taken to hospitals in Tennessee and Mississippi.

The crash happened Saturday during an "exhibition burnout" - when a drag racer spins his tires to make them heat up and smoke - at the Cars for Kids charity event in Selmer, located about 80 miles east of Memphis.

Amateur video of the crash, broadcast on WMC-TV in Memphis, showed the car's engine revving loudly before the vehicle sped down a highway. After a few hundred feet, the smoking car skidded off the road in front of a drive-in restaurant.

See story on Page 2A

(c) 2007 Bismarck Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.