Reigning Australian Drag Racing Championship Top Doorslammer champion Kelvin Lyle has announced his retirement from drag racing following his serious accident at Hidden Valley Raceway last month.
The West Aussie had just wrapped up the championship when he crashed his Mustang heavily in the Top Doorslammer final at Nitro Up North against John Zappia. Despite initial serious concerns for Lyle, he was fortunately released from hospital several days after the accident. The crash was his second in a short space of time after a eerily similar crash at Willowbank in 2019, as a result Lyle has decided to hang up the helmet, announcing his retirement in a Facebook post.
“This may not come as a surprise to a lot of people, but I’ve decided to stop drag racing,” wrote Lyle. “After two big crashes in five years, I don’t think my body could handle another crash, if that was ever going to happen again.
“I feel the last crash in Darwin was a warning sign as the emergency crew there wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through. I’d like to thank all of the people that followed our journey to us winning the Top Doorslammer championship this year. I’d also like to thank the all of the crew through the years that has helped me through my drag racing career, and my partner Shaniah that has stuck by me and inspired me to keep racing when we had problems with the Mustang in previous years.
“This has been a hard decision to make as drag racing has been a huge part of my life, but I also think it’s the right one for Shaniah and my kids. I’ll still go to meetings to catch up with many friends that I’ve made through drag racing over the years. This is the end of me racing but not the end of me loving and enjoying the sport.
Drag News Magazine wishes Kelvin Lyle all the best in retirement and hope to see him still around at the tracks in the future.
