NHRA mourns chief starter who dies in swimming accident

This is how a NASCAR pal described the duties of the chief starter in the National Hot Rod Association:

“It’s like the flagman in NASCAR, with about five times more responsibility.”

There’s also this: In NASCAR, the flagman is positioned above the track in a basket, and though occasionally there is mayhem on the track, rarely is he exposed to it.

The NHRA starter stands on the track, usually between cars that generate a combined 20,000 horsepower with engines wound tighter than the springs in a wristwatch. Sometimes when a drag racing engine is wound tight, it blows up. Shrapnel falls from the sky. Mayhem ensues.

This may explain why there have been only three chief starters in NHRA history. It’s a dangerous job. It’s not for everybody.

It was Mark Lyle’s dream job.

Lyle, NHRA chief starter No. 3, died in a swimming accident in Mexico last weekend when the Nitro circus was off for Easter. He was celebrating his 59th birthday as well as his wedding anniversary; he and wife Marcia had been married for 36 years.

His death has cast a pall on the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which starts today.

A friend apparently was struggling while swimming off the coast of Zipolite, Oaxaca state. Lyle reportedly swam in to get her. He did not swim out.

Pacific Raceways president Jason Fiorito told DragZine.com it did not surprise him that Lyle would drop everything with little regard for his own safety to come to the aid of another. “That was just Mark,” he said.

Lyle had been the NHRA’s chief starter since 2012. Judging from social media posts, he was a heck of a guy and will be terribly missed.

Funny Car racer Ron Capps seem to be speaking for drag racing’s extended and extremely tight-knit family when he posted this about Lyle on his Twitter account:

“He squeezed EVERY bit out of life. Loved his track presence & gonna miss those laughs over a beer.”

Mike Gallegos, a chief starter in NHRA Division 6, has been named interim chief starter for the Las Vegas meet.

High marks for low downforce

Something called the Century poll has given NASCAR’s new low downforce package high marks for the quality of racing in the four events after the Daytona 500: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, California. Mostly A’s and B’s and one C-minus, perhaps from the French figure skating judge.

Which is good.

However, each of those races, along with Daytona, saw a dip in TV viewership.

Which is bad.

Daytona was down 14 percent in ratings and 15 percent in viewership; Atlanta was down 27 percent and 28 percent; Las Vegas 4 percent and 7 percent; Phoenix was down a tick in ratings and 5 percent in viewership; California was down 7 percent across the board.

Ratings also were down for the Sprint Unlimited and Duel at Daytona non-points races, according to the Sports Business Daily/Sports Media Watch.

On a related note, references to Danica Patrick also are down significantly, though they increased at California when she bounded up the track, Tony Stewart-style, to give Kasey Kahne and his moving car a ration of you know what after the two had tangled. She was fined $20,000.

Green-white-checkered

■ John Bisci, who for many years was an assistant director of public relations at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has been appointed media and promotions manager at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. “This is an exciting time for Gateway Motorsports Park, and I am pleased to be a part of the continued growth of one of the fastest-growing, up-and-coming motor sports facilities in the United States,” Bisci said in a statement. He offered no comment on his impressive collection of vintage HO scale ThunderJet slot cars.

■ Six-time track champion Scott Gafforini passed Chris Clyne on Lap 43 of 50 to win the first NASCAR Super Late Model main event of the season at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring. It was the 62nd victory for Gafforini, extending his all-time Bullring record. Other winners included Peyton Saxton (Grand American Modifieds), 15-year-old Sam Jacks (Bombers), Joe DeGuevara (NASCAR Super Stocks), Cameron Morgan (USLCI Legends), Travis Boyle (USLCI Thunder Cars), Kayle Eshleman (USLCI Bandolero Outlaws) and R.J. Smotherman (USLCI Bandolero Bandits).

■ Dale Earnhardt Jr. said this week he will donate his brain for concussion research. The decision has no connection to this video, captured before this year’s Daytona 500: http://tinyurl.com/hgl4d5y. Honest, it doesn’t.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. His motor sports notebook runs on Friday. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski