About This Series
This article is part of an ongoing monthly series on Dragbike.com featuring select chapters from Elmer Trett and the Gods of Thunder, the 2012 biography by Senior Editor Tom McCarthy. Released throughout 2026 to honor the 30th anniversary of Elmer Trett’s passing, this series chronicles the life, legacy, and impact of one of the most influential figures in motorcycle drag racing history. Each chapter explores Trett’s journey from humble beginnings to global Top Fuel dominance, while also preserving the deeper history of the sport and the pioneers who shaped it. New chapters are published monthly exclusively on Dragbike.com.

Before reading this article, read the previous article posts:

• Series Intro
• Book Intro
• Chapter 1 – Humble Beginnings
• Chapter 2 – The Origins of Mountain Magic
• Chapter 3 – The Teen Years
• Chapter 4 – North to Ohio
• Chapter 5 – Fuelish Intentions
• Chapter 6 – Class Dismissed
• Chapter 7 – Fateful Liasons
• Chapter 8 – A Terminal Lesson
• Chapter 9 – Single Solution
• Chapter 10 – Very Unpopular Decisions
• Chapter 11 – It’s Not What You Have in Life that Matters
• Chapter 12 – Historical Developments
• Chapter 15 – The Big One that Got Away
• Chapter 16 – Side Projects: The Beast from the East

Chapter 18 – Five Second Fate

Going into the 1996 season, Elmer was the hands-on favorite to become the first Top Fuel motorcycle drag racer to break into the five-second elapsed time barrier. Only Elmer’s motor could produce the 1,000 hp required to make a 900-pound motorcycle cover 1320 feet of racetrack in less than six seconds.

While his rivals, Tony Lang and Larry McBride, were capable of running deep in the six-second elapsed time zone in the quarter mile, only Elmer was posting terminal speeds that crested 230 mph. Miles per hour is the greatest indicator of horsepower in drag racing. A good horsepower-to-weight ratio will create a quick machine that gets off the starting line instantly, but only brute horsepower will yield a high mile-per-hour clocking at the finish line. In January of 1996, only Elmer had that kind of horsepower, and he was a man on a mission.

Ten years before the start of the ’96 season, in September of 1986, Elmer sat and watched as Mark Miller piloted the BML Top Fuel bike on the first six-second barrier-breaking pass. As fate would have it that day, Elmer was seated on his drag bike right behind Miller when Miller launched into the history books. That was the big one that got away from Elmer; he was not going to let that happen again if he could help it.

Elmer had his sights set on being the first in the fives’ at least three years before the start of the season. In fact, he was sure he’d do it; his premonition told him so. He encountered this omen while boating with the family during the summer of 1993.

One of Elmer’s greatest forms of relaxation was boating and fishing on Lake Hartwell, about forty-five minutes east of the family home. Elmer grew up swimming in the rivers and streams of Kentucky, so, later in life, when the stress of racing got to be a bit much on him and the family, they’d all unwind with a day at the lake. No better way to escape the never-ending cascade of phone calls.

On one of the family outings in ’93, Elmer was in the water near his boat, getting ready to push it back into deeper water, when he felt his bare foot come in contact with something. Elmer reached down into the murky water and retrieved a muddy piece of paper that, at first, looked like a dollar bill. After he washed it off a bit, he smiled broadly. It wasn’t a dollar bill at all; it was a five-dollar bill!

He called out to Jackie, “Hey, it looks like I’m gonna get my five after all,” and he held the Treasury note aloft. He then gave it to her for safekeeping, while telling her, “You be sure you keep that with us when we’re racing this year. Don’t spend it.” Dutifully, from that day forward, Jackie kept that five-dollar bill with her everywhere they went. This was not the only premonition that preceded Elmer’s five-second fate that unfolded on September 1, 1996. His daughter Kelly would be the recipient of the next vision, five days before Elmer’s date with destiny.

The beginning of the end came together in August, 1996, twenty years after Elmer entered the professional class of Top Fuel motorcycle racing.

The AMA/PROSTAR motorcycle drag racing sanction, in August of 1996, hosted a race at the Indianapolis Raceway Park, billed as the 7th Annual Pingel Thunder Nationals, held on August 16-18. Eleven Top Fuel bikes entered the race. Elmer qualified number one with a bullet: his 6.214 elapsed time was backed by a 235.10 mph trap speed. That was the first time a T/F bike had crossed the 235 mph mark. Everyone present was in awe of the run.

The next day, during the elimination rounds of racing, Elmer backed up the 235 mph mark with a 234 mph run for a new World Record for speed in the class of Top Fuel bike. He stunned everyone with an amazing 6.06 elapsed time that accompanied the run. It was the first 6.0 run in the sport. Elmer was barely six hundredths of a second away from breaking into the fives. That’s when fate began to play its cruel hand.

Rain ended further racing for the event that weekend. The remainder of the race was rescheduled to November 7, in Gainesville, Florida, during the World Finals. Had Elmer waited until that race, there’s no telling what would have happened, except to say his 6.06 tune-up that produced a 235 mph new world record was cocked and loaded; next event, he knew history may well be made. And so it was.

The next event on Elmer’s racing agenda in August of ’96 was an exhibition race where he was to attend and put on a show for a few thousand people at the National Hot Rod Association’s U. S. Nationals. The race was run from August 29 to September 2, at the same track where Elmer ran hiworld-record 235-mphph runs less than two weeks prior. Labor Day weekend, 1996, was to be historic.

Before the race, the NHRA had agreed to invite four select Top Fuel bikes to make two exhibition runs, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, to add a little spice to the NHRA’s lineup of racing. Tony Lang, Elmer Trett, Larry McBride and Ron Webb were the racers invited to run that weekend, in front of about 20,000 race fans.

On Saturday, August 31, 1996, the exhibition runs took place in the evening. Without the hot, sticky racetrack that only Mother Nature can provide with brilliant sunshine, the racers all had uneventful, average runs. If Elmer were to get a good shot at a racetrack that could hold his motorcycle’s power, it would have to come the next day. He needed sunshine, moderate air temperatures, and, most of all, a sticky racetrack. The next day, he got all three.

On Sunday, September 1, the air temperature was 82 degrees Fahrenheit, at near 12 o’clock, high noon. One hour prior, when the racing tower called top fuel motorcycles to the lanes at just after eleven am, the racers all knew it would be a warm wait in the blazing noon-day-sun on the hot black-top of the staging lanes.

Before Elmer could make his next pass down the Indianapolis Raceway Park quarter mile, there would be a wait in the staging lanes of an undetermined amount of time. Time is not one’s friend in motorcycle drag racing. This is especially true if it’s sunny, with a clear blue sky for racing conditions.

Due to the intensity of direct sunlight, the dark color of a race track surface is always exponentially hotter than ambient air temperature. 82 on a digital thermometer for air temp can translate to a track surface temperature of well over 110 degrees on a cloudless sunny day. Add a dark leather, one-piece full-body suit, with boots and gloves to match, then don a full-face motorcycle helmet, and you’ve got a sweat suit that can sap the life out of you in a matter of minutes.

While awaiting their turn to run, drag racers in the staging lanes are in a bit of a quandary about what to do, since they never know how long they will have to wait before they get the call to fire up. It all depends on how long all the preceding machines take to make their passes before a racer can actually mentally and physically prepare to assault the drag strip. Because of this, racers find ways to amuse themselves even though they are baking in the hot sunlight.

On this particular occasion, while passing the time in staging lanes, NHRA drag racing legend Don Prudhomme stopped by to examine Elmer’s bike. Don was on his way to the IRP tower to attend racing business, but when he spotted Elmer’s bike, he was compelled to stop and ponder the machine. All nitromethane racers admire speed and performance; the number of wheels involved is just details.

Don asked Gina a few brief questions, and, being as smart as her Daddy, she had sharp, brief answers. Don crossed his arms, cocked his head this way, then that, and asked one more question to satisfy his curiosity. He then smiled with a perfunctory nod of the head and went about his way. It’s not every day one of the greatest men in drag racing history stops by to check out your machine; it was a proud moment for the Trett Family, one of many.

As the lanes began to empty of race cars, the near-1,000-pound motorcycles were being pushed by hand, inch by inch, closer to the burnout area known as the water box. The nearly one-hour wait to get to this point was really taking its toll on everyone in the staging lanes. For Elmer, standing around on the 110-degree blacktop in full leathers in blazing sunlight was brutal. At 53 years of age, he was as strong as a bull, but between his diabetes, recent poor sleep, and his relentless drive to reach this moment in his life, Elmer was far from in the best physical condition to make this pass.

As the bikes entered the top of the staging area, Elmer put on his race-face, and his crew went into autopilot mode. His daughter Gina wiped his face and brow, which were drenched with sweat, just before Elmer strapped on his helmet one last time. Gina then dutifully zipped up her Daddy’s racing leathers.

Before starting, Jackie made sure the bike was in the right spot and had the priming can ready to squirt fuel into the injector hat. The starter cart batteries were fully charged, the motor was ready, the fuel cell contained over 90% Nitromethane fuel, and the 1000+ horsepower Trett engine was ready to come to life. This moment was over two and a half decades in the making. More than that, this was drag racing history about to occur, and everyone knew it. The whole world was watching, waiting, holding deep breaths with anticipation of the answer to the question, “Will Elmer Trett run the first five-second pass down the quarter mile for a motorcycle today?”

Tony Lang and his crew occupied the left lane, and Elmer was in the right; the same lane just ten days earlier, Elmer covered the 1320’ of racetrack in 6.06 seconds at 235 mph. Everyone knew this could be the big moment. No one knew just how big a moment this was about to become.

When the NHRA chief starter gave the signal, Elmer’s crew went into action: Jackie dutifully hit the starter button on the remote starter that sent 24 volts of DC charging through the system, thereby spinning the motor into rotation and, upon hearing this, Elmer flipped on the magneto button, bringing the engine to life. As the idle came up and down to Elmer’s gentle touch on the throttle, he mounted the bike, settling into the seat firmly. As he did so, his wife and daughter ran forward of him, past the starting line to their positions so they could push his bike back to the starting line after the burnout—a chore they’d done a thousand times.

With the motor warmed up, Elmer drove the 1000 lb motorcycle into the water box and placed the 14” wide rear drag slick into the water briefly. He looked at Tony Lang in the opposite lane. They exchanged the customary glances signifying they were ready. Elmer rolled on the throttle to bring the motor up to about one-quarter power, and the rear wheel, at over one thousand revolutions per minute, blazed the rear tire as the engine produced the deafening roar that only a superchargednitromethane-burningg engine can produce. The bike charged forward, out of the smoke like a bullet! Elmer gently and firmly applied the brakes, stopping the bike about sixty feet ahead of the starting line. Gina and Jackie grabbed the bike from the front and backed it up to a spot just before the starting line.

While Jackie stood back to watch, Gina, as the crew chief, stepped up to the bike to flip on the data logger system to record the engine’s functions during the run. Elmer staged the bike at the starting line exactly as he had ten days before when he set a new world record. This was his date with fate, his big moment, his destiny.

When the NHRA starter, Rick Stewart, flipped the button to activate the starting-tree, the lights flickered briefly for four tenths of a second. Elmer quickly rolled his throttle fully wide open. As he did so, he unleashed the full fury of his tune-up, allowing the power of over one thousand horses to rotate his rear wheel. The enormous drag slick bit the hot, sticky race track hard, slamming Elmer back into the motorcycle with the force of almost three times his body weight at the moment of launch.

The thundering machine eclipsed 100 mph in under two seconds and, four seconds into the pass, this land-locked torpedo accelerated past the 200 mph mark. Exactly 6.18 seconds into the run, Elmer crossed the finish line at 232 mph. Then his fate took a turn no one was prepared for. Something went tragically wrong when Elmer began his shut-off procedure.

As Elmer decelerated the bike upon crossing the finish line, at over 232 miles per hour, Elmer’s left hand came away from the handgrip. Air at over 230 miles per hour wedged itself between Elmer and his motorcycle. The wind forces instantly pried him from the bike, sending him briefly airborne, as the motorcycle sped away from him. Elmer was helpless as he fell back to earth onto the race track while his body was still traveling at well over 200 mph. After initial impact, his helmet shattered as he unfortunately bounced from the right lane into the left lane, just in front of Tony Lang’s Top Fuel bike, who was decelerating from his pass at that moment. Elmer then impacted the left lane retaining structure still traveling at a high rate of speed and ricocheted off, his body eventually coming to rest in the left lane of the IRP race surface.

The NHRA Safety Safari crew with emergency medical staff were at the big man’s side in seconds. Life Flight services were activated as the emergency trauma team assessed Elmer’s condition. Elmer was removed from the track quickly, and while awaiting helicopter transport, the on-site trauma team administered chest compressions – Elmer Trett was gone.

Literally, in a matter of minutes, he was strapped into the bird for a 12-minute flight to one of the best motorsport trauma centers in the world. There is no better-trained or more experienced staff than the professionals at the Methodist Hospital, located just three miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Elmer’s heart had expired at Indianapolis Raceway Park, where his heart had beat so fast, for so many years. No trauma surgeon, nor the best of staff, could save him; his time was up. Miles away, in Alto, Georgia, another heart skipped a beat. She knew inside, and in her worst fears, she sensed it was coming, as did her mother.

Kelly Trett-Thomason was at home in Alto, Georgia, after cutting her Labor Day weekend camping trip short. During the trip, she just had a feeling something was not right, and she told her husband Kent, “Honey, we need to go home; I just got a feeling we need to be there.” They left their campground on Saturday and were home Saturday night, just in case. She knew in her gut something was not right. She knew on Thursday, August 29, the last day she saw her Daddy.

Before the holiday weekend, she had stopped by her father’s shop to wish him well on his trip to Indy. Kelly and Kent had been married for just nine months at the time, and the newlywed couple planned to go camping for Labor Day weekend. As she walked into Trett’s Speed & Custom that morning, she saw her mother first, who spoke to her briefly. “Go kiss your Daddy goodbye and wish him the best. Be sure to tell him you love him.” Kelly knew she should do this and was a bit surprised by her mom’s insistence.

Her Daddy was preparing all the gear as usual, before a race weekend. He stopped and smiled as Kelly approached. She stepped to him and said, “Dad, I’m sorry I can’t be with you guys this weekend. Kent and I have plans to go camping. Good luck, and I’ll see you all when you get back.”

Elmer replied, “I know, honey, you go have fun, we’ll see you when we get back…. I love you.”

“Oh,” she replied a bit startled, “well, I have to go. I hope to see you soon, Daddy; I love you.”

Elmer replied in kind a second time, “I love you too.” This surprised Kelly; she loved her father with all her heart, but he was not one to show much emotion openly. This was disquieting to her.

That’s why, halfway through her camping trip weekend, she cut it short; all her alarm bells were ringing. Kent took her home without question. When she got the call she feared most in life. At first, she dropped, but then she picked herself up and pressed on. There were arrangements to be made, people had to be called, and most of all, her mother and sister needed to come home.

A close friend of the Trett Family, Jim Head of Head Racing, a prominent member of the NHRA Top Fuel car racing fraternity, was present at the race. Upon hearing of Elmer’s incident, Jim rushed to the Trett Family racing rig. As soon as was practical, Jim arranged for one of his private aircraft to fly to Georgia, pick up Kelly Trett, and fly her to Indianapolis to be with her grieving mother and sister. After all was set in order at the track, Jim Head’s aircraft returned the family safely home to Georgia.

Days later, Elmer was dressed in a set of his racing leathers one more time before he was laid to rest in his casket for the wake. Quietly, with only his closest family members present, Elmer’s five-dollar bill was lovingly folded and placed in his leathers before the start of the wake.

On the weekend of Elmer’s funeral services, every florist within 25 miles of Demorest, Georgia, was sold out of flowers. Over 500 people came to pay their last respects to the greatest motorcycle drag racer of all time. The six pallbearers who carried Elmer to his interment, fittingly enough, were five fellow racers from the Top Fuel motorcycle racing fraternity: Tony Lang, Bob Davis, Chris Hand, Britt Lynn, Grover Kimbrell, and Larry McBride. Larry should have been there with Elmer at his last moment, as it was Larry who inherited Elmer’s legacy for the class of Top Fuel bike.

The Next Installment of Elmer Trett and the Gods of Thunder will be released on September 15, 2026 on Dragbike.com

For those interested in owning a printed copy of the original book, please contact Tom McCarthy. Limited copies are available. E-mail Tom on Facebook

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