By David G. Firestone
This week’s column is going to focus on one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in American history, the Oklahoma City bombing. Two days from today is the anniversary of the bombing. I’m going to focus on an aspect that has gotten little, if any attention. It’s the part that the NHRA and their suppliers unwittingly played in helping the bomb get built. I’ve never seen or heard this discussed anywhere. I’ve seen more on the place that rented the Ryder truck than I have this aspect. Here we go.
We start with Timothy McVeigh, and Terry Nichols, the two human cancers behind the bombing. After trying, and failing to find other materials for the bomb, they settled on a new plan. They planned to “construct a bomb containing more than 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer mixed with about 1,200 pounds of liquid nitromethane and 350 pounds of Tovex.”
The easiest part of this plan was the 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, which was sold as a fertilizer. He was also able to acquite the Tovex, a gel explosive, as well as other parts. The trouble came when they wanted to purchase the 1,200 pounds of liquid nitromethane. To get the nitromethane, McVeigh formulated a plan he thought would work. He would pose as a driver, go to an NHRA event in Topeka, and purchase three 55 gallon drums.
On October 1, 1994, McVeigh made his way to the 1994 Sears Craftsman Nationals, held at Heartland Motorsports Park. Here, he tried to implement his plan. It was here that his plan ran into two major roadblocks, World Wide Racing Fuels representative Steve Lesueur and Glynn Tipton, of VP Racing Fuels.
Tipton and Lesueur were suspicious of McVeigh from the outset. He didn’t seem like a driver, and the amount he wanted to purchase was also odd. Tipton would testify that when he first encountered McVeigh, he asked about anhydrous hydrazine, a prodcut that VP Fuels didn’t sell, and has no use in auto racing. Tipton then gave McVeigh his card and asked to call him on Monday. In the intervening time, Tipton informed Wade Gray of Texas Allied Chemical, a chemical agent for VP Racing Fuels, who informed Tipton of the explosiveness of a nitromethane and hydrazine mixture. As such Tipton refused any sale to McVeigh.
This could have been the end of the story, but a few weeks later, The NHRA was now at the Texas Motorplex, for the Chief Auto Parts Nationals. World Wide Racing Fuels representative Steve Lesueur again refused to sell anything to McVeigh. McVeigh would try VP Fuels again, and encountered Tim Chambers. Tim Chambers sold McVeigh three barrels.
Chambers’ actions are baffling in retrospect. McVeigh stood out like a redneck at a royal wedding. He seemingly had no knowledge or passion for auto racing, which confused Tipton. To quote Tipton’s testimony:
“Usually when you’re talking to somebody that’s involved in racing, they seem to be real interested in it. This, you know — or talking to them about racing fuel, they seem to be real interested in as application, how to use it for their application. This person did not seem to have any type of application, was just more concerned about the chemical.”
Another red flag was that McVeigh also had no competitor license. The lack of a competitor license isn’t a minor issue. Sanctioning bodies, fuel suppliers, drivers, crews, and teams are very well aware of how hazardous these substances can be. A competitor license is a way for someone to prove they know the dangers of racing fuel, and a lack thereof, is a red flag.
Also, McVeigh claimed he was racing a Top Fuel Harley, but the category wasn’t racing that weekend. It’s also important to note that this is all taking place just over a year after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. You would have thought that fuel companies across the US would realize that their proudcts could be used in such an attack, but no changes in vetting were made. As such, McVeigh was able to get his nitromethane.
It’s amazing that the world works the way it does. Two people almost prevented one of the worst terrorist attacks in American history, and didn’t even realize it, until several months later. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know about this until I watched a documentary about the bombing, and looked it up, and found the connection. I also read Glynn Tipton’s testimony, which is linked below.
Before I finish up, I do want to point out something I noticed in Glynn Tipton’s testimony. It’s an exchange between Tipton and Special Attorneys to the U.S. Attorney General Scott Mendeloff: “What kinds of cars ran at the Sears Craftsman National in that first weekend in October?”
Tipton: “There would be top-fuel dragsters, top-fuel funny cars, pro stock, pro stock bike, federal mobile dragsters, federal mobile funny cars, comp, super comp, super street, super gas, super stock, and stock.”
I was a racing fan back then, and I didn’t know what “federal mobile dragsters” or, “federal mobile funny cars” were. After some looking up, I know why. “Federal mobile dragsters,” and “federal mobile funny cars” were actually called “Federal Mogul Dragsters” and “Federal Mogul Funny Cars,” better known as Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars. Federal Mogul being the titular sponsor of the series. Just a little detail I found interesting.
After the tragedy, there were massive changes. According to Wikipedia:
“The National Hot Rod Association has tightened its regulations for nitromethane. Section 21 of the current NHRA rule book states nitromethane is limited to 400 pounds (180 kg), or 42 US gallons (160 L) in a barrel, instead of the normal 55 US gallons (210 L). The NHRA requires competitors to submit a Top Screen Questionnaire to the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, competitors are not allowed to own nitromethane at official events. Instead, it must be stored at the series’ official fuel supplier, VP Racing Fuel (as of 2025). Each time a team purchases nitromethane, it is logged by the Series fuel supplier, which dispenses the correct amount of nitromethane ordered to the specific team.”
Ok, next week, back to traditional content.
Sources Cited:
DGF2099-Main Page 