Notes:
Blaine Johnson, a four-time Winston Alcohol Dragster champion, was killed in the 1996 U.S. Nationals at the Indianapolis Raceway Park. Johnson, a native of Santa Maria, California, had just completed a track-record pass of 4.612 seconds in his dragster, when a connecting rod broke and the resulting debris cut a rear tire, sending the car out of control into the left guardrail. The dragster then crossed the lanes and hit the right retaining wall. Johnson died at 17h15, during surgery at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

He was at the helm of his "Travers Tool", a 1996 dragster built by Brad Hadman and powered by Supercharged Nitro 500 TFX Hemi with direct drive, owned by his brother, Alan P. Johnson. After Blaine's death, Alan Johnson continued his work in NHRA and became one of the most successful crew chiefs in drag racing.

Blaine Johnson won four consecutive NHRA Winston Alcohol Dragster championships from 1990 to 1993. He was the winningest Alcohol Dragster driver in NHRA history with 26 victories. In 1994 he moved to the Top Fuel division and at the time of his death he was leading the division in points.

He was survived by his wife, Kym; his son, Tyler Alexander, 5; his parents Everett and Agnes Johnson; his brother, Alan, and his sister Pamela. Blaine Johnson is buried in Santa Maria Cemetery District in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California.

The next day, Top Fuel drag motorcycle racer Elmer Trett, 53, of Demorest, Georgia, was killed during an exhibition run at the same track.

• Social Security Death Index.
• U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970.
• California Birth Index, 1905-1995.
• Book "The Tribute Project", edited by Ed Watson, 1997, page 23, citing the Indianapolis Star.
• Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present", 2nd edition, by Allan E. Brown, Comstock Park, MI, United States, 1994, ISBN 0-931105-42-0, page 226.
• Newspaper The New York Times (New York City, NY, United States), issue of Sunday, 01 September 1996, page ?, article "Racer Dies After Crash".
• Newspaper The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, OH, United States), issue of Sunday, 01 September 1996, page C7, article "Drag racer Johnson killed", by Dick Mittman of the Indianapolis Star and News.
• Newspaper The Stars and Stripes (Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany), issue of Monday, 02 September 1996, page 27, Associated Press wire service, article "Crash takes life of Top Fuel leader".
• Newspaper Galveston Daily News (Galveston County, TX, United States), issue of Monday, 02 September 1996, page 2-B, article "Motorcyclist is second fatality in 24 hours at track".
• Newspaper The Stars and Stripes (Darmstadt, Hesse, West germany), issue of Tuesday, 03 September 1996, page 29, Associated Press wire service, article "Motorcycle racer killed".
• Newspaper Dispatch (Casa Grande, AZ, United States), issue of Tuesday, 03 September 1996, page 7, Associated Press wire service, article "Auto Racing".
• Newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes (Tokyo, Japan), issue of Tuesday, 03 September 1996, page 29, Associated Press wire service, article "Fatal run spares McClentham".
• Newspaper The Intelligencer Record (Doyleston, PA, United States), issue of Thursday, 12 September 1996, page B 4, article "NHRA rolls east to Maple Grove".
• Website Charlotte Observer, List of racing deaths, Blaine Johnson, page http://161.188.204.190/charlotte/rd/results.asp?F=i&Q=372.
• Website Steve Klemetti's Drag Racing Statistics Page, by Steve Klemetti, page http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7573/bjmemor.html .
• Website Steve Klemetti's Drag Racing Statistics Page, by Steve Klemetti, page http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7573/bjpress.html .
• Website Drag Racing Online, Burk's Blast section, article "What's Gonna Take?", by Jeff Burk, page http://www.dragracingonline.com/burksblast/ii_10b.html .
• Website Motorsport.com, page http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=6522&FS=NHRA .
• Website AUTOSPORT → Forums → The Nostalgia Forum, thread "Speed's Ultimate Price: The Toll", page 29, posting by "Jim Thurman", message https://forums.autosport.com/topic/9705-speeds-ultimate-price-the-toll/page-27#entry1549992 .
• Website Drag Strip Deaths, page https://dragstripdeaths.webs.com/1995-99 .
• Website National Hot Rod Association, chapter "Top 50 Drivers", article "No. 36: Blaine Johnson", page http://www.nhra.com/50th/top50/b_johnson36.html .
• Website Draglist, page https://www.draglist.com/draglist/search.php?q=travers+tool&search=Search&exact=exact&VIEW=Extended .
• Website Find-A-Grave: Blaine Johnson.
• E-mail by Bob Rosetty, dated 04 February 2004.
• E-mail by Louren Sansregret, dated 02 January 2005.
• E-mail by Jim Michels, dated 11 January 2006.