Did the Woman Killed at Drag Race Assume the Risk of Being Struck by Crash Debris?

On the heels of an Olympic luger being killed when he crashed on the race track in Vancouver, comes the death of a woman over the weekend killed at a drag race in Arizona when struck by a tire from a vehicle that had just crashed.  Could the families of either of these unfortunate people sue for their loved one's wrongful death?

There is a legal theory called the "assumption of risk doctrine", which says that if you voluntarily participate in a sporting event or are a spectator at such an event, you assume the chances of getting injured or killed by those risks commonly associated with the event.  Because you assume those risks, neither you nor your family can later sue for your injuries or death caused by those risks.  The question then becomes, is the manner in which you were injured commonly associated with the sporting event?

As for the luger, the answer is "yes", as New York's highest court has ruled on a very similar case that such a claim would be barred by the assumption of risk doctrine, because when you participate in an extremely dangerous sport like luge, you live (or die) with the results.  But what about the drag race spectator?

While this issue has not been directly addressed by a New York court, I suspect the answer would depend on where the woman was seated relative to the safety fences and barriersand relative to where the accident occurred.  A pretty good argument could be made that being killed by flying crash debris is not a risk commonly appreciated or inherent in watching drag racing.  At least that is my opinion, but then again I am an injury lawyer.  What do you think?