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-   -   Drag racing wreck... driver walks away after coming through the windshield... (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/830948-drag-racing-wreck-driver-walks-away-after-coming-through-windshield.html)

LeeH 09-22-2014 04:03 PM

Drag racing wreck... driver walks away after coming through the windshield...
 
Not sure what kind of safety equipment this guy had, but it apparently wasn't enough.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/93JhLRicARw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

masraum 09-22-2014 04:27 PM

Wow, holy carp!

herr_oberst 09-22-2014 04:49 PM

Something real sketchy about this whole thing.
The christmas tree is a pole stuck into a jersey barrier, but they have fire equipment?
It almost looks like a bunch of hoons broke into a track and staged an ad-hoc drag race using stuff they found laying around....

Jeff Higgins 09-22-2014 04:50 PM

Driving a big horsepower drag car is a lot harder than it looks. I know a lot of sports car drivers like to look down their noses at drag racing and think it doesn't really require any skill, but at a certain threshold, it gets pretty darn hard.

This looks like a pretty informal drag race. Maybe connected to a car show or something. You might be surprised what is allowed on the "track" at events like this. I would not be surprised if the guy had a lap belt holding him to a bench seat, with no roll bar, much less a cage.

Talk about a recipe for this kind of disaster. Big hp street car with a guy behind the wheel who doesn't get to do this much. I was starting to see this when I was still bracket racing, witnessing a few wrecks like this where the guy wasn't quite so lucky... The NHRA took notice, and really, really clamped down on safety equipment and drivers' qualifications even for podunk "Saturday night drags". And that was 25 years ago. They've done nothing but gotten faster since.

LeeH 09-22-2014 05:05 PM

He's lucky it stopped rolling when it did:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1411434299.jpg

widgeon13 09-22-2014 05:14 PM

No fire suit, crazy.

BlueSkyJaunte 09-22-2014 05:20 PM

I'll bet his back hurt like hell in the morning. :eek:

wayner 09-22-2014 05:27 PM

That Chev was a 55. They din;t have seat belts back then

lane912 09-22-2014 05:50 PM

and for those not around in '55, here is what that looked like-

biosurfer1 09-22-2014 05:58 PM

Looks like he thought the other driver was coming into his lane and started to fishtail...good thing it wasn't Tony Stewart driving it!

5String43 09-22-2014 06:03 PM

I've been to a lot of these things over the years - the amazing thing is that drivers will try to "drive their way out of it" when the cars get loose. They seem to forget that the throttle works both ways.

LeeH 09-22-2014 06:49 PM

Just watched it again. Am I right that when he gets out of the car, he takes off his helmet - without having to undo the chin strap?!?

herr_oberst 09-22-2014 06:59 PM

The five-five has a lot of tire, (both cars do) and I'm pretty sure it has a cage - it looks like the roof hit the deck at one point, and I can see a hoop when he opens the door.

Plus, during the burnout, I can hear a whistle that might be a blower....That has to be a well-built eleven second car, right? Maybe ten?

My point is, would somebody really build that car and not put in a five point harness? (Or, perhaps somebody's buddy got a chance to drive a fast car at a car show and forgot a couple of things?)

gshase 09-22-2014 07:30 PM

No seat belt or harness?

daepp 09-22-2014 07:43 PM

From Road and Track: "Lohnes says the seat-belt mounts in the car pulled straight through the sheetmetal, which is what caused the driver to flop around so wildly. As you saw, he calmly walked away from the crash, lucky to be alive, let alone in one piece. Amazing.

Lohnes says this particular driver is an experienced guy who regularly runs a legal 200-mph Willys at sanctioned strips. The Chevy was his wife’s cruiser before he put it shiny side down. Imagine having to have that conversation..."

"One driver had a wild ride at the recent Colorado Street Outlaws event at the Pikes Peak International Speedway. We talked to Brian Lohnes of the excellent BangShift.com for some background and context on what you're about to see. The event aims to give drivers a chance to run their street cars in a controlled environment. There’s no timing system, no real tree, and tech is fairly loose. There’s nothing on the line but bragging rights, and it’s meant to keep racers off the street and close to medical help.

sand_man 09-23-2014 04:22 AM

From the the spectator comments caught on the video: "Dayum that WAS a nice car..."

GH85Carrera 09-23-2014 04:44 AM

I don't know beans about building a drag race car but seat belt mounts into the sheet metal sound like a very bad idea. Mount them to the roll cage!

He destroyed a nice car. He is very lucky to be alive and walking.

911SauCy 09-23-2014 04:57 AM

If either of those 2 clowns would have just LIFTED...nothing bad would have happened.

Camaro gets out of shape, keeps getting worse, causing 55 guy to jerk the wheel and the rest is history...

Unbelievable waste of a nice car. No way that guy regularly runs 200mph cars, no way.

THIS is car control: HOW TO DRIVE LIKE A BOSS - Fastest 6-Speed GM Car NO LIFTING - YouTube

Guy is lucky to be alive...

speeder 09-23-2014 07:57 AM

I tried to watch those drag videos but I fell asleep. What happened?

daepp 09-23-2014 08:00 AM

WOW SauCy - that guy does have some skills!!!

For the idiot in the room, right before he launches fir exits from somewhere in front of the front left wheel. WTH is that? Nitrous?

And what happened to wheelie wheels? Are they no longer allowed? It seems like they would have kept the front wheels on the ground so he could steer.


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