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Posted by: zymurgist Dec 28 2009, 07:03 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMPztuRTRXg

Posted by: RobW Dec 28 2009, 09:35 AM

Wow! That could have ended very differently... but you have to ask, who teched that thing? No way any race car should have the driver and seat eject like that... ever.

Posted by: Garold Shaffer Dec 28 2009, 10:20 AM

I would to see how the inside of the car was setup.

Posted by: atsealevel914 Dec 28 2009, 10:27 AM

Posted by: racunniff Dec 28 2009, 11:29 AM

Not to mention the steering and suspension which look to be the actual cause of the accident. Bumpy suspension + bump steer = loss of control. Even if you are going straight.

Posted by: SirAndy Dec 28 2009, 11:32 AM

Just imagine if that guy tried to drive around corners ...

Andy

Posted by: 6freak Dec 28 2009, 11:36 AM

That just proves drag racers cant drive in anything but a strait line and that car was a POS...He had it saved and then jump back on the gas ....dumb move ..nearly cost him his life

Posted by: RobW Dec 28 2009, 11:41 AM

That said... awesome video!

Posted by: PanelBilly Dec 28 2009, 11:42 AM

This is an excellent video to argue the reason for inspections.

Posted by: jsayre914 Dec 28 2009, 12:27 PM

He had a drink later thaT EVENING


nICE VIDEO

Posted by: jsayre914 Dec 28 2009, 12:31 PM

It reminded me of this picture.



and then this one

Posted by: plymouth37 Dec 28 2009, 01:08 PM

I can't even imagine the chances of someone basically landing on their feet during a wreck like that, that is one lucky s.o.b.
That car shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near a racing event.

Posted by: messix Dec 28 2009, 01:12 PM

steering looked fine except the nut behind the wheel.

the problem looks to be worn or no shocks in the rear, that thing was bouncing so hard it was unloading traction off the rear tires and that caused the tire spin, you can hear it. i don't think this guy was very experienced in high powered drag cars.

that should be backed up with the obvious build and prep quality shown with the seat and belts failing.

Posted by: J P Stein Dec 28 2009, 01:23 PM

Come on now.....
Back several(bout 40)years, I drove a 55 shoebox wagon in DMP. It was jacked up even more than the one in the vid, but was less controllable. The CG of that thing was prolly 2-2 1/2 feet off the ground. Like at autocross, you need to learn *when to give it up* and drive out of it. This fella learned the hard way. He had his chance but didn't take it. I seem to recall a similar situation at an AX last summer where..........

Posted by: ConeDodger Dec 28 2009, 02:27 PM

I disagree. If he was the luckiest man alive he would be married to Jessica Alba and she would have an oral fixation just for him. He would have turned a 6.0 second quarter mile on that run and Nike would be fitting him for drag racing shoes and writing him checks with 7 numbers. He is very fortunate though...

Posted by: Cupomeat Dec 28 2009, 02:34 PM

Sure, he was damn lucky, agreed about the not the luckiest, but I'd substitute Biel for Alba, but to each his own.

Sadly, this type of video ends up fueling the "stupids" who will now argue that wearing a seatbelt isn't safer in normal driving because they "Saw this video once, where this guys would have died if he wore his seat belts..." and so on...

All that being said, what a GREAT video! Thanks!

Posted by: johnnie5 Dec 28 2009, 03:14 PM

Why settle? I love both of them! I would like to make a sandwich out of them with me in the middle!

Oh yeah.... good video, lucky guy alright...

Posted by: sean_v8_914 Dec 28 2009, 03:37 PM

spectacular!

Posted by: Mark Henry Dec 28 2009, 04:00 PM

This thread seems like daja-vu

I bet the 55 had a locker or welded diff.

Posted by: scotty b Dec 28 2009, 05:00 PM

Don left the seat, the seat left the car = Don wasn't wearing a harness......or any type of restraint. May have been a good thing in this case ,but stupid non-theless

Posted by: aircooledtechguy Dec 28 2009, 05:36 PM

However,. . . If you've ever gone out to your typical local bracket race event, the tech inspections can be a joke. Many just make sure the battery is held down and tell you to close your windows. . . Depending on the field of car, (based on ET) the safety is fairly lax in the slower classes. If a guy doesn't know what his car will run and he says 16 seconds +, you're not going to get a true inspection. . .

This guy was obviously the luckiest guy I've seen on You-tube. Somewhere a village got their idiot back. From the way the car reacted on launch, that run was doomed. The driver turned that bad run into a wreck by trying to salvage it. . .

Posted by: kart54 Dec 28 2009, 05:49 PM

Brought back memories of going to Ascot Park in Gardena as a very little kid. They began running figure 8 races along with the regular show. Saw guys hit in the intersection and thrown out of the cars along with the front bench seat. Quite a few were killed.

Back in those days no helmets were required, seat belts were not required, guys drove in a t-shirt and work pants with a cigarette sticking out of one side of the face and nobody had roll bars. The smart guys chained their doors shut but that was about it.

Kart54

Posted by: crash914 Dec 28 2009, 05:50 PM

I was at a drag event like that in around '79 or '80 in Phoenix.

The car (around the same year) flipped like that and the driver was killed...the event was over.

I did get a trophy though... sucked. I have not thought about that for years. I don't drag race anymore...

Posted by: Gigamight Dec 28 2009, 06:18 PM

Yep. That settles it. I will never drag race! I am not THAT lucky.....

Awesome vid, gives me the chills, thanks for posting.