When it comes to several thousand horsepower catapult the car to a staggering 300 mph in a time which is not enough for most road sports cars out to change the first hundred, any pilot error or even trifling technical malfunction may cause the tragedy. About the fatal accident, forever changed the world races in a straight line, we have already been told.
Today, let us remember funny moments from the history of American drag racing, during which all participants incidents only fright escaped with varying degrees of severity.
1. It happened in 1988 in Brainerd. While the body is in the raised position, and the team was keen vengeance prelaunch dregster leg Kenny Bernstein jumped from one pedal to another. Crazed mechanics scattered when Budweiser King Buick champion roared and jerked forward. As a result, no one was hurt, but at the next event all members of the team took to the start in T-shirts with prints, which have been shown numerous tire tracks.
2. dregster on his side, but all the skin at the site, and there is a complete absence of obvious damage. The founder of an entire dynasty of riders Connie Kalitta managed to roll over, coming back in reverse at the start after warm-up the tires on the World Finals in 1981. Naturally, there were no injuries, and technical breakdowns.
3. This sunny day in 1972 can hardly be called successful for pilot Joe Satmari. It all started with the fact that during his bernauta Pro Stock Camaro lost one of the rear wheels. From pilot qualifications then still I went... and went down in history as the first man, «merged» Bob Gliddenu, who later became a tenfold champion of the NHRA. Sam Glidden then actually also not flashed, losing in the final battle legendary Bill Jenkins.
4. Due to this incident, the veteran Super Stock Dave Wren can confidently confirm that the grip strip on the start line during the World Finals was above all praise in 1975. Just absolutely in solidarity with him and two other riders: Don Prudhomme, Funny Car class for the first time in history who left six seconds in the day, and Don Garlits, who managed to overcome the hitherto impregnable 250-mile barrier.
5. Raymond Beadle confidently stated that he is the one who will be able to stop the unbeaten Don Prudhomme in 1975. And in the final race at Springnationals he just dropped this unique opportunity. As a result, Prudhomme safely put it in a piggy bank another trophy, but the body dregster Beadle guaranteed to be carried away into the stratosphere, if not brake parachute straps. The rest suffered only self-Raymond.
6. In a hurry leaving the strip driver Paul Gordon, apparently, did not expect, that will result in warming up the tires by Wayne Wilder, whose Phantom Corvette immediately after the start of the spun across the track at the World Finals 1971 in Dallas. The photo clearly shows a small billboard in front of the rear wheel, which Wilder took with him on the way to bump.
7. Here's another bernaut, out-of-control immediately after the pilot's foot touched the accelerator. What is surprising is that a future champion in the Pro Stock class, Mike Edwards was able to avoid a collision, back at the start and in the end, I came to the finish line first, despite the fact that the race is not specified at the outset.
8. A great example of carelessness racer and misunderstandings between team members. Mechanic Kenz & Leslie Funny Car literally dived into the car when the driver suddenly has decided imbedded backwards to the starting line after a perfect bernauta.
9. Jim Epler and his chief mechanic Mike Klauber thus attempted to recapture their losses after the engine block of Funny Car dregster literally split into three parts, tearing along the way fiberglass body during qualifying arrival in Atlanta in 1992. The inscription on the label: «Buy a part of the block, which has brought us victory in Pomona and exploded here on Friday. Raze body with a bang. Refer to Mike. „
10. Boarding the aircraft right on the strip during Le Grandnationals 1975 in Montreal was part of the planned events. The problem was that during the rehearsal of this number, around the start area there was no crowd, dividing barriers, and the most „Christmas tree.“ The pilot was not prepared for such conditions, and the design of this particular aircraft has a curious feature: the rear part of the fuselage when the landing is significantly lower than the cockpit of the pilot, which is extremely negative impact on the visibility during landing. As a result, the error of the organizers and the skill of the pilot led to the fact that the winged car sat well on the center line of the strip, and finally stopped only after a meeting with the tree. The consequences of the accident have been completely eliminated within half an hour, the race resumed, and the audience has witnessed an unprecedented performance.
Photo: open source
