NickD
PowerDork
1/8/20 11:37 a.m.
This video has been making rounds on the internet the past few days, courtesy of the boys down Australia way. From what I've heard, both drivers were okay, but that guy in the Ford Capri was determined to win. Good god. And kudos to the guy in what appears to be a '58 Plymouth Fury for not getting tangled up in it.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffacebook%2Fvideos%2F593637167869814%2F&width=500&show_text=false&height=281
No clue if the guy in the Ford was unconscious and had the throttle pinned down, or the linkage got jammed.
That's what it looks like when I try to play racing video games with my kids.
Amazing video. glad they all survived. Thanks for sharing. I drag raced imports (we weren't fast 12.8-14 sec) in the 90s. It was fun then, even being slow
"If it don't help to slow down, floor it"
This is what it looks like when the throttle sticks and you can't figure out where the cutoff switch is in the ensuing panic.
The idiot in the purple Capri pulled the shoot about 20 seconds too late. If I were a track official I'd make sure he was OK then invite him to leave and never come back. He really put himself (Darwin candidate) and the other driver in mortal danger by being too macho to properly bail out of the run.
Well no wonder.
He was sitting in the wrong side of the car!
Cotton
PowerDork
1/8/20 2:06 p.m.
I used to drag race motorcycles around 15 years ago in the street class. It was a blast and definitely exciting. I miss those days, but moved farther from the track, so it just made it really inconvenient.
Stupid people say drag racing is boring, that's who. There aren't that many stupid people on GRM
SaltyDog said:
Well no wonder.
He was sitting in the wrong side of the car!
Our mail man does it all the time.
Panic. Key, kill switch, neutral, any of these would have made that a whole lot less expensive.
I will say it. it is boring. too much sitting around NOT driving or waiting in the staging lanes.
Even if you cut a good light, don't get too much wheel spin and hit all your shift points, still feels 99% the same as I can do on farm roads 10 mins from my house (allegedly). I have never raced an automatic, that seem even worse.
BTW: here is a pic of me drag racing my wife (I am in the Mustang). I also raced her the same day on my friends Harley bagger. So I have done it a handful of times over the years.
NickD
PowerDork
1/8/20 3:51 p.m.
Streetwiseguy said:
Panic. Key, kill switch, neutral, any of these would have made that a whole lot less expensive.
I'm not sure if it was panic or disorientation. He also could have been knocked unconscious and the chute dropped out of it's own accord from the impact, I've seen that before.
Most good drag racing isant boring to watch. Most bracket racing on the other hand..........
Throttle stuck. Can't kill it when your trying not to hit the other guy first.
NOHOME
MegaDork
1/8/20 4:58 p.m.
Only form of drag racing I like is Grudge racing " My car is faster than your car so shut-up or put-up" Anything else is just test and tune or bracket racing. Bracket racing is about as relevant to mankind as the Monty Python Silly walk contests.
I like building drag cars and I assure you that during a 9 second or faster pass, you wont have time t o get bored. That takes about 13 seconds.
Fixing the car in the pits so you can do another pass is another fun way to spend the day.
I doubt the guy in the purple car was bored.
Ranger50 said:
Throttle stuck. Can't kill it when your trying not to hit the other guy first.
I have seen too many cars with poor driver kill switch locations. It's scary.
I used to drag race quite a bit and all the waiting is boring. It's almost excruciating. You get more run time per dollar in any other form racing.
However the 3-15 seconds you are racing isn't boring. The faster the car, the less boring it becomes. I was once offered a ride that was going to require me to get an NHRA license, but honestly it's so exciting and so much can go wrong at those speeds. I turned it down and a ride in a Figure 8 race.... no way.
This is the AI robot driving we talked about before.. ;)
Really that was quite amazing. However, drag racing is still boring for 95% of the time.
You guys must be driving some lame cars if you think drag racing is boring. Next time, try it on a bike. That's real.
Rodan
Dork
1/9/20 5:42 a.m.
Appleseed said:
You guys must be driving some lame cars if you think drag racing is boring. Next time, try it on a bike. That's real.
+1
A 9 second bike on a street tire with no bar is anything but boring.
14+ second street cars are kind of boring.
All the standing around is no different than AutoX, and lots of folks here do that.
In reply to Paul_VR6 :
I'm pretty sure that car didn't have one that operated properly.
Patrick said:
Stupid people say drag racing is boring, that's who. There aren't that many stupid people on GRM
Until you get to the upper-level cars, yes.
I took my R6 out to the track a few times, best was a 11.21 @ 123, carrying the front tire through all the way through 2nd gear.
NickD
PowerDork
1/9/20 7:28 a.m.
I wasn't even just saying doing it, but watching it. Its rare for me to go to a dragstrip and not see a car or an incident that gets the blood pumping. Like the guy who used to show up with the mid-10 second Maverick running a ~450hp naturally aspirated Ford 300 inline-6 that would hike the wheels 3 feet in the air every single pass (it was named the Mad Frenchman, and the driver, Clem Lamanche was in his 80s at the time, since passed away)
People who say drag racing is boring are E36 M3ty drivers who think they can't do any better based off just a few passes. JMO.