Wrecked the dragster tonight... Pics Added 5-1-11

Well, it wasnt the outcome we were expecting. One the fourth pass the car drifted out of the groove, hooked left and barrel rolled several times. It'll need a front clip and a cage top for sure. It also broke off the right front wheel and tore up both rear wheels and tires. Not sure if the back is tweaked or not. It's torn up pretty bad and we'll have to see just how bad it is once we get it in the shop and get the body taken off. Engine and trans look to be OK. It's still holding water, oil and trans fluid so nothing seems to be broken with that. It did break the mid plate loose from the chassis yet the engine is still in the chassis and the front saddle mounts still have the clamps on!

A good friend of mine was driving and I'm glad that he's OK. The car ended up laying on the pass side. He was already out of the car and standing by the wall when the track personnel arrived. Bottom line is that the cage did its job. My buddy walked away unhurt.

It was on a fairly good run too. It clicked a 5.50 @ 102 in the eighth while all hell was breaking loose... All we wanted to do tonight was make a clean eighth mile pass. Oh well. I guess things don't always go as planned. The track does have a video of it so I'm going to try and get a copy of it to see what exactly happened.

Here's a rundown of the passes:

First pass - Eased it off the line and when it shifted into high it rattled the tires BAD!!!. My buddy said his teeth hurt and he'd like to never experience that again. Lift and coast...

Second pass - Dropped the air in the tire and raised the launch rpm. Broke the tires loose when it shifted into high. Lift and coast...

Third pass - Dropped the air again and raised the launch RPM. Hazed the tires and broke loose after it shifted into high. Lift and coast...

Fourth pass - Dropped the air again and raised the launch rpm. It was on a good run until the eighth mark when all hell broke loose. There is a transition from concrete to asphalt right there. We're not sure if that maybe upset the chassis and caused it to break the tires loose or what. It all happened so fast.

John,

Glad your buddy is ok !!!! Glad the old girl's chassis did her job.

Glad your driver is ok!

Wow glad he is ok and sorry about your ride that sucks

John,
I sure hate to hear about the accident. Good that your driver is OK. There are lots of good chassis shops that can fix you right up. I have a buddy in Indiana (probably too far...) that builds, modifies and repairs all types of dragsters from Bracket to Comp Eliminator to Top Fuel. If you need to get opinions on repair, give me a call and I will connect you.
Keith

Dang it man. Sorry to hear but glad the cage did it's job for you and your buddy.

Oh Damn! I hope our luck didn't rub off on everyone on here. Glad everyone is okay.

sorry to hear John ..... if you need anything just let us know

very sorry to hear John I have never done any fab work on a Dragster chassis , but if I can help you out on it let me know. I live close to Danny Joe and Justin Melton that own M&M race cars and could probably get tubing , parts and advice from them to repair it or hook you up with them to do it. No pressure just throwing the offer out there.

Damn I hate hearing this stuff..... specially first time out. Sorry for you man. Glad no injuries to your driver.

Daaaang John. Sorry to hear about your car. Just glad your driver is OK. We have a track here with transition problems "sometimes" too. It depends on the winter before the season starts, and how the frost moves the ground beneath the track. After years of having a healthy bump in the left lane, last year the frost moved everything around enough that there was no bump at all in that lane. I wish I was closer, I could burn up some of my free time and help you guys out. Good luck.

Damn Johnny !!! This is a tough year for racing, but atleast the driver wasn't hurt.

QtrWarrior wrote:John,

Glad your buddy is ok !!!! Glad the old girl's chassis did her job.

Sorry about wadding up the car. I know that was your baby. But hopefully the cockpit survived and all we have to do is put a front clip on it. But from looking at the car and seeing how it rolled I'm impressed that he's not hurt. Doesn't even have a scratch. Safety equipment did its job. We were looking at his gloves to see if they were nicked up and they are fine. So kudos go out to the proper use of arm restraints!

We'll rebuild it. Just won't have it in time for the Bash.

That really sucks. Just glad that everyones alright!

Well that blows Jon, sorry to hear about your bad luck.

That's a bad deal John. Glad everyone is ok. Good luck on the rebuild!

Glad the driver is O.K., I know the feeling on wrecking one first time out, kinda sucks, good luck rebuilding.

342g wrote:Glad the driver is O.K., I know the feeling on wrecking one first time out, kinda sucks, good luck rebuilding.

"We will rebuild him better, faster, stronger" ... Sorry to hear about your plight, John. Being that the driver is OK, that quote from the "6 million dollar man" TV show is the only way I personally would look at the situation.

Sorry to hear the bad news Jon. Glad he's ok. Like Randy said,just rebuild it better brother.

That's too bad. I really know what it feels like, I wrecked mine 2nd time out . I guess as long as no one gets hurt, the car can always be repaired or replaced.
Gary

jbozzelle wrote:

QtrWarrior wrote:John,

Glad your buddy is ok !!!! Glad the old girl's chassis did her job.

Sorry about wadding up the car. I know that was your baby. But hopefully the cockpit survived and all we have to do is put a front clip on it. But from looking at the car and seeing how it rolled I'm impressed that he's not hurt. Doesn't even have a scratch. Safety equipment did its job. We were looking at his gloves to see if they were nicked up and they are fine. So kudos go out to the proper use of arm restraints!

We'll rebuild it. Just won't have it in time for the Bash.

It's ok John, The most important thing is your buddy is ok. If you need anything, just let me know.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck John..................

Sorry to hear about the car but glad everyone is OK

Sucks but you can always rebuild...A lesson my friend is learning for the second time, and he's also learning that the driver could do everything right and the crash still can't be prevented at times. Be glad he walked away (hopefully with clean shorts too).

John sorry to hear about this, good to hear the safety stuff did it job and the drive wasn't hurt easy to fix a wrecked ride but not so easy to fix a broken drive.This is the reason we should not cheap on safety stuff and parts.

Jim