A good friend of mine that races footbrake class got into someones ANTIFREEZE when it overflowed their puke tank in the top end at the All Chevy show this weekend and even tho it was a very nasty wreck he went home to his wife and kids because he takes his safety equipment very seriously. He is a very experienced racer.....multi time track championships at 2 different tracks in the same year, and with this particular car had well over 4700 passes on it.....all his experience didn't help when his car started flipping......but what his experience did do was make sure that his harnesses are always pulled so tight that it's painful before he pulls into the water box.

One observation i made was related to the testing that Capt Nemo posted here about the latches failing and not the webs during his destruction testing.....my friend is about 6'3 and weighs around 260....if you look closely you will see the roll cage crumpled in, but it is the only area that was spared total destruction......he was very lucky!! I see a LOT of the dragster drivers have very loose belts so they can raise up out of their seats to turn around and see someone running them down.....a very dangerous practice at best!! One of our Moparts members (rapidus maximus) also had a very bad wreck but was able to tell us about it because his safety equipment was correctly used......... Guys and Gals.....be safe !!
Randy

That's a shamefull loss of a good car.

Makes you stop to think... my harness is never really tight. That's an eye opener Glad he was OK.

glad to here your friend is ok.

from those two pictures, it dosn't look like there is one good part left on the whole car.

that sure will make you think, how well do we use our safety equipment.
i guess it's good to get a little gut check every once in a while.

man what a shame, looks like it was a nice car...at least he's around to build another one. it may seem like a trivial thing but checking the overflow is something i do. for the most part we're not even supposed to run antifreeze, not that water wouldn't have had the same effect. antifreeze is some slimy stuff though.

You guys might want to stroll through this thread as well:

Losing One

Glad to hear that he went home that night.

OK guys, this and Rapidus's wreck are Wake Up Calls for the racers here. Both of these guys have a bunch of runs in their logbooks and still it happened to them. Both of these guys went home because their equipment functioned correctly. The cage protected them and their harnesses kept them in place in the seats.

This is precisly the reason I sell safety equipment and try to help the guys get the correct equipment and use it the right way. This why there are tech inspections and a two year life span on harnesses. This is why you shouldn't snivel about having to spend $50 to $75 to get a pair of harnesses re-webbed. If you can't afford that piece of life insurance, you shouldn't be racing.

Now do you want the cheapest 5 point harnesses and helmet available ??

Sorry to hear about the accident. Glad the driver is OK.

Thanks for the reminder on the safety equipment and keeping the harness tight.

It is disturbing that another driver's life was threatened and his investment lost because of a radiator overflow. That is not suppose to happen. I do check my overflow bottle occassionaly and have never found anything except after the first heat/cool cycle when filling it. But it would be a good check before every run while sitting in the pits.

I also check mine before and during a race.....also have a secondary puke tank with a vent on it after the first one just in case......also a believer in engine diapers, even if it's not required. You can barely see the aluminum recirculating one behind the secondary red one with the filter.....is there in case of head gasket or whatever failure......the large hose goes to my in car air condition system.

I am one of the guy's that doesnt give the straps
that last tug before going into the water box, I
think I better start doing it, just for safety
sake. Sorry about your buddies car but I am glad
he walked away

good advice, i used to see him at the track every race night. i'm glad he's okay. instead of "twice nuts" maybe the new car can be "3rd times a charm".

I guess the lesson is: it CAN happen to you.

I am glad he is okay. That looked like a beautiful car, it's too bad.

What ET/MPH on that car?

I will give my harness an extra tug from here on!!
Glad he's OK!!

Glad he's OK. To think my friend wonders why I want a full cage in a 12 second car. I'll take the extra life insurance please.

This makes me glad I just ordered real racing seats and new wraparound harnesses that fits thru the seat instead of the old y-type harness that just flopped over the tops of my stock buckets. I never felt that secure with that setup, even tho it passed "tech". Glad the guy is OK, it's a shame about the car. One very expensive ball of junk.

Your belts need to be tight....and as short as possible. They will stretch 30% or more when loaded

Bill_T , it was a mid 10 second pass at around 127 mph

Another thing while we are on the subject of puke cans and safety. I am sure most of you have your puke cans in the front of the car, on one side or other of the radiator. That is the WORST PLACE IT CAN BE. Put it in the trunk and run a hose to it. If it does overflow, at least it won't leak directly under YOUR tires. This tip would not have saved the car in the above pics, but I have seen many it would have saved.

Monte

All I can say is that this devestated me. I made my friend with a 10 second car come over to look at it. This was "one in an unlikely" chance but it sure would suck to be the one. I am so glad he had a good cage and more so than he is alright. I feel terrible for his financial loss also. He is alive and can start again if that is any relief at all. Thanks for sharing!