Mike Dunn Crashes

[CalebPrice86]

They should extend the finish line like they do in brainerd like have it extened it a extra 90 ft or something besides have a sand pit or a catch net

[jettrainfan]

the "kitty litter" is fine. Its hard to say at times whats best. At times, 1 beats the other so its hard to choose, but i say they should add some extra feet and keep the sand pit.

[stamphater]

I believe they took the catch nets out after a racer was nearly decapitated going into them. Personally, I think they need to come back.

[57vgh]

Mike Dunn Goes to my church!

[Polybun]

shut up jesus freak

[57vgh]

so what?

[Polybun]

So, nobody wants to hear who attends or what goes on at your cult gatherings.

CHRISTIANITY IS A CULT

[57vgh]

and your point is?

[kissklassics]

That incident happened at Sonoma. I heard she panicked and never released the throttle after the burnout.

[prsjoe]

FuelCoupe , if memory serves me correctly , didn't a young woman in an A/fuel dragster , a few years ago , do a burnout and have the throttle stick open and she went all the way down the track and got killed at the end ? I don't know if it was at an national event or testing ( licence passes ).

[FuelCoupe]

Not too sure about that one. I think some one was killed in A/Fuel in the late 90's not sure of the details though.

[QR3550]

Her name was Carrie Neal. It was at a NHRA Divisional race in 1997.

[QR3550]

@prsjoe Yes, her name was Carrie Neal and the accident occurred at the 1997 Autolite Nationals at Infinion Raceway in 1997.

[cfaulc]

@prsjoe That was shelly howard.

[QR3550]

@prsjoe Yes, it was Carrie Neal. It happened in 1997 at a Divisional race at Sears Point (Infineon) Raceway.

[prsjoe]

Thanks for the info FuelCoupe . That indeed , was a horrific accident . Technology will either save the sport or diminish it . There has to be a major re-thinking and direction , or we are going to lose more racers and spectators .

[prsjoe]

We will never know if Scott Kalitta would have survived , had double or triple nets been at the end of Englishtown's track . NHRA LISTEN UP , I've said it before and I'll say it again ... there is going to be a day when a fuel car will be under power charging towards the top end OR BACK AT THE STARTING LINE , with the driver incapacitated . Remember Garlits 1986 blowover at the Summernationals ? He was pointed at the starting line at high idle ( fuel levers on the high side ) . If he was out ...

[FuelCoupe]

Unfortunatly this has all ready happened. April 3rd 2005 at Tulsa raceway park, Michelle 'Shelly' Howard was testing a new A/Fuel dragster, the car went into a wheel stand at about 900 feet before pirouetting and slamming down facing the start line, the car then drove up the drag stip at full power finally hitting the teams tow veichle at around 250mph killing both her and her son who was in the tow car. One of the saddest days in drag racing history.

[quickman55]

R u serious? That sounds crazy.

[nitrofumes]

I've been following drag racing since the late 60's and Shelly's accident was the freakiest thing I've ever heard about ...the odds of that happening the way it did are infinitesimal....one in a billion.

[playa1313]

those tires are so bouncy :]

[txngasnguns]

Thats a wicked roll, very dis-orienting.

[gtrbadass]

Funny story about this clip, when I was a youngster my parents recorded this off of TNN. Unfortunatly, they somehow managed to erase this last segment.

I have Decade of Thrills on tape...

...

...

...but I haven't seen this one clip in over 20 years.

[kissklassics]

I was at this race shooting still photos from the starting line. I've seen many Funny Car explosions...this was definately the worst. It sounded like a grenade exploding.

[quickman55]

WTF?! How'd the engine blow up like that? They use inner-liners on those cars too?

[FuelCoupe]

The crankshaft broke causing the engine to explode. They dont use inner-liners any more at least not on nitro cars. I beleive the NHRA is currently reveiwing the guide lines for tyre and wheel combinations.

[quickman55]

Thanks. That crankshaft must've broke in 2 right down the middle. Don't they have sand traps and stronger catch nets at all tracks?

[FuelCoupe]

Back in the 80's there were a few US tracks that only had catch nets, in the sixtys there were some tracks that had nothing to stop an out of control car. I beleive that all the NHRA sanctioned tracks that the pro cars race at now must have sandtraps and catch nets.

[quickman55]

Wow. I wonder what would've happened if they had nothing to stop them?

[FuelCoupe]

They keep going untill they hit something or run out of fuel. In the sixtys there was a US racer who's car was pulled out of a river after he had some trouble getting it stopped. and an Australian driver became very popular after driving several kilometers down a dirt road with the throttle stuck open.

[quickman55]

Did the guy that went in the river survive? That dirt road drive must've been scary for townspeople in the area.

[FuelCoupe]

Yes the guy who went into the water survived. The dirt road was one of the backways into the drag strip (basically it just continued on from the breaking area) it was more scary for the driver than any one else.

[fueldragster]

Not all the tracks on the NHRA Powerade tour have sand traps and catch nets, at Firebird, the track just goes off into the desert

[FuelCoupe]

thanks for the correction,on a side note though isn't the desert just one big sand trap?

[Jackamoo1]

Mike Dunn is great driver and a good announcer. Again the great Steve Evans on Diamond P.

[Jackamoo1]

Mike is almost as good an announcer as he was a driver. Again the great Steve Evans on Diamond P productions.

[fueldragster]

In an interview after the Columbus crash, Mike Dunn said the crash "Wasn't that bad" Whatever you say Mike

[racingformusic]

Racingformusic to 5v4al;

If the NHRA still went to Orange County, then ESPN would run this to death, but fortunately for Dunn, the NHRA does not run at Orange County Raceway anymore.

[kidhumor]

they dont race there cause its gone

[noob4ever62]

I wonder how much GoodYear tires paid him to say that.

[n2nitro]

I wonder the exact same thing when I first seen this.

[skoczzy]

Hands down, my favorite sports personality, EVER. A master in his field.

[doc737ng]

This is how a chassis holds up when using normalized tubing...

[5v4al]

I'm surprised ESPN doesn't replay this to death, with Mike Dunn being an announcer now...

[phats55]

o damm, mike got real lucky that motor did'int roll back and hit the cockpit.