If you’re going to race at a drag strip and there are certain track safety requirements that have to be met, this freak accident is partly why those requirements exist. During Imports and Domestic nationals earlier this weekend, a drag racing Honda Civic hatchback suffered a front suspension failure (presumably the lower ball joints failing) that caused this Civic to lose its steering while carrying large amounts of speed. With nowhere to go, the Civic slams into the adjoining k-rail, spinning the Civic a full 360 degrees before coming to a complete stop. Check out the video for yourself below!
Imports of this class make gobs of power, thanks to forced induction, anywhere between 700-1200 HP (and often times more come race day.) While some parts are rated to take a certain amount of horsepower and torque, nothing is guaranteed. Safety is always a number one priority for any smart drag racer. That means wearing an approved fire suit, having your fire suppression system all in check, and making sure your roll cage is up to snuff to handle the amounts of forces involved in a hard crash.
According to the Facebook post, the driver suffered a broken but stable leg. And thanks to his safety equipment, will be back in 2018 to dice it up with the best out there.
So the next time you head to the track and want to sneak by tech inspection by not having a roll cage with a certain time/amount of power or any of your equipment isn’t up to the task, don’t do it. It’s not worth it if your run doesn’t go according to plan.
