Drag wreck, he walks away.....a miracle

Hi guys. This video has been around for quite a while. The car crashed at Baylands (Fremont), which, if my memory serves me correctly, closed in 1988 or so. If you look closely there are several mid to late eighties vehicles in the video background. There's also another video out there (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3WD0yw8ns0) that shows a walk-around of the car following the crash. It clearly shows the aftermarket seat belts (competition style) still in the car. What I think happened during the crash sequence was the seat mounts broke. It was common back then to use plastic bucket seats. They often had four threaded inserts molded into the base. You just bolted them in that way. If my memory is still clear (which might not always be the case <g&gt the rules never said much about the way they were mounted. Installing the seats with bolts or studs directly into threaded inserts was likely acceptable. Today, there are regulations laying out exactly how seats should be installed. If you look closely at the car there's a 12:30 dial in on the windshield. Even then, that wasn't a real fast car. As a result, it probably didn't get too much scrutiny during tech, particularly if the track was really busy.

The other point is this: With 55-56-57 Chevys it's not hard to get a bunch of suspension travel. And if they wheelstand, it's really tough on pieces like ball joints. They also move around a lot because of the travel. Couple that with the fact the car had one of those small diameter foam rimmed three spoke steering wheels that were so common, I suspect the car either got away from him (the driver’s name is Don Refrow) or something broke. Even though the car wasn't perhaps the best prepared in the world, I don't think he can take all of the blame. It could actually have been an accident. And Renfrow (who is obviously famous today) is a very fortunate man.

Just my two cents.

Wayne Scraba

[Berger RS Copo]

Sadly, I've seen much worse stuff pass tech. Go to 3 tracks and you will get 3 differant tech inspections. Most of them are not too tough to get thru, which has always surprised me. I guess the form you sign must keep the track free of any lawsuits from unsafe cars.
That being said, the driver of that car had at least 2 or 3 times that he should have lifted. It even sounds like he got back on the gas when the car was sideways and about to roll.

I totally agree on your points. But I was just trying to put into perspective this accident happened a long time ago, and what was acceptable then might not be today.

Take care...

Wayne Scraba

[Jonesy]

After the wreck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3WD0yw8ns0

[markjohnson]

Well, my approach has always been to never type or post something that I wouldn't say in person to another human being. The old rule that our mothers preached to us still applies........if you don't have anything nice to say about another person, then don't say anything at all. The guy was not on the steet somewhere but on a proper, safe dragstrip and nobody, including himself were seriously injured. Now, I don't know this '55's driver but he's a fellow racer and racers share a common bond. I'm always baffled and just don't understand the personal attacks and name-calling here that people can make towards another human being from the safety of their home computer and a phoney screen name that they think is witty. I'm not much of a church person, but I've always liked that particular verse of: "Let him who be without sin, cast the first stone." Enough with the name-calling already. That only says more about you.