Slow Motion Dragster Explosion

[Midnight Ray]

wicked video good save..

[arizonawarrior]

The parachutes didn't catch air until about a second after the car had gone sideways in the lane, he went for a helluva ride and will probably frame them 'chutes in his office!

[Sherriism]

Wow, amazing to watch, esp. the slow motion...

[Shag]

Holy sh!t. That's DRIVING, Batman!

[60ftgap]

Bad thing is thats the third time this year that happend to him at $15,000 a piece for the body , not to mention the other parts destroyed. don't see how they can do it. been going to Atlanta drags for years first 20 standing room only packed grand stands, last ten less people every year. Dam shame too cause in person there ain't nothing like it.

[mattbowdeen]

I noticed his face shield came open after the car landed the first time(1.18) and then it closed when it bounced and landed again(1.37). Notice how much movement he has in that rollcage. Those guys have bigg balls.

[whajac]

He got walked at the line and bicycled down the track. A couple of things you don't want to happen. Lucky, maybe skill he didn't roll. Cool vid!

[Luv2LafMcc]

Originally Posted by arizonawarrior

The parachutes didn't catch air until about a second after the car had gone sideways in the lane

wow, im REALLY geek'n out on this thread...but here goes:

Zona, It took a second, in SLO-MO time...in real time, it took 3 rotations of the rear tires from when they hit the ground (1:03) till the chutes inflates (1:08) and exerts a stabilizing and decelerating force. During that time, his front wheels weren't on the ground, or were not aimed down track. Steering is removed from consideration.

So how long is 3 tire rotations?

I believe dragster tires start at 36 inches at rest, and ride up to 44 inches at speed. If its 3 rotations (approx) than that's (3x44inch=132 inch) 11 ft. If he's traveling at 150 mph (easily possible 2-3 seconds into the race before engine failure), than my quick math is:

150 mph = 2.5 miles a min = 220 ft a sec. SO...the time from when the tire laterally contacted the road, to when the chutes start to exert force/drag and slow/stabilize the car, is 0.05 sec or 50 milliseconds!!

Olympic reaction times are greater than 109 milliseconds, less than 100 milliseconds is considered false start (guessing & not reacting). I don't doubt that as an expert in his field, he could be at (or maybe even better than?) Olympic standards, but could he be faster by double? again, his wheels weren't even on the ground, so lets move on.

Given the center of gravity of those cars, traction required to flip/high-side it, im sure the RETURN momentum from the initial lateral (out of control) push would have thrown and spun that car like a top! At 1:20 sec on the vid, the chutes keep the car from its own (return) momentum. His front wheels aren't even on the ground as the drag deceleration force from the chutes lurches them up.

The chutes are what saved the day...the driver was a spectator entering moot counter steer after the fact.

He DID keep it from decelerating into a wall AFTER the chutes straightened him out and aiming him down track.


my brain hurts...