Mustang Goes Through Metal Guardrail! This Is Why Dragstrips Need Concrete Barriers.


Mustang Goes Through Metal Guardrail! This Is Why Dragstrips Need Concrete Barriers.

If you want a really good example of why metal guard rails are bad, here it is! Way back in the day, dragstrips didn’t have guardrails. Then ARMCO came along, the long metal guardrails, and things got a lot safer. But as cars got quicker, ARMCO became a bad thing because the cars hitting it were able to punch through it and sometimes get punched back as the ARMCO barrier would come through the car. No bueno. Then came concrete, which has become the norm at top notch racing facilities.

In this video you’ll see this Mustang slam the guardrail, punch through it, climb it while traveling backwards, and luckily stay on the race track. It could have been much worse.


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6 thoughts on “Mustang Goes Through Metal Guardrail! This Is Why Dragstrips Need Concrete Barriers.

  1. Crazy

    Welp.. was it lack of upkeep that let it fail or design?
    next the metal gives.. concrete does NOT..
    Nascar does not use concrete walls alone anymore for a reason.. only used as the backer for the safer barriers..
    solid concrete walls are not the answer either..
    But it’s easy to say… CHAD. when you don’t have to foot the bill for the change..
    How many go right over the short 3′ tall concrete? no easy answer here..
    Well there is but it gets costly.

  2. BBR

    Looks to me like the rail did it’s jobs.

    1. Absorbed impact
    2. Kept car on the track

    It could be argued that it is better than k-rail which has a tendency to put the car into a roll.

  3. Rob Britton

    The problem with metal guard rail,k rail or what have you is multiple. It is limited to it’s anchoring,mostly wood posts. It has a tendency to slice open cars. Also it bends coupled to its fastening method it works like a ramp. Those poor folks behind the chain link fence would have no chance if that car had cleared the rail.
    Concrete walls are anchored differently. They are of a height that stops the car from launching over it. Most importantly it scrubs off speed very quickly. Safer barriers like NASCAR has create a mess,are expensive and not really designed for drag racing impacts.
    Additionally,the driver of this car got back into the throttle well beyond what was safe to do so. Just saying
    It sucks that he totalled his racecar. But good that he isn’t hurt.

  4. jerry z

    Most if not all drag strips with concrete barriers don’t have them permanently fixed to the ground. When a car hits it, it does move. Yes usually causes more damage but won’t slice you like a buzzsaw.

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