Mark Rebilas is a serious bad ass with regard to photography (hey, maybe other stuff too but his photos have been blowing our doors off for years) so when he posts some stuff on his own blog that is wild even to him, we take notice. This time he has captured one of the, if not the most dramatic drag race wreck photo sequence in the history of the sport. These photos document the seriously insane ride that Pro Mod racer Tim Tindle went on at the US Nationals. When you click the link below you’ll see all the photos but the short story is that the car made a near 90-degree turn into the wall at an extreme rate of speed and then the forces of nature and physics took over.
You’ll see the car literally exploding into pieces as it smashes into, on to, over, and around the wall. It flips, rolls, corkscrews through the air like some sort of sickening unguided missile, and eventually comes to a rest outside the wall into the grass. Amazingly, Tindle got out of the car under his own power and was then taken to the hospital for observation but suffered no overtly serious injuries. We’re not sure who built this chassis but they earned their money because the basic structure of the car retains its integrity and allows Tindle to get out by normal means. That’s incredible.
Hit the link below to see the whole entire sequence with commentary from Rebilas who was obviously in a uniquely scary position to see this whole thing happen. In the photo below, note the injector hat headed into low Earth orbit at the top of the frame. Absolutely unreal.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE MARK REBILAS SEQUENCE OF TIM TINDLE’S PRO MOD WRECK
Ouch!
Here is one (crappy) vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y63d6B9UUrI
Mark, on the spot yet again. What launched Tim in the air is the ramp on top of the guardrail that slopes as the wall height changes. When they first put the concrete walls in at Pomona I complained to officials the trasitions were too steep and would launch a car that was on the wall. This could have been bad if he stayed on the track and went into violent barrel rolls also, but going over the wall increases the chance of hitting poles, guardrails like he just missed, officials, spectators etc. As bad as it was Tim is very lucky to have survived that one. It’s interesting NHRA showed it once on their coverage but did not include it in their highlights.
theres a reason why mark is always at the top end with his 600mm lense
Tim McAmis built that car……..
Proof that you should NEVER skimp on safety equipment. Great photos could have easily been turned to morbid photos. We’re glad to hear that Tim is going to be okay.