Willard Kinzer is a name you should know. The man is a certified 84-year old BangShift hero who races anywhere and virtually anything he can get his mitts on. We last saw him in person at the late April ECTA Wilmington event competing in a bad ass Ferrari (he also had a ganrly Mercedes or Porsche with him). Outside of the super car deal, Kinzer is best known as a small tire drag racer of the highest order. His Mustang has been a record setter in the past and since he’s always looking to go quicker and faster, he had a truly awesome twin turbo Cobalt constructed for his use. With a 589ci, twin huffed big block Chevy style engine that makes a reported 1,700+ HP, this is a certified land based rocket ship. As you’ll see on this run, having all that power at the tip of your toe can lead to problems, though.
Kinzer launches off the starting line and the car immediately starts to haze the tires. It full on lights them up by 60′ and the thing clearly runs away before Kinzer can get his foot out of it. As the tires blaze the car pitches sideways and with only two wheels on the ground, Willard was only a passenger at the mercy of physics. Well, once again the concrete wall beat the car, continuing its perfect record in the history of racing. Kinzer was OK and walked away from the wreck. Hell, in the notes of the video it says that he raced his familiar Fox-bodied Mustang the next day!
Watch to the end of the video so you can see how hard the hit really was and how the nose of the car really took a beating. There was probably a whole lot of ugly when they got the front sheet metal/fiberglass off and saw just how squashed up everything was. The turbos, plumbing, and suspension were probably toast…for starters. We’re glad to hear that he was OK and we’re sure the Cobalt will be back to terrorizing strips in the not too distant future!
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE WILLARD KINZER…AT 84 YEARS OLD….SUFFER A TOUGH HIT AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY –
Kinser is a hillbilly god. He and his sons are also past motorcycle hill climbing champions. He also holds flashlight drags at his eastern Ky airport. Willard doesn’t play.
He should have stuck with the Mustang . . . .
At what point do these car owners deside that the extra 25 lbs that running a import fwr slicks instead of the tiny front runners on the front so they can stear the car , is better than head first into the wall. at least giving you a fighting chance as the cars try’n to plow.
New? slicks on the front would have saved this car? is this what your saying?
a quicker steering ratio may have helped, but the 200ish mph wheel speed pushing the ass end past the front end is pretty hard to drive out of
Why is he not wearing a HANS device? That much HP in that short of a wheelbase he had no chance to recover and goes head-on — without a HANS and that heavy helmet slamming forward at impact he was a very, very lucky 84 year old man. One of his crew needs to fix this before he gets back into any car.
Drove it too far plain and simple. That thing was waaay up in smoke and sideways when he lifted.
Wow using a stock body Cobalt, now that takes brass tacks!