(Video credit: NitroArtVideo YouTube Channel) – They are among the hardest things to drive in the sport of drag racing and they are among the greatest things to watch. Fuel Altereds developed a reputation in the 1960s for being completely out of control and they took that rep on the road, literally. There were an elite group of cars that barnstormed the country and hit tracks far and wide, wowing fans with header flames, wild action, and complete insanity as they put way too much power through way too little chassis.
Today the situation has changed as the chassis situation has advanced but the power situation has advanced as well. We’d argue that power is always and has always been ahead of the chassis but that is another story for another day. In this video we see what happens when things go bad in an Outlaw Fuel Altered and they go bad rapidly.
Jim Dickey is driving the car and we’re glad to hear that is was OK after this ride because the main driver’s area of the cage takes a couple of big wall shots at angles that are not the normal ones we typically see impacts happening from.
The problems start immediately as the car goes into wheel spin on the hit and then the engine seemingly runs away from Dickey and after that he is off to the races. The car yaws across the race track and as soon as it gets to the center portion of the track it turns over, the throttle continues to hang and the motor goes to the moon laying on the side. Remember, with that blower on it, the thing will run no matter the angle. Crazy.
Thankfully it happened early enough in the run that the speeds were not massive but we’d be interested to hear what this thing turned for RPM on the run because it sounds WELL into five digit territory.
That’s the kind of hit where a HANS device will save your life. Hitting the wall with the top of the cage, harness holding the drivers shoulders down, the force will try to rip his head off and hyper-extend his neck. Thank God for the advances in safety equipment!