(By Greg Rourke) – There’s nothing funny about funny cars. Here we have an example of how things can go wrong at any part of attempting to operate one.
The guys running the Candies And Hughes “Cajun Cuda” tribute nostalgia flopper are preparing to make a run. The guy to the drivers right is squirting the alcohol (correct me if I’m wrong) into the injector as the guy on the left hits the starter, it’s how it’s always done. But as soon as they hit the ignition the car hits at full throttle and engages the clutch. Everything and everyone scatters, but the driver has the same reaction time on this situation as he does on the ‘tree and grabs the brake and the fuel shut off and prevents a disaster. Wow. It could have been way worse, note the guy on the four wheeler who was in front of the car seconds earlier.
I watched this in full screen. After they get the car stopped and determine everyone is okay, you can see the crewman closing the butterflies on the injector hat, and hands something to the crewman on the other side of the car. It was the top of the alcohol bottle, it must have come off and jammed the throttle at WFO. I’ve seen them, they are like the ketchup bottle at a diner. The vid is extra cool because they also have video from the crew firing up in the other lane who swung the camera around just as he heard the commotion.
Situations like this are why it bothers me when we see the amount of people crowded around the cars at grudge and no prep races. It can happen any time. Be safe people.
