In that kind of washed out lead photo you are seeing the beginnings of an exceptionally wild wreck that occurred in 1996 at Cordova during a UDRA (United Drag Racers Association) event. The footage was shot and shown on ESPN2 during a broadcast of the Inside Drag Racing show. Bret Kepner was there and gives commentary on the very scary wreck involving racers Eric Hinderberger and Lou Novotny. In this tangle it is easy to say that Novotny got the worst of it because his car takes flight, leaves the confines of the race track and is left as nothing but a spaghetti pile of tubing and busted stuff. The damned engine actually broke completely free from what was left of the chassis and instead of mowing down a row of spectators, it sucker punched the front end of an otherwise pristine 1970s Dodge camper. (We’re glad it hit the camper rather than the people, to be clear.)
By 1996 Lou Novotny had been drag racing for decades and was a grizzled veteran of many classes, including top fuel. We’d have to guess that this was his wildest ride, though. Any crash on the strip where two cars actually get all up into each other’s business is really bad, dragsters maybe worse because there is literally no telling where one will end up during a melee like this. The horror level gets cranked up a dozen or so times when one of the involved parties leaves the track and heads toward a spectator or otherwise unprotected area. The most frightening thing we have witnessed on that front in person was at Bonneville this year when an out of control streamliner was making a line for a spectator area before the driver gathered it up. At drag strips, people are way closer than they are on the salt, so the danger level is ratcheted up even higher.
The best news out of this is that both men were OK after the crash and no serious injuries were incurred. Like we always say, you really have to see this one to believe it. The footage of the motor, post van attack is priceless.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE DRAGSTER MAYHEM AND DODGE CAMPER COLLATERAL DAMAGE!
