This was new. This was weird. This was SCARY. We’re of course talking about the phenomenon that came to be known as a top fuel “blow over” in the 1980s and 1990s. There have been instances of dragsters turning this trick long before Gar did it at Englishtown but the incident at E-Town was a harbinger of things to come in the top fuel category in the coming years.
It was Don Garlits who would first expose this scary situation in the modern era of the sport. Guys like Paul Longnecker had taken this ride, the King and Marshall car pulled a power wheelie over backwards trick at the starting line during the 1971 US Nationals, and there’s a host of others situations that happened over the sport’s history before ’86 at E-Town.
As luck would have it, the demonstration run was terrifying, spectacular, and ultimately harmless. No one was hurt and Garlits was even cracking jokes with Steve Evans during the post-calamity interview. The video below tells the whole story and shows the whole situation unfolding from the run and the aftermath as well as some expertly called replays.
The sight of a dragster turning over backwards was not a new one in 1986. Slingshots had been known to occasionally flip themselves over backward at the starting line (I’m looking at you, King and Marshall) and cars have spun, flipped, and done weird stuff since the sports humble beginnings but this one was different. During the 1986 season, Garlits was kicking some ass. He had debuted the car you see in this video and killed ’em all at the Gators. It was innovative and while it had its flaws, the thing was basically a black missile that the masses were having trouble catching.
With the advancements in technology came advancements in speed and elapsed time. Experimentation was leading racers into performance realms that no one had been before. That’s when stuff like this happens. When the bleeding edge of the envelope is being pushed.
Garlits had done plenty of wheelies in his car over the years but the difference here was that when he lifted, it was too late. Because these cars were accelerating so hard and so fast lifting did not help. The accumulated speed allowed the body to essentially turn into a sail, catch the air and turn the dragster (briefly) into a crummy airplane.
The amazing thing about this incident was the car essentially pulling a pirouette and landing back on its wheels. Garlits still had his foot on the throttle so that is why the thing blazes the tires while sliding backward. Thankfully he was conscious to shut the thing off because if not, it would have been a terrifying “come-backer” and we do not want to think about the possibilities of that.
30 years ago this weekend! Were you there?
I witnessed the Longnecker blowover at Martin, scary stuff.
I feel the pain. our fed did a 10 ft plus wheelie 3 weeks ago. just came back from the chassis shop, the fed is to far gone for repair. not good for the bank account.
I was there that day sitting mid-track on the spectators side (back then there was a pit and spectator side) and holy crap the crowd just erupted when he came out of the car! It was a moment etched in my brain forever.
I was there also….On the pit side just past the finish line when he came down the track backwards smoking the tires. I will never forget that day.
If you see him at a race or show event . Take the time to stand in line and shake the hand of a legend. And you will meet one of the nicest classiest racer on the planet. And if you can see his Museum in Florida you won’t believe what’s there