So it appears that those of us in Atlanta last weekend weren’t the only ones to see some craziness on the drag strip. Bob Fedyk caught this intense video of racer Guy Johnson suffering a big top end wreck in his gorgeous 1955 Chevy race car. Thankfully, Johnson’s car was properly built and he was properly equipped with the right safety gear to protect him during the violent initial impact and ensuing barrel rolls down the top end. The car was largely destroyed but the driver was OK and that’s the most important part of this whole thing.
Of course like any gearhead after figuring out that the driver is OK, the next step is to try and figure out what caused the wreck in the first place. In Johnson’s case, we’re not too sure. The car is on a nice clean run until very late in the course. Just before 1,000ft there is a plume of smoke rolling out from under the car on the right side and shortly thereafter, the shoebox Chevy makes a very hard turn to the left, into the wall.
After the impact, which pushed the linked barrier wall several feet over, Johnson’s machine goes into a series of sickening rolls before landing on its wheels. While we’re always saddened to see a piece of fine craftsmanship like Johnson’s ’55 get wrecked, we’re happy to know that it was built properly and he’ll live to race another day. Videos like this are always a great reminder to pass along the friendly advice to check your belts, check your helmet, and your other safety gear to make sure it is current, up to date, and totally functional.
PRESS PLAY TO SEE A BEAUTIFUL 1955 CHEVY MEET THE WALL AT THE TOP END OF THE DRAG STRIP – BIG WRECKAGE – DRIVER OK
Brian,
an oil cooler line broke from what we here from our fellow Canadians down at Pacific from Mission Raceways in BC.
Very hard to watch the video but extremely glad my friend Guy is OK
It appears that the right rear brake locked up for some reason and caused the machine to go out of control and rear right and then it appears that the driver over corrected and slammed the left jersey barrier. Why he remained under power instead of dumping the throttle is a mystery. IMO
Ouch glad He’s ok . Broken axel ?
Right front tire blew?
Guy has confirmed that the transmission cooler cracked/let go. It was mounted under the car on the passenger side. (Not the best location) this was a new car to us and we were going to relocate the position of the cooler befor the next race. Little to late now. My family is just happy to still have Guy around.
Qwiktree
Turn the volume up on your device you are watching it on. You can hear him get off the throttle rite after you see smoke. How about you go jump into a 8-9 second car and dump tranny fluid under your car and see if you can keep it off the wall.