Watch Jay Leno Survive The Hemi Under Glass Wreck While Filming Jay Leno’s Garage


Watch Jay Leno Survive The Hemi Under Glass Wreck While Filming Jay Leno’s Garage

You need to watch this video several times to understand how close Jay Leno came to either dying or being SERIOUSLY wounded during the now infamous Hemi Under Glass Wreck that will appear on season two of Jay Leno’s Garage. This was the incident that was filmed inside the circle track at Irwindale Speedway that had Leno in the passenger seat and the legendary Bob Riggle behind the wheel of the iconic drag racing exhibition car. Riggle has retired multiple times but this may finally be the thing that does it. We’re really happy that only the car was banged up and that neither of the iconic guys were hurt.

So what happened? First off, the location of the shoot screwed these guys hard. Rather than being on the drag strip they were on the infield of Irwindale Speedway. That wasn’t a problem until it was. See, you will watch Riggle launch the car, put it on the bumper and carry the wheels like normal. When he lands, he is carrying too much speed and the guy basically buries the brakes in a desperate effort to stop the car before it climbs up the banking. The problem is that the heavy braking results in bouncing and that bouncing ends up flipping the car over. From the outside it looks ugly but not super crazy. It is kind of a snap roll situation. Inside though? Inside is a bonafide disaster.

While both guys were strapped in, they were wearing their street clothes under the belts and no neck protection, arm restrains, etc. When the car starts to roll, you will see Leno actively move his hands away from the open window. The two guys bounce around in the car something fierce and not for nothing but neither are exactly spring chickens. When you watch the footage frame by frame and see how much they were flopping around you’ll be amazed that neither was not seriously hurt.

Leno’s last notable time in a drag car was when he attempted to drive Mark Pawuk’s NHRA pro stock car for a skit and ended up destroying the clutch before the end of the day. We’re sincerely glad neither Leno or Riggle was wounded in this incident. Wow!

Press play below to see a bootleg video of Jay Leno and the Hemi Under Glass Wreck!


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5 thoughts on “Watch Jay Leno Survive The Hemi Under Glass Wreck While Filming Jay Leno’s Garage

  1. 3rd Generation

    What do you get the Man that has everything ?

    Credit where credit-is-due, JL kept calm, didn’t panic, and immediately drew his arms to his chest. He could have easily lost an arm or hand had they went outside the body confines. and No Fire ! Impressive and adds to the ‘legend.’

    Then, without a right arm how would he ride bikes…..

  2. David Quinn

    Let’s file this one under the heading…consider the location and the car, before filming.

  3. Rob DeLeon

    Irwindale does have an 1/8mi drag strip. Did they forget to use it for a go straight only drag car?

    1. Randy N

      That’s it exactly. Those tall slicks take a long time to settle after a bump like that, and the wall was coming up pretty quickly. I wonder if he could have got it stopped.

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