There are LOTS of safety enhancements and systems built into modern nitro funny cars and they are there because for decades there have been some common enemies of funny car drivers. The most common of those common enemies is still the ever-present danger of fire. NHRA defending fuel funny car champion Matt Hagan got reminded how close to the edge these drives live after his car erupted in an old-school top end funny car fire and he had to wrestle it to a stop and haul himself out. Matt was not hurt but you can see his reacting after getting out of the car and it was clearly a taxing experience for him.
As you will see, Hagan is on a pretty good run when the motor gives up the ghost at the stripe and the car erupts in flame. This isn’t a flash fire, this is an old school looking blaze that 10-15 years ago would have probably resulted in a race car that was cooked into a charcoal briquette. The always awesome NHRA Safety Safari was on the scene as soon as Matt got it hauled down and stopped. The in car video of this one is interesting because you see how quickly Matt exits stage roof once the car is no longer moving.
No matter how you slice it, these are awesome thundering beasts and even with the best crews, the best parts, and the best tuning, it still gets wild out there.
