There’s lots of cool classes that make up the “small tire” drag racing world but for our bucks, the insanity that happens in the Outlaw 10.5 class totally takes the cake. With twin turbo cars making upwards of 3,000hp rocketing down the track with the front wheels skittering along the pavement and the drivers doing all the can to keep things moving in the straight line, there is drama guaranteed on virtually every run. The downside is that occasionally that edge of the seat drama becomes insane flaming wreckage like it did for racer Mike Kimmis back in September at Ozark Raceway Park.
As you’ll see Kimmis’s Pontiac Firebird makes a move to the right and then violently shoots to the left at the eighth mile finish line. With no time to recover, the car smashed headlong into the guardrail and erupts into a massive fireball before spinning farther down the track, shooting sparks and jettisoning parts along the way. Sean Melton of Urban Hillbilly video captured this footage and he reported at the time that Kimmis was OK after the wreck. There are some close up shots of the car post impact and as you’d expect, they are ugly.
Like all of these videos, this one stands as a testament to the ability of the car builders and the engineering that has gone into modern drag car chassis. Being able to hustle down the track at speeds previously unknown is one thing, but being able to protect the driver through violent impact like this? That’s awesome.
Press play below to see Mike Kimmis get bathed in fire at Ozark Raceway Park!
