Im sure everyone has an 'oops, oh shucks,how did that happen' story. I thought it might be interesting to hear some of them. I personally have enough to fill a novel, but Ill start with one from many, many years ago. At our old las vegas track on a points meet night I launched, hit 2nd gear, shift light came on, hit third gear and BOOM! Looked behind me and a trail of sparks following behind me. Engine was still running. Pulled over, shut the engine off, got out and looked under the car and saw the th350 trasmission still hooked to the shift cable and that was dragging the trans down the track causing the sparks. Bell housing was still bolted to the engine. Found driveline in two pieces with the pinion still attached. Never did figure out what broke first, bellousing, driveline or differential.

First thing that comes to mind happened around 1985'ish. Young me 15-16 years old, my older brother and a bunch of friends were spectating at Coastal Plains, was called HWY 258 Dragstrip back then as I recall. We were a little past the finish line and it was getting dark. Alcohol was flowing and we were having a blast. A 67/68 Camaro named Bigfoot comes down track and loses a collector at the finish line. My brother Mike decides he's gonna get it. It's dark and not much more than a couple of 100 watt light bulbs in posts to light up the area. I highly doubt anyone near the tower could see us. Mike jumps the chain link fence, ( half knocked down already) and the old Armco barrier. Me and a couple others follow. Mike finds the collector in the shutdown area and grabs it. Burns the hell outta his hand and drops it. One of us kicked it off into the grass near the chain link fence, then we see the next pair of cars headed our way. OH SHEET!!!! We jump the Armco rail, then to the chain link. I stepped on the chain link fence where it had been laid over and it sprung me up like a damm trampoline. I don't think I did a full somersault, but I did land flat on my backside. Thought for sure management might see that and come set us straight, but they didn't. Laughed like a bunch of drunken hyenas. We had some damm good times way back then.

Funny, not really but have had a few hairy rides.

One we were racing 1/4 mile and rain was close all day. They were hot lapping us to get race in before rain hit and I was running when it hit. I think we were down to about 8 cars and right before I hit finish line at about 140 MPH the bottom fell out, the Texas Motorplex is rather dark after finish line and the rain on windshield and slicks on water with skinnies up front it was "Interesting". I went all the way down to last turn off to get that thing stopped. Was like ice and you could not see much.

One time lost a motor about 1000 foot and it went so bad it threw one of the rods out in front of the other car. He wanted to keep it as a souvenir. Lol. Oil and water everywhere and I was trying to get off to side out of groove as quick as possible to limit damage to track.

One time I tried a different set of tires (Hoosiers) and it tire shook so bad at the hit it broke planetaries in transmission, broke 7AL-2 ignition box, and really rattled my brain.

Early when I went from the Altered to Front Engine Dragster I learned hard way you do not stand on brakes too hard with long wheelbase hard tail front engine dragster. Went into a serious bouncing after finish line. The guy I was running stood on the brakes to get as far away from that as possible. He said he did not want any part of that. Scared $h!+ out of him. Actually caught my attention to. That track had a short shut down and I only had a few passes in the new car so I got on the brakes harder than I should and it got me. With my altered, stiff chassis, suspended, four wheel brakes and I would work brakes pretty hard to kill ET. You do not do that in the Dragster.

You race long enough you are going to run into those situations you just try to be as prepared as possible and know what to do.

I went to Speedworld (Phoenix) to a nostalgia race 2 days 2 races. I go .001 red first round so, put everything away. A friend looked at the slip and told me it said I won! At the tower they told me the guy I ran never bought a tech card just got in line and I'm back in.
Rd2 I go red but the other guy first. Rd 3 I actually beat the guy in the other lane. Rd4 red again other guy red first so I'm in the Final.
Went red and lost to Neil Smedley.
Afterward someone came by the pit and said "you've been lucky all day you should go to Firebird (50 miles away) they haven't started yet."
Sooooo, we load the hot car and Beat it for Chandler Firebird Intl Raceway, got 2 hits and went racing. Around the 4th rd some drunk guy from the casino somehow ends up driving UP the track with cars going down! This started a big chase that went on for about 15 minutes until some racers cornered the guy with their tow vehicles. Somehow the guy had a lot of bumps and bruises by the time the tribal cops got there Back to racing and I could do no wrong and won my first NHRA track points race at 3AM
Loaded up and ran back to speedworld tried to sleep an hour before nostalgia race 2
No good, but 2 finals the same day at tracks 50 miles apart with 2 finals and 1 win, gave me a grin that lasted 2 weeks.

5 years ago if I remember right, regular points race and the track is having trouble with the finish line win light. One side worked and the other didn't.

I'm spotting a guy a ton. I roll up and just know I covered him. No win light but I got him. I get back and someone comes over talking to me so I'm not doing my regular turn around deal. I go up for 3rd round and the guy I beat is parked in the lanes. He walks over and say, "why are you back up here"? I got confused on which win light was out and he had actually won, I never even looked at the slip.

The next round that same guy did the exact same thing I did and got sent back from the lanes 4th round. We still laugh and tease one another about it.

Funny, maybe. We once went from Baltimore to Suffolk,VA opened the door and didn't have the car.

I have won a bunch of races and when it is your day it is your day. Some days you are just hitting the tree and running the number. Even then you may get a lucky round once in a while but you still earned the win.

But there was one race where every single round I drew one of the top ten points leaders and hitters. Crazy thing about that is I got lucky most every round. First round I drew the previous year Champion and was current points leader. I was much faster car so he takes off first and barely putt putts down the track. His throttle broke when he hit it. Had people go Red against me and had others break out. Another one of the top points guys broke his converter and I caught him mid track. I won the race against some of the best racers in the area and while my driving was okay it really felt like I got lucky every round. It is usually a big thrill when you Win but that one was strange. I still cashed the winners check.

The more you test and practice and learn the better you get and more rounds go your way but sometimes you are just lucky.

Funny thing is that when I looked at Facebook after posting here the story above came up in my memories. It showed the video of the loss.

To be fair I was only .0018 behind. hahaha

One I am not proud of I think it was 4th round I thought I had lost, loaded up and went home. Next day I am getting calls, did I break? Why did you go home? You won the round and they were calling for you to get to staging lanes.

Went out to trailer and checked sure enough I had won the round and did not know it. I did not ever do that again.......

OK, I am OLD but back in the old days we for the most part had stick shift cars. In 1967 I had a new Firebird that at the time was pretty fast. Won the first round but when I hit the return road I only had 4th gear. I pulled up and staged 6 more times and won the race as every one of them red lighted.
Another one, in all these years I only had one perfect run and I lost the race. I was dead on .0009 and he was dead on .0003. Bret Kepner was at that race and said he had never seen that before and showed the ticket on his TV show. That was 25 years ago so I am pretty sure it has happened since.

Fern just reminded me of one, at the Fling one year,dont remember the round, I had a perfect to the 9 ten thou to his... wait for it......>0007 The consolation was I got the best losing package and the money paid for my entry. I was never good enough at that race to go very far at those races, but I always did well at the consolation and drawing prizes. I gat a new convertor one year and a jacket another year. The entry went through the roof so I coudnt afford to go anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by ferndaleflyer:
Funny, maybe. We once went from Baltimore to Suffolk,VA opened the door and didn't have the car.

Hell at that track not having the car would be called a blessing. It would have been rough if ground down. Best thing about it iw they shut it down in 93 I think after we had set track record for et, I think was 6.27 not sure exasct number.

Funny,ironic or educational you pick.
We took record for :Peidmont from 4.19 Bunny Burkett to 4.08,Her crewchief Barret told me need to slot car down We went 4.10 next round. Did not seem tpo aprreciate me asking iof s,low enough,

That side not. We took record down next year 3 times one race. 4.06,4,02 and 4,00 after me gtell Bobby Baucome I was going to run all bt last ans told him screw it going 3's.
Next year we go to match race and rear end tagged wall. We spent night fixing. Next day I told crew screw it we have record we are in race for Igra championship. I took 4 rams off clutch. pulled 3% blowwer(= to .020 fuel) and fattend another .015. Car rus 3.98 at 181. First ever 3 second run on track. I am on line scratcbing head and balls WTH. Jimmy Turner looked at me said you just do not back off do you. I sad damn did everything except pulling drive shaft.Track record for 8 years till a TF car made a shot. 3 Years runniong 4.00 twice and backing iot off went fastest run,

I call it educational. Car will tell ylou what it wants if just listen to it.

Funny would be I had Blaine Johnson scared first round at Jacksonville NC . He had number 1 at 5,88 and number 2 guy was 6.02. I was number 8 had junk blower which is main thing to run run fast. He took right lane knowing my 1st 2 shot car was carrying frontend and headed to wall or centerline depending.

He was scared too.Well scared i might come over amd hit him. Not chance in hell out running him unless he red and he was .512 on pro tree.

But guess what Chris, someone brought us the car and the next day we bumped the SS/AA record to a 10.17. That lasted a couple of days I think.

where was that track at? I've always wondered.

quote:

Originally posted by qtrrcr:
Im sure everyone has an 'oops, oh shucks,how did that happen' story. I thought it might be interesting to hear some of them. I personally have enough to fill a novel, but Ill start with one from many, many years ago. At our old las vegas track on a points meet night I launched, hit 2nd gear, shift light came on, hit third gear and BOOM! Looked behind me and a trail of sparks following behind me. Engine was still running. Pulled over, shut the engine off, got out and looked under the car and saw the th350 trasmission still hooked to the shift cable and that was dragging the trans down the track causing the sparks. Bell housing was still bolted to the engine. Found driveline in two pieces with the pinion still attached. Never did figure out what broke first, bellousing, driveline or differential.