Drag machines are serious speed demons, living their lives packing thousands of horsepower under the hood to make under 10-second passes at the quarter mile mark. It may sound pretty simple to do so as it only involves driving in a straight line, but there are a lot that have to be taken into account to ensure a successful pass is made. And when you have cramped up every bit of power you could scrounge on into the engine, not only you have an increased engine output, but also the risks as well.
Pro Drag YAS Marina Circuit March 2012 - CAMARO EXPLOSION - YouTube
And this brings us to the Middle East, where the Pro Drag Racing Series was held at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi last March. Here we have a navy blue Camaro, all prepped and ready, waiting for the go sign. But instead of leaving the starting line when the light turns green, the Camaro instead coughed up a spit of flame from its hood scoop, and did not even budge an inch from where it was standing.
As one of the rushing crews braved himself in sticking his head near to the hood scoop of what it seems like an attempt of snuffing the remaining flame, he really had no clue at all of how dangerous his actions were if he was to be in such close range with the engine bay. As he retreated to the driver’s cockpit and probably telling the driver to restart the engine, an explosion erupted from underneath the hood, instantly engulfing the engine bay in fire.
As quick as the explosion were, the reaction time of the emergency crew was very impressive, as they managed to snuff out the flames within seconds. Luckily, no one was hurt in this explosion, and early reports are speculating that this was caused by a leaking nitrous oxide supply.
Sources:
Chevrolet Camaro // Yas Marina // Drag Car Go Boom | Crank and Piston Car Culture Lifestyle Community
Watch An Unbelievable Drag Car Explosion From Abu Dhabi
