Some days the racing gods shine on you, and other days they, well….you know…on you. And on Saturday evening, they weren’t kind to Texas-based Pro Modified racer Jim Brinkerhoff.
Brinkerhoff, in his gorgeous Reher Morrison-powered 1968 Camaro, was competing in the Outlaw Doorslammers eliminator at the Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park’s Throwdown in T-Town and had advanced through round one into the quarter-finals, where he was opposed by perennial Midwest hitter Eddie Rogers in his supercharged Chevelle in a matchup of the Nos. 4 an 5 qualifiers. Brinkerhoff, knowing he’d need a little in the bank at the tree, fouled out on the starting line but then added major insult to injury when he kept the throttle matted, which culminated in the Camaro striking the tires just beyond the christmas tree and making a sharp and immediate right turn into the guardrail.
Fortunately, given the relatively low speed and the angle of impact, the damage incurred by Brinkerhoff’s Camaro was limited largely to the front end, but nonetheless, it was a painful turn of events that, in hindsight, could have been avoided. But, as always, hindsight is 20-20.
Brinkerhoff is already in search of a replacement Cynergy Composites ’68 Camaro front end in order to make repairs and get back to competition.
Rogers, for his part, motored through the remaining two rounds, taking out Joad Donnelly in the semifinals and Chad Sheffield in the finale to win the Throwdown.
Video credit: Urban Hillbilly Videos