A little less than a year ago, Brazilian drag racer Sidnei Frigo was taking one of the wildest rides in the history of the NHRA Pro Modified class [1] and certainly one of the all-time violent crashes in fast doorslammer racing when he lost control of his Corvette at the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston; and on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, there’s little doubt he was having flashbacks to that frightening moment last April.
[2]
Frigo, who returned to racing with a new Corvette last August after recovering from a broken arm in the accident, was running alongside top qualifier Steve Jackson in the third and final session of qualifying for the NHRA Gatornationals when fluid got under the tires, sending him on the most immediate of right turns across the centerline, far too close for comfort to the trailing edge of Jackson’s Camaro.
With the quarter-mile mark coming in a hurry and Jackson already on the parachutes, Frigo had to use every ounce of his years of driving experience to collect his machine to avoid running up the back of the Bahrain 1 Camaro. Despite the code-brown, all hands and feet on-deck effort that might send a lesser driver on his or her roof, Frigo managed to keep it off the wall and on all fours.
[3]
According to the team, the engine lost a considerable amount of oil, but was otherwise unharmed; believe to have possibly been a loose valve cover. After cleaning the car up and refilling the oil tank, everything checked out A-ok. A new set of tires and a trip to the laundromat with his driving suit were probably on order, as well, though.