Crash Sequence: Two-Car Outlaw 10.5 Accident At PSCA Nor-Cal Nats

(Photos courtesy of Stephanie Collins)

Last week we reported on the nasty, two-car incident that marred the final eliminations of the PSCA’s Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Nor-Cal Nationals that took place the weekend of March 22-24 in Sacramento, California, when Outlaw 10.5 class racer Steve Collins and his opponent, Paja Agotonovic, got together at a high rate of speed their semifinal round matchup, doing considerable damage to both race cars and leaving their drivers shaken and banged up, but without serious injury.

In the crash, which was captured on video from multiple vantage points, Agatonovic’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro spun the tires early in the run and got out of the groove, sending it abruptly across the race track directly into the path of the hard-charging Collins. Despite Agatonovics’ valiant effort to quickly reign the car back into his own lane, Collins truck the right rear of the car at speed, sending his beautiful 1966 Chevelle into the wall in a ball of flame and debris, while Agatonovic, already up on two wheels as he fought to regain control, spun around, flipped onto his roof, and struck the retaining wall before sliding to a stop upside down. Both drivers emerged without serious injury, although Collins, who works for Chassisworks during the week, had bruising to his ribs and other pains commonly associated with such a brutal impact.

Local photographer Steven Bunker captured the entire accident in still images from his post near the starting line at the Sacramento Raceway, showing in frozen-in-time detail the severity of the accident and the trajectory of the two cars before and after the impact in a way that cannot be seen so clearly on video. These are some truly amazing, albeit scary, images of an accident that certainly no one hopes to experience or witness. Fortunately, both drivers lived to race another day, which is a real testament to the craftsmanship of the two cars that stood up mightily to a pretty major hit. Check out the crash sequence below.