At this past weekend’s Mountain Motor Nationals held at the Maryland international Raceway, X275 racer Dan Whetstine went for one wild ride — almost. The ride itself started out as a run in the right lane against fellow X275 hitter Rich Bruder in the left, and nearly ended with Dan’s machine taking out the left lane wall. Thanks to Steven Auglis and TheRacingVids, we get up-close-and-personal with the near disaster.

“We had a huge wheelie in the round prior and spent a lot of time checking the car over from that. We missed tightening a water fitting, and got water under the left tire. Luckily I had the wheelie skis from UPR Products that saved it from worse damage on the wheelstand. It just flattened the ski tube. This was only the second time I’ve ever crossed the centerline,” he says.

Dan spent all winter revamping the car with the help of friend, crew chief, and master fabricator Tim Essick of Essick Motorsports, and it would have been a real shame to see something happen to the brand-new front end and paint.

The car relies on a 417 cubic-inch small block Ford powerplant boosted up by a ProCharger F-1R supercharger. It’s backed by an ATI Performance Products Powerglide transmission and converter, and Dan is the quickest F-1R car in the quarter-mile in the entire country with this combination  – an insane 7.36 at 192 MPH is his best pass so far, and this was the first time out this season as they just completed the car about a week ago.

A heck of a driving job and a lot of luck combined this night to keep Dan safe in the driver’s seat. We’re glad to see Dan escape unscathed — both car and driver were fine and rolled back to the trailer no worse for wear.