Video: From The WTF Files – Crazy Comp Crash From The Keystones

We’ve shared plenty of video clips with you guys over the years. Many of them feature stellar performances, and most of the remaining clips feature a crash or other “that’s-not-what-I-had-in-mind” outcomes that, as long as the drivers are okay, are usually entertaining to watch. This one definitely falls well into the latter, as we have been scratching our heads for nearly 24 full hours now trying to figure out exactly what happened here…

crash1Our clip opens to a pair of Competition Eliminator cars on the track at Maple Grove Raceway at the 2015 NHRA Keystone Nationals. In the left lane, an Oldsmobile Cutlass launches downtrack, while the blown ’63 Corvette in the right line seems to stall out on the starting line. As the Cutlass suddenly swaps lanes as he passes the eighth-mile mark, the Corvette roars to life and begins a seemingly leisurely trip toward the finish line. However, as the ‘Vette begins to approach the top end, we can see that the Cutlass is still in his lane and shows no intention of returning to the left lane.

crash2Now nine times out of ten, this wouldn’t be a problem, as the track is more than wide enough for the ‘Vette to ease over to the right and coast past the Olds, but for whatever reason, the most inexplicable outcome you can imagine takes place instead. The ‘Vette, now closing at a fairly good clip, locks up the brakes to avoid slamming into the rear of the Cutlass, sending the blown hotrod hard left toward the retaining wall in his opponent’s original lane. The driver of the ‘Vette then tries to correct and in doing so, actually overcorrects and sends his car onto its roof, where it skids for a moment, then completes the single barrel roll, ending up back on all four wheels, but with significant damage to the car.

We truly cannot understand how this happened, nor can we really say who is to blame, as the Cutlass should have returned to his lane at the earliest opportunity to do so safely, though it still seems the driver of the ‘Vette had more than enough time to plan for his overtaking of the Oldsmobile and just absolutely failed to do so. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

crash3

About the author

Jeremy Patterson

A former bracket racer, Jeremy, known by many as "Taco," stepped out of the seat in 2005 to focus on his growing family. A few years ago, he returned to the sport, this time as a photographer and a journalist.
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