When you think of independent nitro teams, a name that should instantly come to mind is that of Dale Creasy Jr.. The Illinois-based Creasy family has been at it for a long, long time, and despite the sky-high costs of even assembling — much less actually running — a modern-day Funny Car, these guys continue to define what it means to have racing in your blood and a never-say-die attitude. Although Creasy Jr. doesn’t frequent the NHRA tour as often as he once did, the Tek-Pak team still barnstorms the midwest putting on match races and making exhibition runs.
The stark reality of being an independent, family-owned team in the nitro ranks these days, however, is that spare parts are few and far between and any unexpected attrition can put a major dent in the racing budget. That, unfortunately, was the case recently for Creasy Jr. in a very expensive way, as he crashed his Chevy Monte Carlo-bodied flopper in a testing accident at the Route 66 Raceway near Chicago last month.
Creasy Jr. was among at least two other Chicago-area nitro burners on hand at the Joliet, Illinois facility making laps when the Te-Pak machine boiled the hides near the sixty-foot mark and shot across the race track, striking the wall nearly head-on. While manhandling the car, Creasy Jr. was able to get the parachutes out before the big hit, but they were of no use by that point.
You can see after the hit what appears to be one of the fire bottles broken loose from the chassis skating across the racing surface under pressure. Fortunately, despite the fuel tank-first hit, there was no sign of a fire and Creasy Jr. was able to bring the car to a safe stop. The chassis itself took a good lick, twisting the framerails forward of the front spindles, and the body, albeit quite worse for wear, is likely repairable in the hands of an experienced carbon fiber crafter.
Video credit: VictoryRedColorado