This weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta — which is still ongoing on this Monday morning — has been plagued by a slew of on-track incidents that rank it right up there with the more interesting drag races in recent memory. Along with Antron Brown’s horrifying Top Fuel crash in Friday night’s qualifying session and Dan Stevenson’s wild ride in the opening round of Pro Modified eliminations, Funny Car racers Tim Wilkerson and Jack Beckman provided some unplanned fireworks for the Georgia crowd on Saturday, as each suffered tremendous explosions that destroyed the carbon fiber bodies on their machines.
httpv://youtu.be/GhtX-j-O7ow
During Saturday’s third round of qualifying, Wilkerson’s machine backfired in grand fashion near the half track mark, blowing a massive hole right in the side of the body and sending carbon fiber debris sailing in all directions. A chunk of said debris reportedly sailed into the grandstands and struck a spectator, causing only minor injuries.
In the final session just a couple of hours later — and with Wilkerson and his repaired Levi, Ray, and Shoup flopper in the other lane — Jack Beckman rode out another violent explosion that shredded the body on his Valvoline-backed Dodge Charger, sending everything from the dash back sailing high into the air as Wilkerson, who slowed early, looked on in a moment of deja vu.
Beckman, ever the entertainer, immediately climbed from the battered and smoldering car and before the Safety Safari even arrived on the scene, was taking a bow for the crowd and the cameras, making comedic light of a difficult situation for his crew and one very expensive run for team owner Don Schumacher.
httpv://youtu.be/nqcUbdCbWjg
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