"Jersey" Joe Newsham as he takes his last ride in his Mustang. Photo: John Fore III

What do you remember about your favorite  trip to the dragstrip as a spectator? Some may have seen a car that they have always wanted to own or maybe a friend doing very well at the races. Some of the most memorable moments come from huge wheel stands and wild crashes, although we don’t wish for any of these to happen to a competitor. We have browsed the internet long and hard for some of the most insane action from the world of Outlaw 10.5 racing to your desktop. Enjoy!

One of my favorites of all time comes from a guy that I was fortunate enough to see race on a weekly basis. Mike Wesigerber of Maryland who was better known as “Wheelie Wild” was not afraid to put it on the bumper on each and every pass. His blown big block Camaro was one of the innovators of 10.5 racing in the Maryland area and the fans always loved to see Mike compete. One of his big moments came at 710 Dragway where he was competing in a wheel stand competition and as the car climbed up, up and away it over revved the engine and scattered engine parts all over the track.

Next up we travel to Huntsville, Alabama to meet up with one of the original crazy guys of Outlaw 10.5.  Tim Lynch has racked up so many memorable moments over the years we could spend weeks touching on them all. From world records to brushes with the wall at over 180mph Tim has done it all. One of the wildest spectacles you will ever see is right here. Tim leaves the line in his Mustang and carries the front end the whole eighth mile of the track. Just imagine nearly 190mph on the rear tires and still running a 4.40 second elapsed time.

Next up we travel back to 1996 at Huntsville Dragway where it was a heads up battle between Tony Johnson and Steve Kirk. The two had been in a heated battle to be at the top of the pack in Outlaw 10.5 and it was Johnson who went for a wild ride on this one. Johnson was closing fast on Kirk and as they crossed the finish line Johnson lost control of his Camaro. He crossed in front of Steve Kirk and clipped his front end then continued into the wall. All in all though we have to give props to the video man as he stood in there for the long haul as Johnson came to rest about 3 feet from him. I think I would have got the hell out of there!

Another visit to 1996 brought us a clip of the guys at Tydo Racecraft. Mark was behind the wheel of Tim Slaven’s Outlaw 10.5 Camaro at Tulsa Raceway. As the car leaves the line it rides the bars hard until they break and then it is headed vertical. Mark rides it out and puts it on the bumper and even makes a nice save as it comes back to earth.

Lastly we have to take a look at one of the hardest hits we have ever seen. “Jersey” Joe Newsham was competing at the Shakedown at E-town as he lined up against Rodney Bitgood. In usual Newsham fashion, the Mustang was hooking and booking – riding the wheelie bars well past the eighth mile. It was then that things went really wrong as Newshams’s car careened out of control across the track and was completely airborne as he hit head on into the wall. He bounced off one wall and into the other and came to a stop in the middle of the track. Joe was banged up a bit with some injuries but has made a full recovery and is back racing his new Camaro.