DJ Cox Top Alcohol Funny Car first round crash (1 Viewer)

[Luke Nieuwhof]

There were plenty of highlights for the Gatornationals but this moment really sucked to see. This was a brand new car for the team, and they made the final of the Baby Gators the previous week. I thought it was a stunning looking car and so did the NHRA, they awarded it Best Appearing at the Gatornats.

As much as it was a terrible crash, I was glad to see there wasn't any fire, because it was a really heavy hit on the tank.

http://www.americandragracer.com/heartbreak-for-award-winning-funny-car/

 

[Just Paul]

Great pictures of a very unfortunate accident. Hopefully the chassis is front half-able and will be back before too long.

 

[stitcherbob]

I wonder if the body shifted and hung the throttle...
If that's the case, the NHRA should mandate wider gaps around the blowers for Funny Cars, Nitro and Alky

 

[SoCal Racer]

... As much as it was a terrible crash, I was glad to see there wasn't any fire, because it was a really heavy hit on the tank.

http://www.americandragracer.com/heartbreak-for-award-winning-funny-car/

View attachment 5143

No worries, the airborne fire bottle out front has it covered

Seriously though, hate to see anyone pile up their racer. Glad he's OK, and hope to see them out again soon!

 

[HEMI6point1]

I was there when it happened. I was thinking, "no don't wreck the new car!" DJ is a cool guy and I hated to see that happen.

 

[Cliff]

From the photo, it looks like the chassis could be back halved & be OK. But, he did smack the wall hard enough to wad up the front end, & that could cause cracks or what have you in the chassis. I know the chassis shop will check that and do hope chassis is fixable.

 

[DixonFan]

I posted a video of the accident the day it happened. Check it out. https://nitromater.com/threads/round-1-top-alcohol-funny-car-crash-gainesville-2019.42829/

 

[FABMAN]

Does anyone know why accident happened, seems like theres been a lot of axle breakage lately.

 

[FABMAN]

Looks like Throttle might have stuck, I would think he would have aborted run after getting out of shape like he did.

 

[TD5023]

From what I saw watching the stream, it looked like he moved toward the wall, got out of it, and then got back in it while still out of the groove to try and win (opponent had to pedal, too, so he didn't jump out to a big, obvious lead). When he hit the throttle, it upset the car and turned it more toward the wall. He corrected and that swung the rear end around and he came straight across. It didn't look like anything broke and you could see the blades opening and closing, so my guess is it was probably just an unfortunate case of over-driving.

 

[Jack]

So sorry to see this happen again to him and his team. His over the wall accident at the Lebanon Valley divisional last year happened right in front of us and was also very violent. Glad he is OK and hope they can get back out there soon. Tough to wreck 2 in less than a year.

 

[Randy]

I'm glad DJ is OK. That's the kind of hit the Hans devices were designed for.

 

[andujar]

So sorry to see this happen again to him and his team. His over the wall accident at the Lebanon Valley divisional last year happened right in front of us and was also very violent. Glad he is OK and hope they can get back out there soon. Tough to wreck 2 in less than a year.

Here is video of his crash at Lebanon Valley last Summer

 

[Nunz]

When they were announcing that he had won best appearancing car, I’m pretty sure they said the car he wrecked at Lebanon Valley was an ex Bartone car, and this was his first brand new car. Such a shame, but of course the main thing is that he walked away.

 

[Cliff]

Am always amazed that every once in awhile, a car will go over the barrier. In this case, there was soft grass that helped cushion the crash. Kenny Bernstein did much the same as this video shows at Pomona, in a T/F final aganist Joe Amato. Went over the wall and engine seperated from the chassis. Bernstein took a hard hit before the remains came to rest. If any of you remember this video, you can see fuel coming from the chassis & spouting out behind the roll cage. Arghhhh

 

[Cliff]

This is the crash I was talking about.

 

[Luke Nieuwhof]

Does Lebanon Valley have the jersey barrier style? It looks like it from the video but I can't quite tell. Those things tend to act like ramps.

 

[Jack]

Have not raced there in 25 years but I do spectate 5 or 6 times every season. 95% sure they are flt faced walls not the jersey barrier style.