NHRA Driver Larry Dixon Walks Away From Crash After Car Disintegrates and Slams into Wall at 280 mph
NYDailyNews
15 March, 2015
NHRA top fuel dragster driver Larry Dixon crashes after his car broke in half during qualifying for the Gatornationals at Auto Plus Raceway at Gainesville.
National Hot Rod Association driver Larry Dixon is lucky to be alive.
The drag racer survived a horrying crash, after his car disintegrated and catapulted into the air then smashed into a barrier at 280 mph during Saturday's qualifying run at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.
Dixon astonishingly walked away from the wreck with no injuries and even waved to the crowd. He described the crash as "a roller-coaster ride that flies off the track."
"You just have to wait to land and hope everything does its job for you,"
REUTERS
-Larry Dixon's Car Hits the Wall at 280 mph.
Dixon's car was about three-quarters of the way through the run when it split in half. The rear portion of the car, which is where the ****pit is located, flew about 20 feet into the air and landed upright on the track while the nose of the car flew 30 feet and landed behind Dixon.
"I was just waiting for it to land," Dixon said. "I was just wanting it to land on the track and not in the dirt. That's the biggest deal. Going that fast, you can tumble. That isn't good for your insides. Everything did its job. My car's a mess, but I'm still here."
REUTERS
Dixon's car flies an estimated 20 feet into the air.
Dixon is unsure what caused the accident.
This isn't the first time Dixon found himself in a scary crash. In 2000 Dixon suffered a broken leg and eye injury after his car went nose-first into the air.
"The last time I went through one of these, my eye literally popped out of its socked," Dixon said. "I had a broken leg and a helicopter ride and all of that. The fact that I'm here and talking to you and have no broken bones and I still have both eyes--all the improvements in the car in the 15 years since I last did this have made a difference."
Larry Dixon Walks Away from a Spectacular Crash in Gainesville USA