Watch One of the Biggest Epic Fails in Drag Racing

Driving a high powered drag race vehicle can be difficult and many do not even think about it and here in this video, we can see why they don’t. Within mere seconds, right can transform into wrong, as in, epic fail wrong. The smallest of distraction or lack of focus can literally throw you over a guardrail, most likely with the throttle hanging open as shown in the video.

The video is taken in 1980 as per the label on it and taken from the Orange County International Raceway in California, which has been dead for quite a time now. The driver’s identity is unknown but we can assume he was a novice to Top Fuel. Personally, I am a fan of this dragster. We near the first generation of back engine fuel dragsters and the low and frail look will be seeing a replacement as full-bodied looking dragsters come in. This dragster though is a beauty with a mellow look and a small back wing.

The driver completes the burnout, engages the reverse gear and then, for reasons unknown, slams the throttle to full while in reverse. This causes havoc and the dragster, which is loaded, like any other dragsters, with a ton of camber literally flings. We see a weird mechanical sort of fling and then it goes straight over the guardrail – with the throttle hanging open in full. Eek.