Eyewitness-1971 Jet Car Crash Dallas International Motor Speedway
For full version of story go to my blog at:
http://tvnewsphotogoneeyeclosed.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-jet-car-crash.html
My memories of the day: There had been showers that morning and the sky was still a dull gray when I arrived at the Dallas International Motor Speedway. I was working part time for KTVT Channel 11 in Ft. Worth and had been assigned to shoot Art Arfons' 280-mph jet-powered dragster as he tried to better the world quarter mile land speed record. His new two seat "Super Cyclops" was scheduled to make 3 runs, the first, with a WFAA-TV news man.
As the car approached the line I pressed the shutter release. The ground was shaking and the sound was painful but even after hearing the incredible roar from the roll up I wasn't prepared when the Super Cyclops blasted into that quarter mile run. It parted my hair! The first thought in my mind was, there's no way I'd get in that car... My God, it could go straight up as easily as forward. I stayed with the shot, following the jet down the asphalt for the 6.01 seconds it took to reach the finish line and then beyond. The jet shut down and immediately there was the blue smoke of skidding rubber and wreckage flying. Then, farther down the strip, a column of smoke. I jumped through a break in the guardrail, and ran toward the crash.
As I got nearer I rolled film on a man who was crying and I asked if he was OK? He couldn't speak but gestured to a pile of debris down the track. As I ran closer I began to see it was a human torso scattered among several other body parts. After reaching a little over 183 MPH the dragster had blown a tire, spun 180 degrees and slammed through the guardrail on Thomas' side, striking a track worker with such force that it propelled him into another worker killing him as well. The carnage was overwhelming but I shot the scene as best as I could playing down the grim details I knew would never air anyway. I had shot all 100 feet of film but had another tin in my pocket as I and a young still photographer started to run the several hundred feet farther down the track to the burning jet car wreckage.
As we ran a car pulled in front of us, blocking our way, and several large security guys jumped out and backed us into a retaining wall. One of the men demanded we give him our cameras and to my surprise the young still photographer complied. The man immediately opened the back, pulled out the film and exposed it to the light. Although I was out of film I had pretended to shoot the man as soon as he got out of the car and was still doing so when he turned to me. The Bell and Howell's handy leather strap made it a pretty good club as I backed against the wall and raised the camera above my head. "I'm dropping the first guy that touches me", I warned. I wasn't the biggest guy in that group but I sure wasn't the littlest either. I was going to be a lot more trouble than that young guy with the still camera. They didn't come any closer and I agreed to stop taking pictures of them as more people arrived on the scene to see what was going on. A truce of sorts was worked out when the security man contacted the control tower about the situation. He talked in front of me on the radio to a supervisor who told them not to touch me or the camera and politely asked me to return to the tower with them. I agreed.
In the office I was met by Mike Landess who was working part time at WFAA and freelancing as PR for the track. There were several other people in the room who seemed to be speedway officials. They didn't demand the film but wanted to talk to my boss at Channel 11 and I gave them the number. I heard the conversation as they threatened to sue the station if we showed anything inappropriate. After several minutes they handed the phone to me and I was told to get shots of the wrecked car and then get back to the station with the film as quick as possible. The security people took me back to the crash site and I got my final shots. The story aired that night and the station never was sued.
Not long after the crash I was filming an interview with Harry Reasoner, then of ABC, at the Dallas Press Club when I ran into Travis Lynn, the news director at WFAA-TV. I'd been making the rounds of all the TV stations that summer trying to move up the news ladder, so Travis knew who I was. He complimented my work on the jet car crash and offered me a job at channel 8. This after telling me just a few weeks earlier that I needed more experience. I worked there for three years often with Mike Landess who I met at the track office and later worked with at KBTV. He's now an anchorman at KMGH in Denver.
So that's how it happened, my first TV news job in a major market. Although I took his picture, I never met, Ch 8's, Gene Thomas but his career ended the day mine really began. Life and death... My, how we blunder along. In the news business you're confronted with that over and over. After awhile you begin to see it's just part of the story.
Jet Car: almost 300 Miles Per Hour!
DtRockstar1 records a heart pounding jet dragster that reaches a speed of 296 miles per hour, or 476 kilometers per hour! The flames coming out the back were absolutely spectacular. At one point, you can see my camera jolt because it was shaking the ground with a popping sound. Enjoy!
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NHRA Drag Racing - Drag Racing Jet car outtakes
CanadaMotorSports
Jet car outtakes, June 2003, Race City in Calgary. This is about as close as you'll ever get to a jet car, more than few unique angles. Jett Force, Brad Janishewski's Rollin' Thunder are featured
The Rollin' Thunder Jet Car is a custom moulded Honda Civic complete with ground effects. It features a Westinghouse-built J34 jet engine from an old US Navy F2 McDonnell Douglas fighter jet, capable of burning 30 litres of fuel in six seconds, generating 6,000 horsepower and 12,000 lbs of thrust at speeds of 250 miles per hour!
copyright 2010 AVS Inc.
Jet car crash
This was taken at santapod in 2005. Fireforce jet car crash.
2010 BERC DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP
富士スピードウェイで開催された「2010 BERC DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP」。数多くのドラッグマシンがホームストレートを爆走! その中でも最高に注目を集めていたのがジェットカー(tank)「SECRET WEPON」だ。イカツいフォルムのマシンが秘めるパワーは、ビッグエンドが誇るまさに"秘密兵器"で、とんでもない破壊力を披露した!
426 Hemi in a '55 Chevy! Roadkill Episode 8
On this episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan hit the road on a quest to build a car they've both dreamed of for years: a '55 Chevy Bel Air sedan set up like a '60s Gasser and powered by a Mopar 426 Hemi. The guys drag out a '73 GMC Suburban that they'd never driven more than around the block (did you expect anything else?), then use it to pick up a bare '55 Chevy body in California before heading north for the 1,000-mile trip to Lincoln City, Oregon. That's the home of Jim Meyer Racing, the chassis builder that helps the guys turn the '55 into a wicked looking hot rod in a single day. There's no fail in this episode of Roadkill! Well, at least nothing terminal.
Roadkill appears every fourth Friday on the new Motor Trend channel. http://www.youtube.com/motortrend
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4 Jet Car Drag Race
Under the definition of "awesome" should be a picture of 4-jet cars racing! NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals at ZMax Dragway in Charlotte, NC ended the night by lighting up ZMax's 4 drag lanes with the fire and the thunder of 4 jet turbine drag cars creating an estimated 24,000 HP on one track! The Embry Riddle dragster takes off and runs a 5-second quarter.
INSANE DRAG RACING CRASHES AND WHEELSTANDS
Taken from Carnage Fest 2 DVD, Check out http://www.urbanhillbilly.com for the best in Heads Up Drag Racing video and DVDs. Urban Hillbilly Action Videos Drag racing, wheelstand, crash, and saves. Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5 Drag radial.
CMW Motorsports Blown 426 Hemi
CMW Motorsports blown 426 hemi powered by these great companies AEM Fuel Management,BDS 8-71 Supercharger,CMW Oil Company, Eibach Valve Springs,K1,NGK Spark Plugs,Rocketbrand Fuels,Total Seal Piston Rings
Faster than a bullet, 1000 MPH Record
Fastest car in the world. The Bloodhound SSC.
Twelve years ago, that a jet pilot Andy Green with the Thrust SSC has screwed the world speed record for land vehicles at 1223.657 km / h (763 035 mp / h). With the Bloodhound SSC to 2011 1.609 km / h. possible.
Mitsubishi L200 Double Cab na rampie
Mitsubishi L200 - przejazd po rampie podczas pikniku 4x4 w Kaliszu. Pokaz możliwości napędów Super Select.
5 czerwiec 2010.
DC SHOES: KEN BLOCK'S GYMKHANA FIVE: ULTIMATE URBAN PLAYGROUND; SAN FRANCISCO
DC and Ken Block present Gymkhana FIVE: Ultimate Urban Playground; San Francisco.
Shot on the actual streets of San Francisco, California, GYM5 features a focus on fast, raw and precise driving action. Filmed over four days, director Ben Conrad and his team are back to work on their second Gymkhana production and delivered the entire city of San Francisco as Ken Block's personal gymkhana playground. DC Shoes also provided fellow DC athlete and longtime Ken Block friend, Travis Pastrana, to make a cameo appearance on his dirtbike, and S.F. resident Jake Phelps of Thrasher Magazine fame also makes a cameo as Block hoons S.F. in his most incredible Gymkhana yet.
For more information check us out at http://www.dcshoes.com/auto
