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CRASH ENCOUNTERS of the Worst Kind! - www.MainEventTVShows.com
NITRO WARRIORS TV Series episode Intro: CRASH ENCOUNTERS of the Worst Kind! Dragsters crash at 300mph, Funny Cars collide, bodies blow off, mishaps, violent fires, crashes and rollovers. A thrill ride into the world of action motorsports when cars go bad and you wonder how drivers managed to walk away. Produced and Directed by Dean Papadeas, www.MainEventTVShows.com MainEventEntertainment@Earthlink.net

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.

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 Funny Cars Up Close!
Cavalcade of Stars Norwalk, OH 05-15-10

Ron Capps Nostalgia Nitro Funny Wheelstand & Crash 2006
Capps driving Jeff Gaynor's Hard Times at the last GoodGuys Fuel & Gas Finals 2006 at Bakersfield, CA. Filmed by Frank Kunkel, off my DVDs of event. fkunkel1@cogeco.ca

Jet Funny Car Crash
Jet Funny Car Crash

Super Cobra Jet Mustang Jet Funny Car
The jet powered 1971 Mustang funny car gives a smoke show, then launches at full afterburner down the 1/8th London Dragway, London KY. 2008 Bluegrass Nationals 05/10/08.

FRONT ENGINE DRAGSTERS - www.MainEventTVshows.com
NITRO WARRIORS TV Series episode intro: The F.E.D.S. Front-engine Top Fuel Dragsters and Fuel Altereds race at Fallon, NV. Drag Racing's past comes to life as diggers from the run-what-ya-brung era compete at the ADRA Nitro Nationals. Live trackside announcing by "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Thunderlungs Lundberg. Guest star: Shirley Muldowney Produced and Directed by Dean Papadeas, www.MainEventTVShows.com MainEventEntertainment@Earthlink.net

jet funny car
jet funny car runs at eight mile track. They're not the fastest thing on wheels but still really cool.

WACKY WHEELSTANDERS - www.MainEventTVshows.com
NITRO WARRIORS TV Series episode Intro: WACKY WHEELSTANDERS Produced and Directed by Dean Papadeas, www.MainEventTVShows.com MainEventEntertainment@Earthlink.net

Jet Dragster at Englishtown Raceway Park
5 second Jet dragster at 297mph. Englishtown Raceway Park 6/2/07

NITRO FUNNY CARS - www.MainEventTVShows.com
NITRO WARRIORS TV Series episode Intro: CACKLING PIPES Nitro Funny Car match racing legends Chuck Etchells, Freddie Neely, Gary Litton, Frank Kramburger, "Nitro Nick"Boninfante, "Boom Boom" Caminito, Bobby "The Bull" Lagana, and Bob Gilbertson race at the Bristol Funny Car Shootout. Loud nitro sounds without narration; dry hops; full burn outs; live Pits warm-ups. Produced and Directed by Dean Papadeas, www.MainEventTVShows.com MainEventEntertainment@Earthlink.net

Jet Funny Cars 1
First Strike and Space Machine face off at Raceway Park, NJ during the Night Of Thrills event.

Dragster Crash
Terrible Front Engine Dragster crash at Baylands Drag Strip, California.The roll cage tells the story. Many Thanks to KBVP.com

THRILL! Eddie Hill Story - www.MainEventTVShows.com
NITRO WARRIORS TV Series episode Intro: THRILL! The EDDIE HILL story. Top Fuel racer and legend, Eddie The Thrill Hills historic World Championship Season. Fuzzy Carter, Ercie and Janna crew the Nitro Banana to the first ever 4.99ET. Produced and Directed by Dean Papadeas, www.MainEventTVShows.com MainEventEntertainment@Earthlink.net