Throttle of the Ford hangs, sending it down-track into the back of the Pontiac before head back up-track.
The video above comes to us from the ViralHog YouTube channel and it features a drag race between a Ford Capri and a Pontiac GTO at South Coast Raceway in Victoria, Australia. These two were squaring off at the ‘Wild Bunch Wars’ racing event, but when the Ford ran into mechanical problems in the burnout box, things got far-wilder than anyone in attendance had expected.
The Competitors
The racing action in the video above takes place between the green Ford Capri driven by Jason Duncan and the Pontiac GTOdriven by Dean Cleary. There are no details on either car, but the GTO appears to be an NHRA-spec pro stock body while the Ford is clearly a heavily-modified version of the Aussie street car. We don’t know what is under the hood of either car, but we can tell from the roar of their engines that they both pack monster V8 mills.
Unfortunately, the V8 in the Ford didn’t cooperate, turning what could have been a thrilling drag race between a modern GM product and a classic Ford product into a terrifying example of how badly a straight-line battle can go.
Burnout Goes Wrong
The video begins with Cleary’s Pontiac doing a nice, pro-style burnout, disappearing down-track as the camera follows Duncan’s burnout in the Capri. Right as one of Cleary’s team members jumps over the wall to back him up, things go wrong in the far lane.
Rather than the burnout ending and the car coasting down the track, the throttle of the Ford hangs up, kicking the back end towards the outside wall and hurdling the car across the track. Fortunately, the man on the track is able to get out of the way, but the Pontiac race car isn’t so lucky.
Duncan’s Ford slams into the back of Cleary’s GTO, pointing the Capri back towards the starting line with the rear wheels still spinning hard. Even without any traction, the green car begins to build speed as it moves towards the starting line, plowing through the fence at the head of the track and crashing into a group of trees on the other side. At some point as it was hitting trees, the engine of the Ford expired, ending the situation.
It is unclear whether Duncan was ok, but his Capri was completely destroyed while the Pontiac will require some serious rear end repairs.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
