It was a pretty scary moment in St. Louis but NHRA funny car driver Robert Hight ended the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals with a bang as he won his final while his car simultaneously exploded in flames.
Hight got out under his own power and went to the hospital for precautionary reasons but this could have been much worse.
.@roberthight7000 got the win at the @AAAMissouri #MidwestNats but suffered a huge explosion that sent his car into the wall. Hight exited the car and was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. pic.twitter.com/paYBykBRV4
— #NHRA (@NHRA) September 23, 2018
What also could have been worse was where Hight’s outer shell ended up. As the engine blew up and Hight hit the wall, the outer shell launched into the air and went completely over the grandstands.
Those cars are designed to be as light as possible but that’s a huge piece flying about 100 feet in the air and would be sure to seriously injure or kill someone if that landed on them. According to this tweet, it seems like the body landed in a camping area. And while their condition is unknown, since it doesn’t appear to be a huge emergency scene, no one seemed seriously hurt.
Part of his car in buddies camping spot pic.twitter.com/XHXvv1FDh2
— Josh Gehner (@gehnerjd) September 23, 2018
Hight was able to extend his point lead over J.R. Todd by 30 with just four races remaining.
[ESPN]
This is one of the most stupid things you can do,strapping into a Funny Car.