Stans Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Who says racing is an easy sport? Michael McDowell crashed during qualifying laps for the Texas race. Amazing video, even more amazing is that he walked away from the crash on Friday and is in the back up car on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectre_USA Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Holy schmoley! What a wreck. I saw a little smoke, tires maybe, before that wicked kick, then into the wall. Not a place I'd like to be sitting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donster Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I lived through a similar type accident in 1974. Flipped end for end seven times in a brand new (well a few months old anyway) '74 Dodge Dart Sport. Seat belts saved both of us in the front seats. The roof caved in on me (passenger side front seat), I ended up in the hospital with a severe concussion, torn through lower lip, and many bruises, cuts and scrapes. The driver got a cut pinkie finger. The guy in the back seat wasn't wearing his seat belt and ended up with a badly bruised hip. And the weird thing about that night was that my mom woke my day at about the same time and told him that one of the kids was in a car accident. Dad told her she must of been dreaming and to go back to sleep. She hadn't been sleeping. She was down in the basement helping our cat deliver her kittens. 25 minutes later the phone rang. Dad said she already had her coat on before the call came in from the hospital ER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizkid Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 I lived through a similar type accident in 1974. Flipped end for end seven times in a brand new (well a few months old anyway) '74 Dodge Dart Sport. Seat belts saved both of us in the front seats. The roof caved in on me (passenger side front seat), I ended up in the hospital with a severe concussion, torn through lower lip, and many bruises, cuts and scrapes. The driver got a cut pinkie finger. The guy in the back seat wasn't wearing his seat belt and ended up with a badly bruised hip. And the weird thing about that night was that my mom woke my day at about the same time and told him that one of the kids was in a car accident. Dad told her she must of been dreaming and to go back to sleep. She hadn't been sleeping. She was down in the basement helping our cat deliver her kittens. 25 minutes later the phone rang. Dad said she already had her coat on before the call came in from the hospital ER. The Lord was sure saving you for us, Donnie! Seat belts in a '74 Dart? Unheard of, and you were wearing them as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donster Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 The Lord was sure saving you for us, Donnie! Seat belts in a '74 Dart? Unheard of, and you were wearing them as well! Yep. T'was the first year... Shoulder and lap belts were combined in a retractable, inertia-sensitive, single-buckle design Chrysler called "Unibelt", replacing the difficult-to-use separate lap and shoulder belts that had been installed through 1973. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stans Posted April 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 The combined retractable seat/shoulder belt in 1974 must have been federally mandated. I know the Ford Torino and Mustang had separate belts through the 1973 model year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Yeah, I saw that wreck on TV during qualifying. Gail and I saw it and thought "oh no! That kid is in serious trouble." Even Darrell Waltrip got that emotional quaver in his voice as they replayed the wreck in slow mo. A few years back, before the safer barrier walls and the HANS device, that would've been at least a career-ending crash if not outright fatal. @Donnie: whoa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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