What you see above is the hot looking 2008 Car FX Mustang put together by the folks at Car FX. You can read all about it at 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords. The short version is that this beast has all sorts of performance goodies, full track suspension, interior upgrades and the like. Names like Roush, Paxton, Fidanza, Ford Racing, Tokico, Corbeau and more. A 4 point Autopower roll cage is also listed. It puts out 600 horsepower. In other words, this is one wicked beast.
A word about roll cages: a 4 point cage is actually a simple roll bar, nothing more. A quick glance at just about any road race or rally rule book will show that a cage must be mounted upon steel plates that are then mounted to the floor. it has been a long time since I’ve built a race car, but the standard size used to be 1/4″ thick plate that measured roughly 6×6″ and welded or bolted through the floor to prevent it from puncturing the floor in the event of a roll over.
Have a peek at the sequence after the break captured by ThienNam Ninh.
Apparently this incident happened at the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma and incidents at this section of track are not uncommon.
Click on this next photo and look really closely at the underside of the car. That’s right, those are the roll bar main tubes, complete with puny little plates that have punched right through the floor.
Believe it or not, both occupants walked away from this. They are very, very lucky.
So what is the moral of this story? If you are building a spare no expense track day monster, use your head and install a proper roll cage that will protect you when you run out of talent!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
What a freakin moron and a perfect example of something we see all too often. That being there are a lot of guys who build cars and think they know it all. They have the pocket book, the latest magazines and all the street-wise buddies. But what they don’t have is the experience to know what the hell they are doing that comes with years of experience that are found with good racing organizations. I would like to hear more about what group this was that allowed this to happen.
That said, something needs to be said about whatever organization was lacking good tech inspections that would have allowed them to even get on the track. A GOOD tech Nazi could care less who you are, what your accomplishments are or how big your wallet is. Their primary job in life is to find anything and everything wrong with your car (regarding safety and rules) as they possibly can. It’s for everyone’s benefit. If this car had been inspected by anyone in NASA I would PERSONALLY be doing everything in my power to have the tech inspector banned for life.
This wreck happened during a HST (High Speed Touring) event at Hallett, tech inspections are very basic. This wasn’t a race against anything but time. Even my stock Subaru Legacy GT would be allowed on the track provided that I have a racing pad, plenty of pad life, and my brake fluid isn’t cooked. But I agree, when building a car that powerful, spend the extra money on safety.
Check out Hallettracing.com This was during one of their High Speed Touring events where anyone can run any car that has passed the tech inspection. CarFX is the TRACK’s shop…. That is the TRACK’s car… It was BUILT for that TRACK. It was really unfortunate. The guy was running with some kids in subies and evo’s and had an accident. Like most accidents, it wasn’t intentional. He carried too much power up the hill and when he hit the brakes there was still pressure built up from the supercharger. When he went off the course you can see the front splitter went under the wheels and he skied over the tire wall and nose dived into a flip. I’m sure the roll-bar would’ve done its job in a ROLL but he flipped and landed square on the top of the car. That shop is bankin’ so they’ll come back with something else soon enough and you can bet they’ll put a full cage in it.
Wow, of all people the track shop should have a clue.
Without knowing the on track activity, we can hardly criticize the driving. Mistakes happen to everyone, regardless of how talented. Somewhere along the way, everyone runs out of talent at some point or another.
That being said, there is never an excuse for a car with that much performance potential to be on ANY track without a proper cage. That is just plain old stupidity.
They are very lucky they will have the opportunity to install a cage in their next car!
PS – pressure from supercharger?
Huh?
“CarFX is the TRACK’s shop”
You have to be kidding! It’s a sad day for the entire racing community when somebody that everyone is supposed to be able to respect for their racing wisdom and knowledge makes a dumb ass mistake like that. That’s not just a simple mistake… That’s wrong in so many ways and they should be banned from racing on any track for a year to set an example to all tech inspectors and organizations everywhere.
When someone’s child tells their parents they want to go race somewhere everyone wants to know that not only will their car be teched properly so that it’s safe but just as importantly that every other car out there will be as well and with some high level of quality to it. Furthermore, it is not important as to weather he was running with Subarus or formula cars… When I am on a track regardless of what is next to my door I want to know that car is safe. (i.e., passed a qualified tech inspection.)
Hang him by the balls and close down Hallett for one year. NO EXCUSES FOR SAFTEY.
If you look at the pics of the car before, it appears to me someone incorrectly installed the main hoop to be creative. Looks like it goes backwards to the rear quarters and the bars that were supposed to do that go to the floor. So the main hoop became useless and could easily fold up. Am I seeing this wrong?
I have an Autopower 6pt with removeable door bars and road race style cross brace in my HPDE 2006 Mustang. I also went above and beyond the “normal” install using advice from a friend that used to build Roush Cup cars. My main hoop is tied into the subframe from the underfloor plates and the door bars to the rockers. I won’t rely on 1/4″ plate and (4) 3/8″ bolts to protect me.
There is NO EXCUSE to by pass safety for appearance! I have a family that depends on me. Required or not, if it makes me safer…IT’S IN MY CAR!