Tony Pedregon was just trying to ride out another fiery run in his Q Horsepower Funny Car when calamity struck.
Making his final qualifying run from the right lane, Pedregon's flopper
lost a head gasket which resulted in a fire which started to consume
the car. Just as Pedregon thought it might be safe to bring the car to
a stop and exit unscathed disaster struck in the way of human error.
The safety crews positioned along the wall could see the fire and in
their haste made a critical error. One Graham Light, Vice President of
Racing Operations, assures will not occur again.
“Was the gate open?” Light asked when questioned about the situation.
“Yes, the gate was open,” he freely admitted. “It wasn't open prior to
the run.