Eily Stafford had just pulled off one of the biggest upsets of her first season driving a Nostalgia Funny Car. She beat newly crowned NHRA Heritage Series champion Nathan Sitko at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, but seconds after crossing the finish line, winning a drag race was the least of her concerns.
Something exploded in Don Nelson’s California Hustler Funny Car as Stafford lifted off the throttle. Metal began flying through the cockpit, and she could feel something was terribly wrong with her right leg while trying to get the car stopped.
“It happened immediately. As soon as I went through the finish line, I took my foot off the accelerator and that’s when the explosion happened,” Stafford said. “I didn’t know exactly what was happening yet. I haven’t experienced a major explosion in the lights yet.”
Stafford qualified eighth with a 4.805-second run at 235.64 mph, putting her opposite No. 1 qualifier Sitko, who had run 4.680 at 239.74. She left first with a .131 reaction time to his .173 and completed the upset with a 4.830 at 237.59 mph against his 4.919 at 234.82, a starting-line advantage that helped deliver what Stafford considered a holeshot victory.
Her first concern after the explosion was fire. Stafford looked toward the engine, saw sparks but no flames, and concentrated on getting the car stopped.
“I looked at the motor, I made sure I wasn’t on fire, first and foremost, and I didn’t see any fire,” Stafford said. “I did see some sparks. And then after that, I started to slow down the car as quick as I could.”
Stafford could see what appeared to be splines floating in front of her face. She didn’t know where they had come from, and the pain in her leg was getting worse.
“And then I noticed that there was shrapnel and pieces floating around and then I started to feel some pain in my right leg, but there was so much debris,” Stafford said. “There was actually a point where I could see splines. I don’t know exactly what it was from yet, but they were floating in front of my face.”
She managed to stop the car without hitting anything. Looking down afterward, Stafford realized the damage wasn’t confined to the race car.
“When I finally got the car stopped and looked down and I saw my leg so mingled, I realized that I had some kind of drive line explosion,” Stafford said. “I didn’t know what. We’re still trying to get answers. We still don’t know exactly what happened, but I know my guys will work hard to get it figured out.”
Drag racing has seen what happens when driveline components fail near the driver. Dale Creasy Jr. suffered devastating leg injuries at Edmonton in 2007, but Stafford was thinking about another accident, one that changed the direction of Top Fuel racing.
Don Garlits lost part of his right foot in a 1970 transmission explosion at Lions Drag Strip, an accident that helped bring about the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster. Stafford knew the story, and what she saw inside her own Funny Car brought it uncomfortably close to home.
“The one that was really going through my mind was Garlits’ big explosion,” Stafford said. “I think it was at Lions, because my foot was so mangled in the car. All I could think about was my foot was dangling inside my Funny Car boot.”
Stafford was still strapped into the car, unable to stand, and the Safety Safari hadn’t immediately recognized that she was injured. Las Vegas has a lengthy uphill shutdown area, where cars sometimes stop before reaching the exit and require assistance getting off the racing surface.
There had been no crash or visible fire to alert anyone to Stafford’s condition. From outside the California Hustler, it wasn’t apparent that the driver was sitting there with serious leg and foot injuries.
Stafford began throwing her driving gloves through the side window, hoping the unusual sight would get somebody’s attention. It was the best signal she could come up with while waiting for help.
“I had a thing on the body and I ended up throwing my gloves out the window to try to show them that I was distressed, that I couldn’t stand up or anything in the car,” Stafford said. “But after they realized that there was an issue, I mean, they were on it, trying to get me out of the car.”
“I didn’t know what to do,” Stafford said. “I’ve never been in a situation like that before.”
Stafford was complimentary of the Safety Safari once its members realized what had happened. Her concern is what might happen to another injured driver whose car appears to have stopped normally.
A driver shouldn’t have to rely on throwing gloves out a window to alert a safety crew that something is wrong. Stafford believes checking on the driver’s condition before moving a disabled car would be a worthwhile precaution.
“Hopefully with this incident, maybe they’ll start doing some welfare checks before they start pushing cars off the track,” Stafford said. “Even if it’s just a thumbs up, or a thumbs down, or something simple.”
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Stafford suffered deep lacerations to her right leg, two broken bones in the top of her foot and another fracture along the side. Doctors initially concentrated on her shin and calf because of the severity of the wounds, and she was awaiting an appointment with a foot specialist to determine whether surgery would be necessary.
Stafford said she has relied on her husband, James Day, for everything from getting through the initial emergency to handling everyday tasks during her recovery. His support has meant as much to her as anything the doctors have done to get her back on her feet.
“James has been so incredible through this whole ordeal. He has been by my side through it all,” Stafford said. “From the ambulance ride to helping me put my hair in a ponytail. I’m so incredibly blessed. He is my rock.”
The couple hasn’t lost their sense of humor, either. Even in the emergency room, Day found a way to make his wife laugh about the appearance of her injured leg.
“That’s what James said when we were in the emergency room, ‘It looks like you got bit by a shark,'” Stafford said. “And my doctor said, ‘No more beauty pageants.'”
The pain was still considerable when Stafford discussed the accident. At one point, she lost her train of thought and apologized, explaining, “I’m in a lot of pain.”
The California Hustler team has yet to determine exactly what failed, and Stafford said onboard video could help investigators understand what happened. She doubts the footage will be made public but hopes it can help NHRA officials evaluate additional safety precautions for nostalgia nitro race cars.
Stafford said she understands that safety discussions are already taking place. She also has no doubt Nelson’s team will find the cause before putting the car back on the track.
“I know they won’t run the car again until they know that it’s 110% right,” Stafford said. “That is one of the things that I love about Don Nelson’s team is, safety is their highest priority. And as a driver, that means a lot.”
Stafford originally thought she might be able to race at Pomona, believing her foot was swollen from being struck during the failure. The discovery of multiple fractures ended that idea, and her doctor told her she would be out of a race car for at least eight weeks.
She had been looking forward to finishing the season. Now she faces a recovery that could include surgery, although the accident hasn’t changed her desire to drive.
Stafford even managed to joke about the scars she’ll carry from Las Vegas. She figures they give her something in common with other Funny Car drivers who have survived the sport’s less forgiving moments.
“I don’t know. The Funny Car scars are kind of cool,” Stafford said. “I’m a real Funny Car driver now.”
The next step for Stafford is getting healthy enough to climb back into the California Hustler. She was already considering a return before doctors explained the extent of her injuries.
“I really thought it was just a swollen foot, from being banged around by the transmission and it was just the laceration, so I was going to be okay by Pomona, and I was ready to jump back in, and finish up what we started in Vegas, and try to qualify for the Pomona race, but unfortunately that’s just going to have to wait till next year.”
