NHRA Pro Mod racer Chip King was uninjured in an accident during Saturday qualifying for the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil in Indianapolis.
King, driving a turbocharged 1969 Dodge Daytona, ran into the retaining wall after the car smoked the tires, then shook the tires violently and made an abrupt turn to the right. The incident happened just shy of the eighth-mile mark.
“It went out and shifted to second gear and started shaking a little bit,” said King. “I thought I was going to drive through the shake. We had just put an automatic shifter in this weekend for the first time and it shifted into high and it took off. It went from shaking to moving around a lot.”
NHRA Pro Mod racer Chip King was uninjured in an accident during Saturday qualifying for the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil in Indianapolis.
King, driving a turbocharged 1969 Dodge Daytona, ran into the retaining wall after the car smoked the tires, then shook the tires violently and made an abrupt turn to the right. The incident happened just shy of the eighth-mile mark.
“It went out and shifted to second gear and started shaking a little bit,” said King. “I thought I was going to drive through the shake. We had just put an automatic shifter in this weekend for the first time and it shifted into high and it took off. It went from shaking to moving around a lot.”
King and his fellow Get Screened America Pro Modified competitors faced the most challenging racing conditions they’ve experienced over the course of the event. The air temperature was recorded at 93 degrees, with a density altitude over 4000’ and track temperature of 127.
“It’s a little slick out there,” King said. “I got the ‘chutes out hoping that it would save it and pull it back straight when I realized I couldn’t save it. I thought it was going to roll over there for a second. Its slick and we went head on into the wall.”
King managed to keep the car upright, going as far as to put high-horsepower Mopar up on two wheels. He crossed the centerline, taking out the 1000’ cone shortly before colliding head-on with the right retaining wall. The errant race car did a 180-degree turn and slid to a stop.
“It’s a good racecar,” King said. “Mike Bell built it and he’s the crew chief. He did his job. I don’t have a sore muscle. The car can be fixed there’s no doubt. The R3 device and safety solution belts did their job. Everything did its job and I’m good to go,” said King.
King exited the car on his own and was examined by on-site medical personnel.
“We’ve got a spare car at home but it’s set up for blown so that would be quite a transition,” King said. “We’ll see what the crew wants to do. I’m pretty neutral. I appreciate my sponsors sticking with me Strutmasters.com. It’s a racecar. It’s unfortunately not the first one I’ve crashed. I hope it’s the last.”
