Nitrous Back Fire Video
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From: FL, US
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: palmdale, ca, usa
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (autoraceparts.com)
horrifying ! thats why i only go n/a. 
i hope the driver made it out that fire alive. very sad thing but thats the downside in racing sports.theres always a risk invovle. 
i hope the driver made it out that fire alive. very sad thing but thats the downside in racing sports.theres always a risk invovle.
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From: Stratford, Ont, Canada
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (Humble1)
I think this is regarding the same incident.
Compliments of competitionplus.com
"The Bad, The Good and the not quite Ugly:
(7-2-2004) - The other night at Piedmont Dragway I witnessed one of the most amazing incidents in my life. I've been around drag racing for many years and I've seen two other fires like the one Donnie Kruinski was involved in. I was on the starting line in St. Louis when Mark Tate's Camaro had a nitrous expolsion and watched in horror as almost 15 seconds went by before anyone thought to turn off the power or grab a fire extinguisher, and it took almost a minute to get him out of the vehicle. Mark was critically injuired in the fire, but is still alive today to talk about it. I was also in the stands in Rockingham when Harold Martin's car exploded in a ball of flames and he got out relatively unscathed.
From the video replay, just as the car is beginning to leave the starting line, there is a big expolsion and fire erupts instantly. Within two seconds the entire driver's side of the car is engulfed, and two more seconds pass by and the car is a huge ball of flame. Photographs from the passenger side vantage point even show an orange glow from inside the car shining through the door jambs. I've never seen a car engulfed at this speed. A nitrous line was shooting flames from near the firewall area forward like a blow torch and the fuel lines had been severed and were feeding the fire.
Yet this wasn't the most incredible sight - it was the track crew's response and Donnie's cool-headedness that prevailed. The flames were so intense and it happened so fast that 2 photographers and the videographer didn't know Donnie was out of the car until the fire was extinguished and we reviewed the photos and footage captured.
Looking at the timers on the video and photo cameras, the track crew had picked up extinguishers within 3 seconds and were beating the flames back within 5 seconds from 3 different sides. In the middle of the most chaotic moment in Donnie's life, he somehow maintained his composure, unstrapped himself, opened the door and rolled on the ground. Donnie's son saw him get out and with no fire protection ran up and helped pull his dad to safety. The entire incident lasted 30 seconds.
The moral of this story is that there is no substitute for having the proper safety equipment in the car, on the driver, and on the starting line. There is also no replacement for a driver knowing (and practicing) emergency egress. I have no idea how often the crew at Piedmont Dragway does any type of emergency drills, but I have to say that for 3 people to locate and begin using fire extinguishers within 5 seconds is amazing as it is.
For all the drivers out there, think about this next time you strap into your car without a fire suit or even a jacket on. Is being a little cooler for a few minutes worth your life? Donnie had all the proper safety equipment on and it saved his life. For crew members (both track and race team), do a survey the next time you're on the starting line just so you know exactly where emergency equipment is. Racing is a sport of risks, but it's a matter of minimizing them to the best of our abilities to make this dangerous sport as safe as possible.
My hat's off to Donnie and his crew, the track crew at Piedmont Dragway and the EMT's who responded. While the car isn't in the best of shape, it's the only piece that can be rebuilt. There is no replacement for a human life. - David Anderson"
Compliments of competitionplus.com
"The Bad, The Good and the not quite Ugly:
(7-2-2004) - The other night at Piedmont Dragway I witnessed one of the most amazing incidents in my life. I've been around drag racing for many years and I've seen two other fires like the one Donnie Kruinski was involved in. I was on the starting line in St. Louis when Mark Tate's Camaro had a nitrous expolsion and watched in horror as almost 15 seconds went by before anyone thought to turn off the power or grab a fire extinguisher, and it took almost a minute to get him out of the vehicle. Mark was critically injuired in the fire, but is still alive today to talk about it. I was also in the stands in Rockingham when Harold Martin's car exploded in a ball of flames and he got out relatively unscathed.
From the video replay, just as the car is beginning to leave the starting line, there is a big expolsion and fire erupts instantly. Within two seconds the entire driver's side of the car is engulfed, and two more seconds pass by and the car is a huge ball of flame. Photographs from the passenger side vantage point even show an orange glow from inside the car shining through the door jambs. I've never seen a car engulfed at this speed. A nitrous line was shooting flames from near the firewall area forward like a blow torch and the fuel lines had been severed and were feeding the fire.
Yet this wasn't the most incredible sight - it was the track crew's response and Donnie's cool-headedness that prevailed. The flames were so intense and it happened so fast that 2 photographers and the videographer didn't know Donnie was out of the car until the fire was extinguished and we reviewed the photos and footage captured.
Looking at the timers on the video and photo cameras, the track crew had picked up extinguishers within 3 seconds and were beating the flames back within 5 seconds from 3 different sides. In the middle of the most chaotic moment in Donnie's life, he somehow maintained his composure, unstrapped himself, opened the door and rolled on the ground. Donnie's son saw him get out and with no fire protection ran up and helped pull his dad to safety. The entire incident lasted 30 seconds.
The moral of this story is that there is no substitute for having the proper safety equipment in the car, on the driver, and on the starting line. There is also no replacement for a driver knowing (and practicing) emergency egress. I have no idea how often the crew at Piedmont Dragway does any type of emergency drills, but I have to say that for 3 people to locate and begin using fire extinguishers within 5 seconds is amazing as it is.
For all the drivers out there, think about this next time you strap into your car without a fire suit or even a jacket on. Is being a little cooler for a few minutes worth your life? Donnie had all the proper safety equipment on and it saved his life. For crew members (both track and race team), do a survey the next time you're on the starting line just so you know exactly where emergency equipment is. Racing is a sport of risks, but it's a matter of minimizing them to the best of our abilities to make this dangerous sport as safe as possible.
My hat's off to Donnie and his crew, the track crew at Piedmont Dragway and the EMT's who responded. While the car isn't in the best of shape, it's the only piece that can be rebuilt. There is no replacement for a human life. - David Anderson"
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From: Reading, PA, US
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (bomber)
that is just crazy man. thank god he is alive today. it does look like the track crew reacted quickly but it took a little while to get him out of that car.
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From: Tuscaloosa, Al, usa
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (TyCooley)
Guys can you imagine if that happened in a sport compact car? Just a few seconds of that type of fire would melt the plastic inside door handles and window cranks leaving you no means of escape. Something to think about.
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From: ORIGINAL H22 GANGSTA
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (30psiCiv)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 30psiCiv »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Guys can you imagine if that happened in a sport compact car? Just a few seconds of that type of fire would melt the plastic inside door handles and window cranks leaving you no means of escape. Something to think about. </TD></TR></TABLE>
hmmmmm never thought bout that plastic handle shiz 
hmmmmm never thought bout that plastic handle shiz
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Tuscaloosa, Al, usa
Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (h22 civic)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by h22 civic »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
hmmmmm never thought bout that plastic handle shiz </TD></TR></TABLE>
Just thought of that myself. I am gonna try to get some metal window crank handles.
hmmmmm never thought bout that plastic handle shiz
</TD></TR></TABLE>Just thought of that myself. I am gonna try to get some metal window crank handles.
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Re: Nitrous Back Fire Video (AlphaMike)
I have seen that car in action before as Im from that area!
I have seen several n20 backfires from that class of cars but never anything that bad. Something definitely went bad
On the other hand like I said that was the closest track to me back home and I used to go all the time. On one Thursday night about 3 years or more ago this red Monte Carlo similar to the one in that video made it off the line and about 300' down the track when it engulfed itself in flames. The bad thing about this car was it was a blown alcohol car and not everyone could see the flames. To make a long story short the car burnt to almost nothing and was basically unrepairable and this happened at Piedmont Dragstrip. The driver got out fine but the car was a total loss which relates to about $300,000 down the tubes!
Modified by ringgold at 6:39 PM 7/12/2004
I have seen several n20 backfires from that class of cars but never anything that bad. Something definitely went bad
On the other hand like I said that was the closest track to me back home and I used to go all the time. On one Thursday night about 3 years or more ago this red Monte Carlo similar to the one in that video made it off the line and about 300' down the track when it engulfed itself in flames. The bad thing about this car was it was a blown alcohol car and not everyone could see the flames. To make a long story short the car burnt to almost nothing and was basically unrepairable and this happened at Piedmont Dragstrip. The driver got out fine but the car was a total loss which relates to about $300,000 down the tubes!
Modified by ringgold at 6:39 PM 7/12/2004
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integraautox
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Mar 7, 2003 09:57 PM
