Paging the rattlearti

Sounds like an H1.

 

Heh, not always:
http://www.charlesgilchrist.com/GPC/DR/TF/DG7202.jpg

Compare also to the same car (of one "Big Daddy" Don Garlits...)

http://www.charlesgilchrist.com/GPC/DR/TF/DG7201.jpg

The tire[sic] deforms at launch; first as the car "hooks up" and then it
"grows" under acceleration/centrifugal force.

Somewhere I used to have a frame from a piece of high speed film footage
that showed the tyre to be roughly "D"-shaped with the flat kind of
bunched-up behind the contact patch as the thing launched.

Getting back to Bear's original remark about blow-ups, this was one of
the scariest I ever read about (although not an isolated thing back in
the hey-day of "slingshot" dragsters):
http://www.wediditforlove.com/imagesRED/Gar-transexplosion-w.jpg
The text that accompanies it recounts what happened:

"On March 8, 1970, amid a cool Winter night in Long Beach, California,
the face of drag racing changed forever. It was the AHRA Grand American
- their first big race of the year. The stands of Lions Drag Strip were
still full of the 25,000+ fans who'd stayed into to see the Top Fuel
final between "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and the infamous Richard Tharp in
the Creitz & Donovan fueler. After their burnouts both cars staged
without any games. Starter, Larry Sutton flipped the switch and in an
instant Tharp red lighted and Garlits headed into history.

Garlits was running an overdrive B&J 2-speed transmission with some of
his own designs. When he hit the throttle it was like a bomb went off.
The 2-speed literally blew up and the results were immediate and
devastating. The car was cut in half, severing Garlits' right foot at
the arch in the process. Pieces went everywhere including the stands.
One spectator lost an arm -- and another suffered near fatal injuries. I
was standing right behind the car and believe me, it was something I'll
never forget. While recuperating, Don made up his mind to design a front
driver car that would be competitive in the 1970s and history will bear
out that he did."

Ooof!
--
| Wik -UKRMHRC#10- 2003 R1150GSA -DC#1 -'FOT#0 'FOF #39 - BOD#12 BOB#12
|# You don't believe me | "Experience is the worst teacher.
|That the scenery | It always gives the test first
|Could be a cold-blooded killer. | and the instruction afterward."
***** human response from wik at blueyonder dot co dot uk *****