If you’ve ever looked into getting into road racing, the list of required safety features can seem intimidating. Fire extinguishers, five-point harnesses, racing helmets, and most important (and difficult to install), the roll cage. It’s the kind of equipment that you feel like is more a burden than a boon, until that one time you need it most.
We were tipped off to this video of Steve Butscher getting some serious air in an accident this past weekend at Willow Springs in his Fox-body Mustang. That he walks away from this accident is thanks in large part to a roll cage of his own design that saved his ass when he needed it most.
Racing at WIllow Springs, Steve was seeing speeds in excess of 130 mph when he moved over too far and got his tires in the dirt. You can see Steve fightings to get back on the track in the video, and he almost makes it, but then the Mustang veers left as the course goes right, and all Steve can do is try to keep it straight.
He seems to skid along the dirt forever, up until he hits a dirt wall just before a stone wall on the course’s perimeter. Steve’s Mustang jumps 50 or 60 feet before smashing into the wall and then bouncing backwards, rolling completely over before coming to a rest on its wheels. Yet Steve emerged bruised but otherwise unhurt, and he gives a post-crash analysis of what went wrong, and how well the safety features stood up to the accident.
It’s some incredible footage, both from the onboard camera and the still shots included in the video. Hopefully this video makes you think twice before skimping on safety features.