No racer ever wants to give up on a run unless they have to, so when a car strikes the tires they’re going to pedal it like their life depends on it to gain the ground that has been lost. The problem is that when you start pedaling a car things can get out of control, and that’s exactly what happened to Zack Poynter. This nitrous-huffing Mustang Poynter drives hammered the tires at the hit, and then things got ugly, not only for the Poynter and his car but also the cameraman positioned along the wall.
The Radial Tire Racing Association (RTRA) Rebellion event at Northstar Dragway in Denton, Texas brought in some radial tire heavy-hitters like Mark Woodruff, Kenny Hubbard, and Tyler Crossnoe, so the track was ready for some serious power to be laid down. Even with heavy track prep, getting a radial tire to stick when you’re pouring the coals to it can be a challenge with a stock suspension car like Poynter’s Mustang.
In this video from National No Prep Racing Association, you can see what happens when a radial tire comes unglued from the track at the wrong time. Poynter’s Mustang spins at the hit and he tries to pedal the car back into the groove, but it had other ideas. After the Mustang got out of the groove and Poynter applied the power, the car made a hard left and climbed the wall, getting right up in the cameraman’s personal space. You can see in this video just how close the car got as it rode the wall and sent parts scattering!