Sal's Viper Crash @ MIR World Cup

[7TH_SIGN]

From what I have heard and read, he is okay, very minor injury. Car did what it was supposed to do. Glad he is fine.

Sal Patel Outlaw Drag Radial Viper Crash at World Cup Finals - Import vs Domestic - YouTube

Sad... Glad he is okay. That car was perfection going down the 1/4. I am thinking possibly the track conditions had a lot to do with the crash as the car has gone 6s in the 1/4 with ease.

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

This is very sad to watch!

It appears the car drifted left and out of the groove. What happened after that needs to be ivestigated.
I'm just glad he's ok!!!

Best regards,
Doug

 

[FinalEd357]

Wow! Very scary scene - thank the good Lord he is okay. Man, what can happen in the blink of an eye...

 

[Bobpantax]

+1. Looks like a half shaft or knuckle failure. The other driver must have said "Thank you G-d" a few times.

 

[DrumrBoy]

SH*t, sorry to see that but glad Sal's OK. With that kind of power there's almost no time to do anything about it when something lets go.

 

[justingeer82]

i fully agree when this happens its unpredictable and unrecoverable. any viper owner who has a little too much fun has experienced getting bit. Any of us who have worked on our cars know how the rear end is and theres no other way to properly deliver power. theres two choices... damn near solid rear end (but one slip of the other wheel sends ithe car in the opposite direction) or fill slip which basically cuts the torque in half or more and causes so much more wheel spin (due to the slipping tire free spinning while the gripping tire sloths out) Given the solid torque of the beast I have a hard time thinking "traction control" will react fast enough to prevent this. traction control has a lot of factors which goes against what a viper is. for one its for weaker engines more available to control, a viper engine is so large that the rotating mass alone doesnt care about throttle in that situation.

 

[happy]

a lot of accidents that night, the locals said its from the dew at night time, he wasn't the only one!!!

 

[Viper TT]

I am honestly overwhelmed in a positive way with the numerous messages and support I've received in the last couple of days. I am incredibly blessed to have friends such as yourselves in my life.

I am completely fine. My wrist was slightly sore but hardly worth talking about. Other than that I have not experienced any soreness or bruising whatsoever. As hard as I hit, everyone would be surprised how well the primary structure of the car is still intact and in very good shape. Cosmetically the car is very rough on the left side.

Mentally I'm more than fine. I'm not having any panic or regret issues. It's part of the risk you agree to when you strap yourself into the driver's seat. I'm ready to get her apart and back together for next season.

Thank you to everyone here for all the positive posts and genuine concern for me.

 

[Viper TT]

We got the car into Drummond's shop yesterday and put it up on jack stands to check the driveline. Everything in the driveline is still intact and nothing is broken. I have a custom Ford 9" IRS setup from Driveshaft Shop/Drummond Race Cars with a spool so we had our doubts of driveline failure.

All we've got is the shift shocked the tires which broke them loose and caused an instant loss of traction. Rear shock sensors also show 0.900" of compression proving there wasn't a downforce issue.

 

[SRT09]

We got the car into Drummond's shop yesterday and put it up on jack stands to check the driveline. Everything in the driveline is still intact and nothing is broken. I have a custom Ford 9" IRS setup from Driveshaft Shop/Drummond Race Cars with a spool so we had our doubts of driveline failure.

All we've got is the shift shocked the tires which broke them loose and caused an instant loss of traction. Rear shock sensors also show 0.900" of compression proving there wasn't a downforce issue.

Great you have a ton of data to study Sal keep us posted?

 

[Jack B]

What type of diff - good to see you are ok

 

[Boxer12]

I've been admiring that car and your runs..a real beauty. Sorry to see you and her take a hit and glad you got out so well. Hope the rebuild goes fast and you are back behind the wheel breaking records!