Scot Kalitta?

Question

What would have caused the car to blow up like that? A wall hit would but he was in the middle of the track and looked to be running good.

Answer 1

Those motors run off of a mix of nitro-methane and methanol (racing alcohol). They are extremely volatile and often blow up. Since that was the final qualifying pass they had it tuned up to run fast so they could get into the field (which they did). However, tuning it up also makes it more volatile and more prone to blowing up (which it did). It was just a fact of the motor being worked so hard that it just gave up.

Answer 2

Pretty sure it was a broken crankshaft...or a thrown rod which seized the engine...I'd say broken crank.

BTW, a lot of people are bad rapping racing because of this accident. Are these the same people that killed sting rays after Steve Irwin was killed? Racers know the risks and willingly accept them...because it is what they do. You can't eliminate all of the inherent risks of racing.

Although, once again, I have to say that I haven't ever seen such utter devastation in all my years of watching racing.

Answer 3

It looked like the motor blew, then when he hit the sand trap on the end to slow him down the car flipped over the wall and exploded. Nitro is serious stuff and when it lets loose all h**l breaks loose. It could have started from a broken fuel line or oil line. I would think when it hit the sand the fuel tank ruptured it is in the front between the wheels.

Answer 4

Maybe the gas tank

Answer 5

Faulty gas tank maybe.

That was sad to see a NHRA driver die.

I heard on the news b4.

Answer 6

One thing to consider is those engines will burn 10-12 gallons of fuel in a quarter mile. 40-48 gallons per mile.

Truly a horrible accident, and perhaps the sand traps are not safe anymore with these cars going faster and faster.

Answer 7

Does not matter. Why would you put a jersey barrier at the end of a spot where cars will be going up to 300mph

Answer 8

chances are the gas tank blew up

Answer 9

His motor blew up. After hitting the wall at the end, the open flames ignited the gas and caused the second explosion.

Answer 10

The engine probably broke a crank, at those rpm's it exploded the engine. They run on Nitro-methane (90% nitro), full power awesome amounts are being fed into the blower. The fire was the oil hitting the headers (hot), then when he hit and flipped in the sand trap looked like the nitro-methane fuel tank exploded. Horrible way to go.

The engines carry about 15-20 gallons oil, most run synthetic oil.

Answer 11

The engine is a 500 cubic inch motor but it runs at 8,0000 horse power.  That's an engine block that's a little larger than a street cars motor that is more powerful than a freight train.  If there is any malfunction with the internal parts as the car accelerates to over 300 mph the engine will come apart inside and explode into flames.  The fuel only burns under pressure. You could drop a lit match into nitro methane and it won't even ignite under normal atmospheric pressure.  Once the engine explodes the flames most likely come from flaming oil and not the fuel.  The fire and explosion did not kill the driver. His car hit a pole that held a safety net at the end of the track and went airborn.  It was the impact that killed him