This past weekend was the Texas Mile, a twice yearly speed fest where hundreds of modified cars descend on Beeville, Texas, to try and set records for the fastest standing mile. Hennessey's Ford GT broke its own record and went 267.6 in a mile. The world's fastest Camaro was also on hand, but downforce became lift on a run, which caused a devastating crash and totally obliterated the 2,800 horsepower car.
Over the years the Camaro has been a fixture at the Mile, and it's also been perilously close to a bad accident in the past. Two years ago the car went out of control right after a 240 MPH run.
The driver, who had reactions that must be faster than Mr. Miyagi's, was able to keep the car from spinning at such high speeds.
The Camaro had officially become the "World's Fastest" six months ago at the last running of the Texas Mile. Driver Joey Huneycutt got the car to 263.2 MPH in the mile, just 0.1 MPH slower than the record Hennessey's Ford GT set at the same run.
Of course, they wanted to go faster. That's why they came back again this spring.
It appears that the car went out of control at the end of a run down the mile. There isn't any video yet, but reports from the Mile say that the car went flipping end over end, totally destroying the car.
Good thing it had all the proper safety equipment. The driver, Joey Huneycutt, was airlifted from the scene. The good news is that he wasn't killed or even seriously injured. He looks a bit banged up, but might even be out of the hospital already.
The car itself is toast. Totally ruined. But we expect both the owner, Kelly Bise, and the driver, Joey Huneycutt, to return to the mile in the future. Probably with something even faster and more insane.
Photo Credits: YNOTDV8 via Photobucket