It is unclear what caused this Viper to crash to violently, but the driver is said to be unharmed.
Each year, TX2K is one of America’s leading drag racing events, with the country’s fastest street cars coming to Texas to duke it out, but this year’s competition ended early for the driver of one twin turbocharged Dodge Viper. During the first day of testing, the Mopar supercar shown here was taking on a Nissan GTR and when the Dodge got crossed up, it hit the wall so hard that it literally punched a hole through the concrete barrier.
The Crash
As you can see in the video above, the Dodge in question was taking on a Nissan GT-R. We don’t know who was driving either car, nor do we have full modification lists, but we know from the internet chatter that the Viperhas a twin turbo setup. We also know that the cars in this class are likely in the range of 1,200 horsepower.
The run appears to start smoothly, but right before the Mopar supercar reaches the 60-foot beams, we see the car jerk right, towards the cones in the middle of the track and the other car. The driver attempts to correct the car, but he ends up whipping the back end around, propelling the Viper into the outside wall at high speed. The black supercar hit the wall so hard that it breeched the concrete barrier, flinging the items behind the wall away from the track.
The car came to rest a few hundred feet down track with considerable damage to the front end, but all reports state that the driver walked away upset but unharmed.
The Aftermath
There has been a great deal of discussion online as to what caused this Viper to angle in towards the middle of the track. Some people insist that it was a basic loss of traction while others state that there was a mechanical issue, which also prevented the driver from straightening the Dodge out once the back end came around the first time.
Based on comments online, it took the track crew at Houston Raceway about an hour to get the wall fixed back up and TX2K2019 got back underway.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
