To whet your appetite for the upcoming 2019 season, which kicks off just over a month from now, the NHRA recently released a highlight video of some of the most spectacular motor explosions and crashes seen during the 2018 season.
That includes John Force’s three motor explosions and crashes, Brittany Force’s lane-crossing crash and sideways slide towards the finish line and Cruz Pedregon’s two massive motor explosions.
And let’s not forget one of the most notable examples of triumphing under extremely difficult conditions: Robert Hight’s run at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, where as he crossed the finish line on the final round, the motor blew up, his car crashed hard into the wall and left Hight with a broken collarbone.
But he still held on long enough and hard enough to wind up winning the second race of the six-race playoffs, nonetheless, before taking an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital.
Most other drivers would have missed the final four races of the season, but not Hight. Undergoing surgery a few days after the big wreck, Hight was right back at it in the next event two weeks later and gave eventual Funny Car champ JR Todd a battle all the way to the final race before Todd emerged with his first crown.
Check out the following video, which the NHRA appropriately dubbed “2018 Wild Rides":