This happened back in May, but I just caught wind of it. Makes me want to cry…or vomit. It was a 9 second 1/4 mile car powered by a 299 CU/IN twin turbo’d Studebaker. It had been racing since the early 60’s and dominated during the mid 60’s and early 70’s. At least it went out on the dragstrip, doing what it was built to do.
On Saturday night at Muncie Dragway in Muncie, IN, Ted Harbit, an 8 time NHRA champion was involved in a bad wreck at the track. His car, the Chicken Hawk, was generally regarded as the fastest Studebaker in the world. It was a 1951 Studebaker Starlite Coupe. Ted has raced the same car for 47 years. Pics at the end…
Quote:
Originally Posted by <b>Bob Palma</b>
<i>
[I]As for what happened: He rolled The Chicken Hawk TEN TIMES just after completing the eighth-mile at The Muncie Dragway this evening, in that they were running only the eighth tonight.
They told her something let loose in the engine room and sprayed the underside of the car with oil. It lost traction and he lost control. It hit the guard rail hard enough to flip over the guard rail and begin rolling. It rolled so many times that he ultimately hit the sign posts holding the signs that signal the times and ETs…and the sign posts are located at the end of the quarter-mile strip!
We should not assume “the engine blew” or anything, because that is not known. It might have been something as simple as an oil line to a turbocharger letting go. I’ll find out tomorrow if Ted knows what happened.
Needless to say, after 47 years of running who knows how many times at The Muncie Dragway, The Chicken Hawk has been destroyed. Ted turned 74 years of age this past weekend, and the number of times that car has blistered The Muncie Dragway drag strip surely numbers in the thousands.[/I]
Quote:
Originally Posted by <b>John Feistritzer</b>
<i>
[I]I was not at the track racing tonight, but received a call and went out. Oh, you know that, you talked to Judy. He had already been taken to the hospital, and we went about the task of moving the car.
A large tractor came in and pulled it from the soft ground where it stopped. Took it to a paved spot, and it was winched up onto a flatbed roll back truck. Then we backed Ted’s truck and the rollback together and winched the car onto Ted’s truck. I brought them to my house, that was a consensus of several people as the right thing to do. Here it will not have to be dealt with anytime soon.
Kenny Robinson (Frantic Fred’s son) said a rod was sticking out of the pan.
Racer Larry Thrash said he heard a pop and looked up and Ted was sliding. He was in the right lane, crossed lanes, apparently airborne, and something broke the windshield of the left lane car. Someone said Ted’s car hit it, someone said a piece of Ted’s car hit it.
He hit the left guardrail, and from where he hit it it was a good 50 feet before there were marks in the grass. Then another 50 or so feet before more marks in the grass. A few feet farther was the sign post. A racer on the return strip said the car backed into the post (thank God it wasn’t a side impact, the post had been imbedded to the back window), the car stood up against the post, and the front of the car knocked the win light off the scoreboard. A couple of pirouettes and it landed right side up.
One of the first guys to the car said he had unstrapped himself and was feeling around in the seat as if looking for something. He asked Ted what his name was, he said “Ted”. Asked him how old he was, he said “too old”. That’s all I know, some of it heresy and I saw the marks on the ground myself.[/I]
A few pictures of the Chicken Hawk, before and after…
Ted’s in hospital in Muncie and had a colapsed lung. He’s looking a getting released from the hospital by Sunday or so. The cage, helmet and belts saved his life
__________________