Among drag radial racing’s most endearing qualities is the propensity for crowd-pleasing wheelstands and high-flying acrobatics; despite conventional wisdom, this has very little to do with the void of wheelie bars and everything to do with the very nature of chassis setup and power management on a radial-style tire. We actually wrote a whole technical story about it, if you’re so inclined to check it out — but the gist of it is that racers are aiming to extend the rear shocks and apply as much horsepower as they’ve got as quick as they can without flipping the car over backward. That means there’s a fine line and a balance that tuners are working with on each and every run…any small miscalculation in the tune-up or change in drive input can have spectacular, death-defying results.

Kansas racer Tim Webb provided the internet with its most recent round of viral images and video when his twin-turbocharged 1980 Chevy Malibu took flight during the Texas Radial Round Up at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Webb was competing in the no-time shootout with his Limited Drag Radial-style machine when it headed skyward, caught air under its flanks, and sailed through the Texas sky. Webb’s Malibu crashed back to Earth in a shower of sparks — after, by our best visual estimates, around 400-feet of air-time — and side-swiped the unique neon yellow guardrail with its passenger side. Webb climbed from the car unhurt after his e-ticket ride.

“It was a combination of things; it spun early in the run, and normally I don’t pedal but I didn’t see him. I throttled back into it and it took a split second to start to build boost and I pushed it into high gear early around 7200 and it made boost way faster then normal, because it’s time-based. It started up so fast into a wheelie because of the load from second gear. I lifted but it was too late, it hit the bumper and this was all around 170 mph, give or take, and sent it sailing.”

“I have a laser ride height sensor for wheelie control but it times out 3-seconds into the run so I had no coverage then. Looking back its easy to say I could have done this or should have done that, but it’ll definitely make me rethink a few things so it won’t happen again.”

Webb, a chassis builder by trade, said a quick look over the car has revealed primarily body damage to the passenger side when it clipped the guardrail upon touchdown — the nose, door, and quarter panel all skinned up and crinkled. Once he gets the car on the chassis table he’ll better diagnose any unintended modifications to the frame itself.

“I was shocked how well it survived the flight. I’m going to disassemble the car and go over it really well before I put it back together. I’m very thankful it wasn’t worse then it was. Most people complain about the cost of safety and having to wear it, but I’m very thankful it’s all in place, it’s definitely the reason I walked away. Some don’t get so lucky. It’s an understatement to say I feel very blessed.”

Lead video credit Allen Roberson