The video camera has to be one of the best inventions to ever hit drag racing, let alone action sports in general. These days, it’s made even better by the inclusion of the GoPro in nearly every racer’s “toolbox”. It’s affordable for just about anyone to pick one up and strap it to the side (or hood, or inside) of their hotrod for the POV aspect of a dragstrip pass. 

This particular Mustang owner has one on the side of his 700 horsepower TVS-blown machine for a pass down the strip, and until you watch the video a second time, you don’t realize that it’s not just the Datsun owner that gets out of shape.

Of course, the turbocharged Datsun 280Z is what catches your eye, spooling up on the starting line, then snoozing as the tree drops only to quickly catch and pass the Mustang. As the pair heads downtrack it’s apparent right at the 1,000-foot mark that there’s something seriously bad about to happen when the Datsun begins trailing smoke (from an overheated transmission, perhaps?) and subsequently erupts into flame across the finish line.

He ends up crossing through the traps sideways and on fire, but both cars nearly don’t live to see another day. The Mustang owner also gets loose, slowly drifting towards the left-side wall, but it’s not nearly as visible in this perspective from the right side of the car until you watch it a second time.

The Datsun does the deed sideways and on fire – and he also crossed the finish line with a 9.5x elapsed time, while the Mustang owner coasts through with a 10.94 pass. Crazy video, but an indication of just how quickly things can go from normal to not-so-normal, all during the course of a simple day at the dragstrip. Great driving by both racers!