After three years have gone bye, often wondered what happened to the 74 primered Mav, that we sold. Was supposed to be put back on the street after replacing the fire damaged dash etc. Went to the dragstrip Saturday, to load up the rent-a-Stang and bring home for an engine change. While there, lo and behold, the still primered beast pulls up right across from me, in the pits. Of course I dropped everything and strolled over to see for sure if it was the same old girl we had sold years back. Sure enough, with new dash and lot's of cosmetic work done, it almost brought a tear to my eye to see it again. The youg man that had bought it, said that he has been working on it for all this time, to get it driveable and maybe try some occasional racing. Being only about 20ish and never raced on a strip before, was really excited to try it out. Still has the 289 my youngest son had put in it, with a set of Roush stock heads and the 3.00 gear in the rear. Just to see and hear it again was a real thrill for me. Did not get up to watch the first pass cause it was so hot and humid, almost put me down and I still had to cinch down the stang on the trailer. Wife was with me and decided to leave for the house and suck up some AC in the truck and at home. The youg lad did show me his time slip before departing and for a first timer, it was a real proud moment for him. Running the 1000ft in street class, he posted a .338 RT and a 12.49 et. I gave him lot's of praise and told him it would only get better with more time in the seat. Yesterday had gone to a fellow racer's grandbabies first birthday party. Lot's of friend's and relatives there, including the track owner's daughter and husband who are the announcer's on Sat. night. As usual, first conversation with them was to find out how the evenings program had gone. Seem's as though as the darkness fell and the eliminations progressed, the little Mav lined up for a run and left as it had been doing. Ran it's 12.50 in the 1000 and then disappered into the darkness at the end of the track(no taillight on}. Then all hell broke loose, the et shack had radio'd the tower that the Mav had crashed, safety personnel were on the scene and the young driver was sitting outside the car, with two extremely black eye's and some minor abrasions( no helmet rule if running 12 seconds and slower in the 1000} Seems the brake pedal had gone to the floor for some reason and maybe a hung throttle too, or possable panic attack in the seat. In summary, he had tried to make the right turn onto the return road and instead ran straight into a dirt embankmet and fence at the end of the track. Right front tire and wheel is in the cowl, fender into door, top show's some buckling etc. Sad for the young man but he is also very lucky to got away with some minor injuries. Will find out more, when I next return to the track and talk to his dad. Did have the factory seat belt and somewhat useless shoulder strap on. Three inch belts and harness is a must in my book, plus at least a three point roll bar. More later. If the 5 and 6 second, 140mph cars and bikes can stop in plenty of time, I still think the throttle stuck on the Mav??????
Glad he ended up ok. My bet is panic attack..... No brakes can make even a seasoned racer freak out...... I lost mine once but thank god the master pumped back up....
Damn I hate to hear that... I loved that car. If you get ahold of him, tell him im interested in buying the whole car... I know its totoally F'd up but I got plans for some of the stuff if he wants to get rid of it. Im glad to see the kid walk away, scared him definately im sure, but atleast hes alive
