Photo: Joe Charles on Facebook
One man should thank the track day gods after narrowly escaping with his life from this fireball Ford Mustang GT350.
As he explains on the Facebook page that got a lot of attention, Joe Charles was out enjoying the fastest track Mustang they way it should when a series of unfortunate events occurred.
First, a major oil leak happened at over 120 miles per hour (approx. 200 km/h). The oil found the hot exhaust, which caused a fire to break out under the hood. The fire burst a gas line and pretty soon the orange Shelby GT350 was aflame.
"Before I could even finish that thought I realized that the flames were coming from me. My very next thought was “Oh fuck, I’m on fire.” I knew I needed to get off the track, but the pit wall was to my right, and the “racing line” and other fast cars were on my left. I lifted and started trying to slow the car down," says Joe.
After that, the situation became desperate. The heat from the fire boiled the brake fluid and left the man with no way to stop at over 100 miles per hour (approx. 160 km/h). His thoughts then turned to the emergency brake, but even though he just pulled it up about a quarter of the way, the cable still snapped.
By now, he had even shut off the engine, so the only thing left to do was to dump the clutch in first gear and use the engine to stop, which he did just 30 feet from the corner station.
Even though the fire had already reached the cabin and he wasn't wearing any protective overalls, the GT350 owner managed to escape without a scratch. You could say that this story has a happy ending, as the local Ford dealer swapped his 2016 GT350 for a new GT350R. That's like losing a gold necklace and getting one with diamonds in return. The R version is about as fast around the 'Ring as an old Porsche 911 Turbo S. Way to do customer relations the right way, Ford!
First, a major oil leak happened at over 120 miles per hour (approx. 200 km/h). The oil found the hot exhaust, which caused a fire to break out under the hood. The fire burst a gas line and pretty soon the orange Shelby GT350 was aflame.
"Before I could even finish that thought I realized that the flames were coming from me. My very next thought was “Oh fuck, I’m on fire.” I knew I needed to get off the track, but the pit wall was to my right, and the “racing line” and other fast cars were on my left. I lifted and started trying to slow the car down," says Joe.
After that, the situation became desperate. The heat from the fire boiled the brake fluid and left the man with no way to stop at over 100 miles per hour (approx. 160 km/h). His thoughts then turned to the emergency brake, but even though he just pulled it up about a quarter of the way, the cable still snapped.
By now, he had even shut off the engine, so the only thing left to do was to dump the clutch in first gear and use the engine to stop, which he did just 30 feet from the corner station.
Even though the fire had already reached the cabin and he wasn't wearing any protective overalls, the GT350 owner managed to escape without a scratch. You could say that this story has a happy ending, as the local Ford dealer swapped his 2016 GT350 for a new GT350R. That's like losing a gold necklace and getting one with diamonds in return. The R version is about as fast around the 'Ring as an old Porsche 911 Turbo S. Way to do customer relations the right way, Ford!
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