Mercury Grand Marquis Catches Fire During Burnout Contest, Driver Keeps Going

The Mercury Grand Marquis in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page took place in a recent burnout contest. The competition was held at a drag strip and it seems the man was ready to risk it all for the trophy.

While putting his machine to tire-smoking work was not exactly difficult, things took quite a turn when the rear section of the Crown Vic platform mate caught fire. Despite the driver clearly being aware of the growing flames, he didn't seem to be too bothered by the fiery twist. The man just kept going and even received a few cheers from the crowd.

Given the fact that this isn't a prepped machine with a relocated fuel cell that also happens to be fireproof, the stunt was extremely risky. Fortunately, though, as we mentioned in the intro, the gas tank held its own against the hot assault.

Safety issues aside, we have to admit the Street Car Takeover name of the event that saw this driver doing his fiery thing was certainly representative, as the flame-throwing episode drew more attention than, say, a pair of door slammers going for a quarter mile brawl.

The driver eventually ended the showoff moment, driving away as if nothing had happened - in fact, we can see the man driving the sedan on the rim(s), with his family inside, once the burnout competition was over. The Mercury had already been damaged, so the guy didn't seem to care.

Do we need to remind you not to try this at home, or at the drag strip, for that matter?