5 freak accidents that rival Jimmie Johnson's steering-wheel fiasco at Phoenix
When you have 3,300-pound race cars traveling at speeds that sometimes approach 200 miles per hour, crazy things sometimes happen. And when they do, it's usually not good news.
Jimmie Johnson found that out at Phoenix International Raceway during Friday's qualifying session for the Good Sam 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Johnson failed to get the steering wheel locked down on his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and it came off at speed, sending him hard into the Turn 2 wall.
"I've never had this happen," said Johnson, "I've seen it happen to others and I've thought, 'How in the world does that happen?' Well, it just happened to me. It's just a freak thing."
Here are five other freak accidents in NASCAR:
5. JIMMIE JOHNSON, 2000 -- Long before he became a NASCAR champion, Johnson was a rookie driving for Herzog Motorsports in what is now known as the NASCAR XFINITY Series. As Johnson headed toward Turn 1, the brakes failed on his car on the Watkins Glen International road course, sending Johnson hard into the foam barriers at high speed. He famously got out of the car and climbed on the roof, raising both arms in a "Rocky"-like gesture.
4. BRIAN VICKERS, 2008 -- In the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Vickers was having a great run in his Red Bull Racing Toyota when his left-rear wheel came off in Turn 2. The wheel bounced into the infield and over a fence, landing near a parked camper.
Brian Vickers (83) slams the wall as his wheel flies through the air in the 2008 Coca-Cola 600.
3. CASEY MEARS, 2015 -- At the picturesque Sonoma Raceway road course in Northern California, Mears was running 15th when he lost his right-rear tire and axle under braking. It was highly unusual to see a tire come off a car with its axle still attached.
2. JEFF GORDON, 2006 -- This one was scary. Gordon was in the middle of Turn 1 at Pocono Raceway when a brake rotor exploded on his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. That corner is one of the fastest in NASCAR and Gordon hit hard on the driver's side. He was fortunate to escape uninjured.
1. BRAD KESELOWSKI, 2011 -- During testing at Road Atlanta, the brakes failed on Keselowski's Team Penske Dodge and he had a huge head-on impact with a concrete barrier, breaking his right ankle. Amazingly, Keselowski won at Pocono Raceway five days later in a show of immense courage.
Brad Keselowski's car sits idle after a violent crash in testing at Road Atlanta.
