Flaming Bummer - Action!

Randy Walls got a good view of an unwanted fireball at the 16th annual California Hot Rod Reunion at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in qualifying on October 13, 2007, when a fuel system problem caused his '69 Chevy Nova Nostalgia Funny Car to burst into flames after what appeared to be a blower backfire. "We haven't looked at it yet, but I think maybe one of the welds on the fuel tank came apart," says Walls. "The car actually caught fire around 100 feet out because you can see the flames between the tires just past the 60-foot cone." With the chutes burned off, Walls used the hand brake to keep the car off the wall and out of the other lane that was occupied by Ron Capps. "I had to keep both hands on the steering wheel to keep the car straight. Since Funny Cars have a hand brake, I couldn't use the brakes until I got the car under control, and it sure was a handful." With a few minor burns and a few more serious ones, Randy Walls was seen in the pits signing autographs for the fans after the mishap.