A Ford Mustang Snot Rocket race car burst at 228 mph, or about 227 mph, during the FL2K race at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. Although the car sustained serious rear-end damage, the driver was unharmed.
The radial tire blew out at the end of acceleration while the Mustang was racing against a Corvette. Debris ripped off part of the rear fender, part of the door and the rear bumper. The crash came two days after the car's strongest performance of the same race weekend. On Friday, the Mustang completed the quarter mile in 6.458 seconds at 233.44 mph, which Dragzine says is a world record for a manual-transmission car.
The Mustang is powered by a 4.9-liter, twin-turbocharged Coyote V8 built by Fast Forward Racing Engines that produces over 3,000 horsepower. The powertrain is mated to a Grannas Racing ATLAS multi-plate clutch and a Tremec Magnum XL-based transmission.
The exact cause of the tire blowout has not been confirmed. Footage from the broadcast showed a possible foreign object that may have been in the path of the left rear wheel, with one claim pointing to a dropped wrench. The LaSalla team plans to restore the car for the World Cup Finals, which are scheduled for November at Maryland International Raceway. After the incident, the racer stated that everything possible would be done to have the Mustang repaired in a timely manner.