ALL FIRED UP!
Jeff Plemmons of Old Fort, NC, was going for the win against good friend Kevin Dalton in the Outlaw Real Street final at Shadyside when things went horribly wrong for him about half-track. Plemmons’ 1974 Nova lost traction and sashayed a little before veering almost head-on toward the left guardwall.
“I really thought I’d drive through it. I mean, it’s lost traction before and I was always okay, but this time I just couldn’t get it back,” Plemmons said later. “I knew I was done.”
After bouncing off the wall, the car began sliding sideways down the track until it dug in and rolled over twice before finally coming to rest on its roof. Plemmons, who remained conscious throughout the accident, was helped out through the car’s passenger door by several onlookers including ORSCA chaplain Jim Daugherty, who was rushing to the wreck even before it stopped moving.
“He (Plemmons) was hanging upside down by his belts when we got the door open and we just grabbed him and dragged him out after he popped the belts,” Daugherty said. “The fire had already started in the trunk and I think we were all afraid that it was going to get worse. I’m just glad Jeff is okay.”
Unfortunately, nearby fire extinguishers were exhausted before the flames were put down, so rescue crews were forced to back off and watch the car burn until reinforcements arrived. It was a total loss, Plemmons said.
Remarkably, Plemmons spent much of the off season updating the safety of his car, including the installation of a new 12-point Funny Car-style rollcage. “Thank God we did; I feel sure it saved my life,” he said. “My wife Donita bought me a nice helmet, too, and that worked. I could feel my head hitting the bars, but three days ago she insulated all the Funny Car part of it with good SFI padding.”
Plemmons also was wearing a full driving suit, including gloves, and felt the collar he wore saved straining his neck. “The fire gloves, jacket, pants, and shoes would have given me a little more time to get out had the fire not been contained to the trunk area. Fortunately, today I am only a little sore where my safety harnesses were holding me upside down,” he said later in an online forum.
Plemmons has owned the car about 10 years, initially racing it in NMCA Drag Radial, then going to local 6.0 index classes before adding a little more power with a 565 c.i. nitrous motor mated to a two-speed Powerglide and running it most recently in Real Street and ORSCA EZ Street events.
Remarkably composed following the accident, Plemmons consoled his wife and 14-year-old daughter Taylor, only starting to tear up a little when thinking about the effect the crash might have on his autistic son, Dusty. “He thinks the world revolves around that car,” Plemmons said. “I really hate that it happened for him.”