Chad Green, the driver of the Bond-Coat nitrous powered Pro Mod Chevrolet Camaro, survived a horrific crash on Saturday at the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals in Brownsburg IN. A native of Midland TX, Green was immediately transported to Indiana University Methodist Hospital for diagnosis and treatment of his injuries. The historic event known as the Big Gorace is presented by Hot Wheels as the ninth of 12 events during the 2019 E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series season.
As the Pro Mod class was set to begin its final stretch toward this season's championship, the world's fastest doorslammer race cars poured into the Indy track to do battle. The class, which is highlighted by historic muscle cars like ’67 Mustangs, ’68 Firebirds and ’69 Camaros as well as a variety of late model American muscle cars, was befittingly sponsored by Hot Wheels, an iconic name in kid's toys. As a division of Mattel, Hot Wheels has a long history of working closely with NHRA teams since the early days when the company created versions of dragsters for Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen and Don "the Snake" Prudhomme.
During the final round of Pro Mod qualifying for the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Saturday, Jose Gonzalez pulled a holeshot over the Bond-Coat Camaro of Chad Green before Gonzalez's car turned sideways. Gonzalez was forced out of the throttle to keep his car to the right of the centerline. Just as it appeared that Green would have an easy win, his car lost traction, caught air under the back end and ended up upside down and backwards. After glazing the wall, the Bond-Coat Chevy Camaro righted itself in mid air and landed hard on the wheels with both parachutes deployed.
Green was transported to a local hospital complaining of an upper back injury and was expected to have surgery over the weekend. It was reported that the Texas-driver was alert, talking and fully aware of the details of his accident. Currently, there is no timetable set for Green's return to the NHRA Pro Mod series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers through the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing series presented by J&A Service for some of the fastest and most experienced drivers on the planet. n addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California.
The accident occurred during the first of two E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service qualifying sessions got underway with the first of two rounds of Saturday qualifying scheduled on Aug. 31 at 12:30 p.m. The remaining two rounds of qualifying are scheduled to take place on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 12:45 and 3:30 p.m. with the first round of E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod eliminations scheduled for 12:35 p.m. on Labor Day, Monday, September 2.
Photo courtesy of RPM: Real Pro Mod
Featuring the world’s fastest and most exotic doorslammer racecars, the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service offers something for every kind of drag racing fan. With more than 3,000 horsepower, the "suspended door" Pro Mod cars travel the quarter-mile in less than six seconds at speeds exceeding 250 mph. Visit Real Pro Mod online to learn more.
