While the pictures may look grim, the driver, Dallon Murty, did survive this wreck. It occurred in USRA stock car competition at the Stand On It Classic hosted by Arrowhead Speedway in Colcord, Oklahoma.
Eight laps into the feature while entering turn one, Murty took the ride of his life.
“I remember my car bicycling on two wheels and it kept going and going — then I hit the wall roof-side first,” Murty, of Chelsea, Iowa, said. “When it landed back on the track, another car hit my car right in the halo above my head.”
The track emergency crew had to cut Murty out from the wreckage.
“I was wedged in there,” said Murty. “The seat bent down around my head from the halo and cage collapsing. My headrest was squeezed together, with it and a bar across my forehead. The halo was not on my head. I’m glad my halo held up as good as it did. It was the worst-case scenario.”
Murty sat in a Kirkey full-containment seat paired with belts from Impact Racing. He wore a Zamp Racing helmet and a HANS device. The helmet was cracked, but Murty said it was not internally compromised.
An ambulance took Murty to the hospital for evaluation.
“I had to have a CAT scan and several X-rays,” Murty said. “The good news was that I did not have a concussion or any broken bones. I had a headache, a big goose egg on my forehead, and a sore back when I was released the next morning.”
Many on social media criticized the Terminator chassis Murty used from Harris Auto Racing. Murty disagreed with that assessment.
“They need to realize that hitting the wall caused damage, and then the car hit it when it was already weakened,” said Murty. “Also, the roll cage was cut to get me out. I feel that my safety equipment and the Zamp helmet did their jobs.”
Murty intends to meet with Harris Auto Racing to inspect the car and analyze the damage it incurred.
“My dad and I are looking at every option to prevent this damage from happening,” Murty said. “We feel the only way would be to narrow the cage to strengthen it. Harris Auto Racing had built it to meet the narrowest width allowed by the rules. The rules would have to be changed to allow it to be narrower.”
Murty and his team will put together a spare chassis they have to race. When Dallon Murty will make his return remains undetermined.
“I’m playing it by the day,” said Murty. “I will race again when I feel better. It’s best not to rush it.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
