Daniel Miocevich was waiting for a ‘lights out’ hit that thankfully never came during his spectacular 440kmh jet dragster crash last night at Perth Motorplex.
Miocevich’s Aftershock dragster was hauling when shortly before the finish line it began to turn right and then dramatically swerved into the braking area wall, and over it. Miocevich clocked a 5.49 second time at 440kmh and that was with the car already turning.
“The car was pulling really hard, it was a really good pass and coming up to the finish line it just made a massive turn to the right,” Miocevich said. “I felt the rear end pick up and it just turned towards the concrete barrier and I remember thinking it was going over and this is not good, it will probably be lights out.
“I was waiting for each impact to come and then realising I was still awake after each one and then the car started to slow down and I started to become a bit more optimistic about the outcome.
“I got out of the car as quickly as I could and the safety guys were there pretty quickly as well. You don’t have too much time to be scared – I just thought this is really bad news.”
The cause of the crash is not yet known, with Australian National Drag Racing Association officials inspecting the car today.
Miocevich praised the actions of his opponent, South Africa’s Pieter De Wit, who managed to steer around the incident, no small feat at speed in a jet car.
“Pieter next to me did a great job of getting out of the way and not going through me, that was testament to him. The design of the track is really good so there are not many things you can hit.
“We’ve got pretty stringent roll cage specifications, safety belts, seat inserts, head padding, great helmets and things like that and the track design and safety officials play a huge part.”
Daniel was with family and friends on the night to race and also pay tribute to father Gary, who passed away in 2015.
Gary designed many of the safety features of the track that helped contribute to Daniel emerging with barely a scratch.
“He could have been (watching over me). We thought it would be a good thing to do for his birthday because he was into his jet racing among other things.
“The family were pretty upset about it and that is part of the reason I got out of the car so quickly and the first thing I said to the track crew was you had better radio I am okay and get it announced.
“(My family) are a lot better this morning, we’re on speaking terms again.”
With the car likely a write off, Miocevich is unsure what his future racing plans are right now but he will give it thought during the winter off season.
“I think I will get in trouble if I said I would get back in it straight away, but we will think about it over the off season and see what comes of it.”
