Driver Loses Steering Wheel Mid-Burnout, Somehow Still Wins at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

There are winning runs, and then there are winning runs. Jason Collins delivered the latter at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, turning what should have been a round-two exit into one of the more memorable victories the Pro Mod category has seen in recent memory. The short version: the steering wheel came off during the burnout, the car kissed a sponsor board, the crew had to come help put the wheel back on, and Collins still won the round. Racing, everybody.

For a moment, it genuinely looked like the day was done. Collins’ screw-blown Scott Tidwell Racing ’69 Camaro drifted left during the burnout, nudged a center sponsor board, and came to rest with a cracked nose piece and a driver who no longer had a steering wheel in his hands. Not ideal at any point in a race weekend. Especially not on the starting line in front of a live crowd.

The saving grace, procedurally speaking, was that Collins had not crossed the centerline. Race control confirmed the car was legal to make the run, and after a crew member helped get the wheel back on, Collins backed up and staged. At this point, most observers probably assumed they were watching a formality before a loss.

Then Travis Harvey went red.

A Burnout Nobody Saw Coming

With Harvey out on a foul start, Collins crossed the finish line and collected the round win in what the broadcast booth accurately described as the most improbable victory of the session. Harvey’s crew was not pleased.

The JBS team, by all accounts, was considerably less than thrilled. Collins’ crew chief, Cam, was reportedly shaking his head in the manner of a man who had just finished repairing that same front end from a previous incident.

Collins Takes Full Responsibility

To his credit, Collins did not attempt to spin the situation. In his post-run interview, he was direct about what happened: the steering wheel came off because he had not locked it on properly. He said he had never had that happen in all his years of racing, and he was embarrassed.

He also made a point of apologizing to Cam on camera. Owning an error cleanly, especially right after winning a round because of it, is not nothing.

On to the Final

Collins did not stop there. He went on to win the event outright, which means the steering wheel incident now sits at the front of an otherwise legitimate championship run at Thunder Valley.

Whether Cam has fully forgiven him is not confirmed at time of publication.

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