Leah Pruett, Crash, Pete Farber, GSA Pro Modified, Super Nationals, Englishtown, NJ, 2011. Drag Racing the original extreme sport Please Like, Subscribe, and Share.
My guess is that someone on her crew packs the chutes. From her explanation, I'd say it was an electro-mechanical failure of the steering wheel chute button. I've never gone as fast as she goes everyday, but I'll say that the end of the track comes up pretty dang fast and I'm only in the 8's at 150mph. I think these gals are great for the sport. I'm always happy to have my daughters meet them. .
We need to teach drivers to plan for this event before it happens, I drill these scenarios before each race. When the button on the wheel doesn’t work your first instinct needs to be foot on brake while your hand goes for the manual chute handle. Easier said then done I know!