Spangler Jumps a Top Fuel Drag Car!

Jul 8, 2010

While filming for "Here We Go Again," Don Hampton asked Randy Spangler if he had any cool ideas for a section in his upcoming movie. First thing that came to mind was friend Terry Cox and family who own a drag car. Randy thought it would be cool to jump a top fuel drag car while it's doing a fat burnout. Don was totally game. The dangers of jumping a top fuel drag car are deadly. If something goes wrong on the start and the car gets out of control, the heads blow right when Randy is jumping, etc, the result could be fatal. With all this in mind, they were all game to pull off this awesome stunt for the final scene in "Here We Go Again"!

Check inside to see the action unfold!

I got a call from Don Hampton one day asking me if I was free to drive to Sacramento to shoot Randy jumping a top fuel drag car for his movie. I was honored and hit the road to Sac-town. On the way there I had no idea what to expect. When arriving I saw all sorts of people. Family, friends, and spectators all came out to see the show. DH Productions had a ton of warming lights to film this stunt in the dark. So the sun needed to set in order for us to get the effect Don wanted. For me, the photographer, I wish we could have done it earlier, while the sun was setting. However, the cost of each run and the danger it brought meant Randy was going to be jumping the car a minimum amount of times. Here are some shots of the crew getting ready for the night.





As soon as the sun went down the crew fired up the drag car and did a practice run with the drag car burnout. They timed the burnout to see how long it took him to get to the jump. Then Randy did a few practice runs to get a feel for it. The second time the drag car went for the burnout Randy was going to try jumping it. The drag car was so fast that it beat randy to the jump and they completely missed. It was important to get this right ASAP, because it was very expensive and dangerous to do this more than a few times. So the crew talked a bit about timing and went for a second attempt. Randy was a bit to early this time, but it was still really good. Everybody was excited and ran to the cameras and watched the footage. But we all knew it was not it. Randy had crossed the front of the car and not over the engine. However, it still looked really cool. But the owner of the Drag car, Terry's Dad, said, "Go ahead, run it again!" Randy and Terry were game so we got ready for the final run. Hopefully this was going to be it. Below are some photos leading up to the Banger!




On the third attempt, Randy and Terry, had to make sure the timing was right. It was for all the marbles. There wasn't going to be another chance. The two longtime friends pulled it together and made for a perfect ending. Randy snapped his famous table right over Terry's car. It couldn't have worked out better. I knew when I took the picture it was done. And sure enough, Randy got off his bike and was soooooo stoked! He was screaming, "Oh man I could feel the strokes of the engine in my chest!" He ran over to Terry and the two collided in celebration! Job well done boys!



Go to the Pinkbike store and get your copy of "Here We Go Again". It's a movie that you don't want to miss.

Here We Go Again DVD is DH Productions’ twenty fifth DVD adventure. They bring together the old and the new, from the Andes to the Appalachians. Fresh faced rippers team up with our stable of shredders, showing that no matter where you’re at or who you are, it’s all about havin’ fun. While secret stashes and untouchable locations are nice, Here We Go Again… will draw upon DH Productions’ DIY style and blue collar work ethic to feature rad spots all around the world - spots that are there for the taking. Look around you and see what you can find. This is our backyard sesh – where’s yours?


Thanks Don for such a rad movie! Look for Don Hampton and his crew, DH Productions, doing a live feed of Claymore Challenge coming up in a few weeks!

-Justin Brantley