Images supplied by Tony Huntimer.

As most of you are already aware, an iconic racecar suffered a tragic fire that initially left the car’s future in limbo. On Monday June 13, at Buttonwillow Raceway, the 1969 Camaro known as “Big Red” caught fire during a test session.

On Tuesday June 28, the Big Red team made an announcement on Facebook that revealed the cause of the fire as a fuel rail failure, “With a high-pressure fuel pump, a small leak can turn into fuel spray. Hot components under the hood ignited the fuel, and the fire quickly spread to the wiring and hoses, then to the rear of the car where the rear tires caught fire and got out of control.”

Another crucial piece of information the post revealed, was that the team has decided the car can be salvaged. Few details were provided about the repair effort, so we reached out to the team, hoping to find out more. We spoke to Tony Huntimer, the Social Media manager for Big Red, and he was able to give us some inside information on the incident itself, and the rebuild effort that is in the making.

The fire occurred only six months after a significant performance overhaul on Big Red was completed. According to Tony, “We had just returned from testing at Pikes Peak, and the test day at Buttonwillow was meant to do a last minute wringing out of Big Red before the actual race at Pikes Peak.” Big Red was on the track and away from the pits when the fire broke out. Tony continued, “The fire suppression system gave the driver enough time to get out of the car, but the fire got out of control really quick.”

Team Big Red and the fire crew from Buttonwillow rushed to extinguish the fire, and their quick actions are likely what saved this from being a total loss. Although the pictures certainly make the situation look hopeless, all is not lost on this one.

“The aluminum aero rails on the roof, and tabs around the windows didn’t melt, so that’s a good sign that the metal might not have been overheated,” Tony told us. To actually find out what needs to be replaced and what can be saved, they need to start by stripping everything off the car, and sending the one piece body/chassis to the blaster to get all the burned paint removed. From there, they can judge which panels need replacing.

Once they know what it’s going to take to salvage Big Red, they need to plan the rebuild. “During the next rebuild, I can imagine we’ll look into a larger fire system,” Tony explained. “Not much else can be done about combating against a failed bolt, except maybe adding more attachment points to critical components like fuel rails.”

The team has an aggressive goal of attempting to set a new record at Mojave by this October. That means that they plan to have Big Red back on the track and ready to run in just over three months’ time. “We ran 251.8 mph out there last year,” Tony said. “That’s our current goal.”

“The whole thing has been a devastating blow to RJ and the team,” Tony explained. Although it’s hard, the team has maintained a positive attitude. “Crap happens. It’s racing. We’ll be in a much better place when the first wrench gets turned on a freshly-coated chassis. We’re ready for the next chapter.”

As sad as it was to see this happen, we’ll keep a watchful eye on the rebuild as the process continues. It’s exciting to see that the team cares enough about their car to put it back together and rebuid it to where it was before this tragic incident. As the build progresses, we will keep you up to date whenever something new comes up.