Competitors really know how to put on a show. Photo courtesy of Street Machine

Australian car culture is really something else – it’s a large cultural aspect, and the level of innovation and general hooliganism make it really special. One of the major facets of this culture is burnout competitions, specifically Brasher Nats.

Brasher Nats was started by Australian ‘Burnout King’ Mick Brasher and his better half, Linda, and has become one of the most intense burnout events in Australia. Held at Sydney Dragway, competitors nationwide gather to pit their ridiculous burnout machines against each other in glorious displays of smoke, flames, and in some cases, automotive carnage. The judging is points based, with points being awarded for instant smoke, continuous smoke, driver control, crowd response, popping tires, and the ability to drive off the track after completing a burnout.

Photo from Ozwild

While the event may look and sound like just a simple competition of who can slam on the accelerator harder, burnouts like these do require a tremendous amount of focus and skill. With the mind-blowing loads of power under the hood and the unpredictable nature of a car sliding around on molten (and occasionally non-existent) tires, things can go wrong awfully quick.

Unfortunately, such was the case for the competitors in theses videos. It’s not uncommon to see cars go up in flames or kiss the wall. Typically, this causes only moderate body or mechanical damage (except in the below video, where you can actually see the radiator bust and coolant dump everywhere).

The above video, on the other hand, is one of the gnarliest wrecks at the Sydney Dragway. The driver walked away without a scratch, but, obviously, the car was less lucky.