KEN SINGLETON
KENDALL SINGLETON STANDS IN HIS RV , SURROUNDED BY FAMILY , HIS HEAD SHAKING SLIGHTLY . HIS TEAM HAS JUST SUFFERED A CLOSE FINAL-ROUND LOSS TO KIRK WILLIAMS IN THE FUNNY CAR CHAOS ( FCC ) A-FIELD AT MO-KAN DRAGWAY IN ASBURY , MISSOURI .
“ Man , I wish we could ’ ve won that one ,” Singleton says , a half-grin forming on his face .
“ I really wanted to win tonight . But it ’ s coming . We ’ re not going to give up . We ’ re going to win before long .”
Singleton is no stranger to winning FCC events , claiming back-to-back-to-back points championships from 2019-2021 in his High Risk Racing alcohol Funny Car . Despite his dominance in the series , Singleton opted to build a brand-new car for 2022 in his chase for a fourth straight championship .
It appeared he would pick up right where he left off , as he ran a career-best 3.61 at 218 mph Friday in testing at the FCC season opener in March at the Texas Motorplex . But even then , he suspected something wasn ’ t quite right with the car .
“ Honestly , we had some issues when we got to Ennis , that looking back , I would ’ ve changed some things ,” Singleton admits . “ We kept making adjustments , thinking , ‘ Let ’ s get through the race , and we ’ ll fix it when we get home .’
Notorious for wanting to run last , Singleton waited throughout qualifying , and was the final car to make a pass Friday night . The car launched hard , but right before the shift point , blew a head gasket , as well as likely breaking a fuel line . Both the spraying fuel and body of the car ignited , creating a 200-mph rolling inferno that entered Singleton ’ s side of the firewall as he crossed the finish line .
“ At one point , I climbed out , and the wind hit me as I came out of the hatch ,” Singleton recalls . “ I said , ‘ Oh crap , I ’ m going too fast to get out of it .’ So I climbed back in and grabbed the brake , and when I did , it slammed sideways and tagged the wall . It bounced along the wall , which helped it slow down , and I finally rolled off the back of it .
“ I knew after I got out of the car that I was really hurt ,” continues Singleton . “ The ambulance was there , and I remember them saying they were going to have to put me out , because they thought my lungs were burned . They knocked me out , and I remember thinking that I wasn ’ t going to wake up . I felt like , ‘ I ’ m done , I ’ m outta here . I ’ m gonna go see God .’”
Two days later , he woke up in the burn unit
Ken tuned Shayne Lawson ’ s Man O ’ War Mustang funny car to a 3rd place points finish in Funny Car Chaos this season .
182 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 185