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Watch these videos of an NHRA racer's bodywork blowing off into a crowd

Just a few months ago, fan safety at racetracks was a hot topic following the last-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series crash at Daytona that sent large pieces of racecars into the grandstands injuring 33 fans. Now, a freak incident at a National Hot Rod Association event resulted in a drag racer's bodywork flying into the crowd at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte over the weekend. The carbon-fiber body of Robert Hight's Ford Mustang funny car blew off toward the end of a run when his engine exploded, but fortunately, the two fans evaluated after the incident were later released without serious injury.
As you can see in the image above, the body flew high into the air before landing on a walkway in front of the grandstands, a bit of happenstance that likely gave most fans enough time and space to move out of the way. Scroll down to watch a couple of videos showing what happened, including one from a fan's perspective that also reveals what appears to be part of the body's metal bracing landing dangerously close to the crowd.

Recharge Wrap-up: Grimsel electric car breaks acceleration world record, electric Ford Raptor ATV debuts

An all-electric version of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is now available... as an ATV. Made by Caddyshack Golf Cars, it features officially licensed Ford badging borrowed from the super-macho pickup. It has a lifted chassis with leaf springs in the front and rear, hydraulic shocks and off-road tires. Powered by a 48-volt motor, it can do 0-25 mph in 2.9 seconds. Range is an estimated 30 miles - plenty to get you through 18 of the most rugged holes of golf you've ever played. Caddyshack also offers other miniature electric Fords, including a Shelby GT500, Shelby Cobra and 50th Anniversary Mustang. Read more at Green Car Reports. Lexus takes a crack at the BMW i3 in a new video from Funny or Die. In the decidedly anti-EV film, a group of guys drives to Las Vegas for a "dad-chelor party" in a Lexus CT 200h and a BMW i3. The Lexus hybrid makes it to Sin City without any problems, while the BMW's occupants need to make several lengthy stops to charge along the way, missing much of the fun. The video lampoons the inherent range limitations of the EV (the BMW group ends up driving slowly through the desert with no AC or radio to save energy), all in a well produced, if somewhat misguided, short comedy film. Perhaps they should have considered the i3 with a range extender? See the video below, or read more at Green Car Reports. Students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University have set a new EV acceleration world record. Their "Grimsel" racing car was able to zoom from 0-100 kph (0-62.137 mph) in just 1.785 seconds in less than 30 meters (98.425 feet), crushing the previous record of 2.134 seconds. Even more impressive is that the Grimsel was built by the students themselves, as part of the Formula Student team at the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich. The car weighs just 370 pounds and provides 200 horsepower and 1,202 pound feet of torque from the four hub motors. The Grimsel uses traction control to manage torque for maximum acceleration. See the record acceleration run in the videos below or read more at Gizmag, at Electric Autosport or in the press release from ETH Zurich below. 'grimsel' breaks world record The 'grimsel' electric racing car today broke the previous world record for acceleration in electric cars. The vehicle accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.785 seconds in under 30 metres. The new record was set by students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who also designed and built the vehicle.

2014 Ford Fiesta gets fuel economy bump to 41 mpg

The 2014 Ford Fiesta is in showrooms now with refreshed styling and new performance ST model, but it's what isn't yet available that should help the Fiesta stand out from the growing crowd of subcompacts. Aside from the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost model coming later this year, Ford recently told us that a new Fiesta SFE trim level is on the way that should put the updated Fiesta at the top of its class for fuel economy.
The new Fiesta SFE will hit an estimated 41 miles per gallon on the highway when equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission. The current listing on fueleconomy.gov shows the 2014 Fiesta getting up to 29 mpg city and 39 highway, but the SFE will get minor aero tuning and a recalibrated engine controller to help bump the highway figure past rivals like the Chevrolet Sonic and Nissan Versa - both of which top out at 40-mpg highway. There's still no word as to when the small 1.0-liter EcoBoost will show in the US, but Ford has indicated that engine's fuel economy isn't expected to be released until October.