Fire Devastates Richard Flint’s 7-Second Honda S2000, Fight Begins For Sick Week
We reported on Richard Flint’s 2000 Honda S2000 just last week, a multi-time drag-and-drive participant that had recently turned a corner to score two wins late in the 2023 season.
The single-turbo LS-swapped ride had recently laid down some 7.3-second passes, and Richard had the car upgraded to a new orange hue in time to make the Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship. But the event would take a serious turn for Richard in eliminations.
Slammed Square Body Chevy Truck Giveaway now on!
Competition ends 11:59:59pm February 5, 2024. No purchase req’d. Terms and conditions apply.
“In round one, we pulled CJ Durbin in his awesome S-10 truck,” said Richard. “We squeezed out a 7.4-second pass on the brakes. Round two we laddered with Kyle Wade; the Christmas tree dropped and the car left well.”
Richard was well on his way to a win when disaster struck.
“About seven seconds into the run I saw a liquid on the windshield, so I pulled the parachute and waited for it to deploy,” he said. “As soon as the chute blossomed, the engine bay ignited. At first, I was very calm and just wanted to get close to the fire trucks so I started making my way towards them. A few seconds later the fire spread into the cabin of the car, and we still weren’t slowed down enough. At that time, I started preparing to get out. I have practiced this quite a bit and I’m glad I have. I was able to get out in no time.”
Richard had saved himself, but the Honda continued to burn and roll through the shutdown area. “The car was still rolling a bit when I bailed, so I had to run with the car as I wasn’t prepared to just let it burn.
I grabbed my fire extinguisher, and the one I had is a small one, and knew that it was only going to hold it at bay until the crew gets there. The safety crew came up quick just as my extinguisher was out.”
Fellow competitor Ricardo Diniz joined the efforts by bringing a big extinguisher that sits up on the wall at Bradenton Motorsports Park, and once joined by more track crew, they got the fire under control.
After reviewing the damage, Richard believes the starting point was a fuel rail bracket bolt that was about two threads loose, allowing an injector O-ring to pop out, releasing fuel to ignite on the exhaust.
“As far as I can tell right now, the damage is quite extensive,” said Richard.
He’s found that the coils, spark plug wires, all pressure and temperature sensors on both engine and transmission, injectors, intercooler lines, transmission lines, oil lines, fuel lines, intercooler lines, radiator hoses, brakes lines, fuse box, chassis harness and engine harness, as well as the battery and starter cable are damaged.
Just a couple days after the incident, Richard has gutted the Honda to get an idea of how much work lies ahead. “I know this is a long and jumbled mess, but we will rebuild and will make it to Sick Week,” he said.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Richard Flint and Cleetus McFarland / FRDM+.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com