We all played with the ‘Hot Wheels’ toys when we were younger, and some of us even had those orange tracks with the big ramp and loop de loop. But no one would ever be crazy enough to try anything like that in real life, right? Riiiight? Well… I guess, ESPN Sport Science, Hot Wheels, and a pair of crazy X Games rally drivers had the have the right about science and crazy to make the life size loop de loop work.
This past weekend, rally car drivers, Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy, conquered the impossible, when they shut down the streets of Los Angeles, CA and attempted the world record setting “Hot Wheels Double Dare Loop” for the 2012 X Games. The Double Dare Loop stood over six stories high (60 feet), and stretched out farther then 2 whole football fields. While driving the loop, the drives faced a load of over 7G of acceleration, which allowed them not to lose traction and keep the tires on the track.
Now, I know, you might be thinking, “How hard is this? All they have to do is mash the gas and go as fast as you can into the ramp.” But, you’re an idiot. And you’re wrong. The drives had to keep the cars traveling between 48-52mph. This speed would allow the cars both have enough speed to keep their tires on the track all the way around the loop, as well as not cause them to bottom out when hitting the steep incline of the loop. But not all of this amazing stunt was precision driving. This car were also fitted with specially designed stiffened shocks and tires that were pumped up to 80 psi.
As you can see from the video, the event and the stun were a success, and I’m sure that Hot Wheels is going to sell millions more of there little tin cars because of it.
For more info on the science of this stunt’s madness check out: Sport Science: X Games Hot Wheels challenge 
