During a burnout competition at Virginia International Raceway’s HyperFest last weekend, one owner of an apparently V8-swapped first-generation Mazda Miata bit off a little more tire shredding than his car could chew, judging by the video evidence below. With his Mazda inside the dedicated burnout box (a staple feature of any automotive event worth its salt), the owner positions his car right up against the concrete barrier in front of him and, presumably, stomps on the throttle.
Credit where it’s due, the ensuing burnout is pretty sick…but it’s soon cut short as the transmission gives out with a bang and the little Mazda promptly sets itself ablaze. The real comedic value here, however, is probably the reaction of both HyperFest staff and the burning Miata’s owner.
Not only does this dude make sure to snag a couple of hilarious pictures in front of the charred roadster (undoubtedly upping his Tinder game by at least 200 percent), he runs back to retrieve a beverage from a cooler that happened to be sitting on the back of his car—a cooler that staff then poured onto the now-smoking hunk of metal.
As funny as this is, we at The Drive stress that while nobody appears to have been injured in this particular instance, dope burnouts should only be ripped in a safe, controlled environment with a driver and vehicle who are both sufficiently prepared for the stunt.