There aren’t many things in life that sound more exciting than going full speed in an amazing car, at least for any motorhead. However, while the concept of living life to the fullest on the drag track is attractive to say the least, there aren’t many people who actually dare to make that dream come true.
Although “Street Outlaws”, and its many spin-offs such as “No Prep Kings” do a good job at showing the audience the reality of street racing, only the drivers really know what it feels like to put life on the line for the sake of adrenaline, money and love for speed, even though it sometimes has drastic and lamentable consequences.
So is the latter the case for Kansas’ driver Robin Roberts? Keep with us to know what’s recently happened to him, his latest endeavors in the car racing scene and his future career.
Did He Have An Accident?
It isn’t surprising that following a passion as dangerous as car racing has sometimes terrible consequences, and this time it was Robin Roberts’ turn to face these. As it happens, in October 2022 he suffered an horrific crash while in North Carolina, in a race against Justin Swanstrom for the show “No Prep Kings”.
Robin’s electric blue 1968 Firebird named “High Velocity” endured the worst damage, as its front was almost completely destroyed due to it crashing against a wall a couple of minutes after the race started. For his part, Robin was left unconscious in the wreck, but received medical attention right away, for which his team thanked “Street Outlaws” production company Pilgrim through social media, for the quick emergency response.
It’s unknown how much the crash affected Robin’s overall performance in “No Prep Kings”, but surely the financial cost of the wreck took a toll on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ccTP_gpXY
Will He Be Okay?
Robin Roberts’ October 2022 crash affected his health, but thankfully not in an irreparable way. According to site reports, Robin was airlifted to a Charlotte hospital from the crash scene while unconscious, immediately undergoing surgery to repair a collapsed lung and three broken ribs. He was completely unaware of these procedures though, as he confessed on an Instagram post a couple of days after the accident: ‘I still have no memory of the past or anything until I woke up this morning in the hospital, and Melody told me about it’.
According to Robin, he still had some time to recover, but even that won’t stop him from meeting with fans and attending non-driving events for “No Prep Kings”, as seen on his social media. Hopefully, Robin’s recovery will be a safe and quick one.
Who Is Robin Roberts?
While most people might not be familiar with every “Street Outlaws” driver’s backstory, all of them have something which makes them stand out, and that also includes Robin Roberts. Born in Dodge City, Kansas, Robin’s has been racing the streets since his teens when he bought a 1972 Challenger.
However, street racing isn’t an activity which puts people on the right side of the law, so Robin’s early 20s were spent creating a not-so positive reputation with the state’s forces. At some point, he left his to establish himself in Arizona, where his knowledge of engine fixing landed him a job in a mining company, though he later joined a larger company of which he became a Chief Operations Officer.
Robin Roberts won Street Outlaws No Prep Kings – Who is he?#Street Outlaws #Robin Robertshttps://t.co/6jHsyDI7V6
— Discovery TV Shows (@ShowsDiscovery) August 9, 2021
Although Robin’s 9-to-5 work life was really thriving, his love for street racing never faded. After convincing a friend to modify a Pontiac Firebird for him, Robin took to Phoenix’s streets for the first time, and climbed to the top of the city’s racing scene.
Before returning to Kansas in 2015, Robin’s popularity in Phoenix was good enough to be featured in several race and hot rod magazines. Upon returning to his hometown, he bought his company Central Power Systems & Services, which currently sponsors the race escapades of his current rides, two 1968 Pontiac Firebirds named “High Voltage” and “High Velocity” respectively, as seen in “Street Outlaws”.
Who Else Has Crashed In “Street Outlaws”?
Although Robin Roberts’ crash was terrible enough for his fans, he wasn’t the first one in “Street Outlaws” and its spin-offs to endure a similar incident.
Tim Brown
While “No Prep Kings” has given many good racing moments to its audience, it has also been the center of many accidents. Such is the case of Tim Brown’s wreck in May 2022, when he and Mike Murillo were competing against each other for the show at a New England event.
Even though the race seemed to be going well for the first few seconds, Tim lost control of the car and crashed against a wall, missing hitting Murillo’s by only a couple of meters.
As announced by Tim’s Facebook team, he and Mike were both in good health after the wreck. However, Tim’s car was damaged both front and back, leaving him unable to join several events for the rest of the season.
https://www.facebook.com/OhioStreetOutlaws/posts/pfbid02H35Ujabsj1PxLe5VnbYfmeECgyTR2oFsAZW1UkzErt4t9Y4sGK3NFQKPnhVEjaU1l
Daddy Dave
Even veteran drivers have bad days from time to time, and Daddy Dave is no exception. Back in July 2021, the “No Prep Kings” racer whose real name is Dave Comstock, suffered a terrible accident when his 1963 Chevy Nova crashed into the track’s side wall just after a race against Bobby Ducote finished in Georgia.
The entirety of the crash was filmed by “No Prep Kings” cameras, which caught the exact moment in which Ducote was named the race’s winner only a second before Dave lost control of the car. Fortunately, Dave was safe and sound despite all that, but his Chevy, baptized as “Goliath 2.0”, was severely damaged, an unfortunate fact given how he’d renovated the car entirely just months prior.
Describing the situation to Dragzine, Dave admitted that controlling his car during the accident was out of his reach: ‘Right after the 1/8-mile it got loose, turned sideways on me really quick, I couldn’t recover it, and we blasted the wall’ he said, admitting he might have ‘run out of talent’, but that his return to the tracks would happen sooner or later. Making good of that promise, Daddy Dave was back on the road in October that year.
Prayers out to daddy Dave who just wrecked his brand new Chevy 2 nova pic.twitter.com/qe0QQTvbK2
— Codi (@codi_cooper) August 2, 2015
Justin Swanstrom & Super Dave
One of the most impressive crashes ever in “No Prep Kings” took place in May 2022, involving drivers Justin Swanstrom and Dave Adkins, also known as Super Dave. During a race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania, Justin’s car “Prenup” blew up just seconds after starting the race, but became worst when Dave lost control and rear ended Justin.
The scene of the two motionless cars and the flames surrounding the track was terrifying to say the least, but Justin was able to get out of the car right away, however, as the emergency team arrived, Dave was worryingly showing no signs of getting out. It wasn’t until the flames were extinguished that Dave was fortunately taken to safety, though the extent of his and Justin’s injuries wasn’t well known. Fortunately, both men recovered well, and fixed their cars in time for the next “No Preps Kings” season later that year.
Mike Murillo
Despite avoiding a messy crash against Tim Brown’s car in May 2022, Mike Murillo couldn’t escape the next wreck coming his way. In September that year, Mike was unfortunately involved in a crash during the filming “No Prep Kings”, while racing against Ryan Martin at Summit Motorsport Park in Ohio.
Although there won’t probably be a video recount of the accident before “No Prep Kings” late 2022 season airs, the crash was evidently serious according to the pics he shared on Instagram: ‘I’m ok physically for the most part, and that is truly what counts but we shall discuss the content of these pictures and what we’re going to do about it’ he said, showing pics of his very damaged car front. Mike also thanked Justin Swanstrom and his father, who according to him played a big role in saving his life.
Although Mike’s recent wreck was apparently very messy, back in 2015 he had already gone through a similar situation, when his car became airborne and rolled over several times during a “No Prep Kings” race.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdzZW7hIERi/
Brandon James
Despite being a new face for “Street Outlaws” audience, the young Brandon James has already made a name for himself by winning “Mega Cash Days” in 2021 along with a juicy prize of $600,000.
However, Brandon’s prowess behind the wheel hasn’t kept him safe from suffering a couple of serious accidents in his still young career. The first occurred in June 2021, when he lost control of the car during an “America’s List” race, rolling over the track before landing on the sideway, almost crashing against his competitor Lizzy Musi.
Thankfully, Brandon’s injuries weren’t very serious and more than anything, he was annoyed at seeing the damage to his car.
A far more serious incident occurred a year later, as he and Dennis Bailey competed against each other in “Fastest In America”. As the cars raced side by side, Bailey lost control and rear ended Brandon, forcefully pushing him to the side, leaving a frightened audience to watch Brandon’s car rolling over in the air as it caught fire.
Though Brandon didn’t lose consciousness, he was visibly disoriented as he was taken out of the car and transported to safety. Nonetheless, the messy conclusion of the race didn’t steal Brandon’s victory.
JJ Da Boss & Tricia Day
Another unfortunate incident took place while filming “Fastest In America” in early 2022, as JJ Da Boss and his wife Tricia Day were involved as they competed against each other. As seen in the show, JJ Da Boss’ car became engulfed in flames, and resulted in him losing control, unfortunately crashing against Tricia, who was sent flying over the side of the road as her car also caught fire.
Although JJ Da Boss was hurt in the incident, Tricia suffered worst damage and was taken out of the car in a bad condition. As seen in the show and on social media, the couple both underwent surgeries, and the next couple of months saw Tricia using a wheelchair before gaining the strength to walk again.
Regardless of the horrible accident, neither Tricia nor JJ left the tracks for good, and as soon as their health had improved enough, both took back their spot behind the wheel.
Carlos Sobrino
Another driver to face an unfortunate fate while on the tracks is Carlos Sobrino, whose race at Maple Grove Raceway in May 2022 took a sad turn. Despite taking the lead in the first seconds, Carlos’ Mustang “The Joker” messily crashed against the fence and sustained a huge amount of damage, though the impact partially damaged the concrete walls surrounding the track.
However, the worst part was the physical injuries Carlos’ suffered in the incident; according to a report by NMRA Nationals, Carlos spent several days in hospital recovering from a broken back, along with other non-revealed injuries.
Jeff Lutz
Veteran drivers aren’t safe from suffering terrific incidents behind the wheel, and Jeff Lutz is proof of that. The most terrible of these took place in May 2021, when his yellow 1957 Chevy was completely destroyed during a “Street Outlaws” race.
As seen on the clip shared by the show, Jeff’s Chevy was apparently in good condition at the beginning, but as the finish line approached he lost control of the car, which rolled over and almost hit its competitor in the process. Once the destroyed Chevy remained motionless on the sideroad, the astonished audience found that Jeff had been ejected from the car during the wreck and required urgent medical assistance.
Jess fortunately recovered from all his injuries after a couple of months, but the messy accident sadly left his beloved Chevy useless, beyond repair. However, not one to give up easily, the next couple of months Jeff succesfully put together a new but classy car to replace his old car for “No Prep Kings”,
https://www.facebook.com/dragcoverage/posts/pfbid0QsHSiw5p5yNoWGxGHHpaJ3HpTAjTNYThSbafU3p5mfhLzak6Z51zpYfEhXuDjY9wl
Ryan Fellows
Although most of the time those who have crashed their cars haven’t had a terrible outcome, the same couldn’t be said about Ryan Fellows, who unfortunately died during a “Fastest in America” race in August 2022.
The incident took place in Las Vegas, and according to online reports, was caused by losing control of his Nissan 240z as he was about to cross the finish line, and subsequently crashed. While Ryan’s medical condition in the wreck wasn’t revealed, the injuries he sustained led to his unfortunate death, as reported by Discovery: ‘We extend our deepest sympathy to Ryan’s loved ones as they process this sudden and devastating loss’, they wrote in an official statement.
This recent loss is a reminder of how dangerous street racing actually is, but how much this terrible event could affect “Street Outlaws” and the franchise is yet to be seen.
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