And now for something (maybe not so) completely unexpected.

First, how does a Camaro ZL1 on bias ply slicks lose it altogether midway down a drag strip? Our bet is a poor shift of some sort--either a 3-2 instead of a 3-4 or a really brutal upshift. So maybe that's not so inexplicable.

But what happens next is not the most likely result, either for the ZL1 and its driver, or for the driver of the camera car.

As the ZL1 begins a tankslapper, the other driver is mid-way through the 3-4 upshift. As soon as the gear is engaged, he's on the brakes, reacting even before the ZL1 comes back to the right (after lightly grazing the retaining wall). As the ZL1 slides broadside down the track while its driver stands on the brakes, the camera car driver veers toward the center, ostensibly trying to avoid the ZL1's rightward progress. And all of this happens in about 8 seconds.

Fortunately, quick reactions from both drivers kept what could have been a major accident to little more than a dramatic video and some unhappy tires.

Thanks for the tip, Frank!