Completely blind drag racer sets new world speed record on ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’
Blind driver Dan Parker set a world record on Jay Leno’s Garage, Wednesday night. The 2005 American Drag Racing League Pro Nitrous world champion was involved in a serious accident in 2012 which left him completely blind. Parker’s car is a heavily modified 2008 Corvette which features an incredibly advanced navigation system. The system was designed by Parker’s friend from Boeing and incorporates gyroscopes, GPS units, and inertia switches. The system is so advanced it is able to predict the car’s travel and instantly relay that back to Parker via audible feedback. Prior to the attempt Jay Leno got a big laugh out of the racer when he said, “I'd say let's see what happens, but that would be inappropriate.”
Video Transcript
JAY LENO: So this will make you the world's fastest unassisted blind man in an automobile.
- That's correct.
JAY LENO: All right, I'd say let's see what happens, but that would be inappropriate.
DAN PARKER: [LAUGHS]
JAY LENO: Yeah.
KYLIE MAR: Drag racing is a violent sport. And nobody knows that better than former world champion racer Dan Parker, who appeared on "Jay Leno's Garage" Wednesday. In 2012, Dan was involved in a serious wreck, which left him literally driving blind.
DAN PARKER: I woke two weeks later from an induced coma to find out my brain swelled up and pressed my optic nerve and killed it. I'm 100% blind for life.
JAY LENO: Wow.
DAN PARKER: I had about six months of deep depression. And one night in a dream, I had a dream that I could race again.
KYLIE MAR: Dan set out to become the world's fastest unassisted blind driver. And with the help of a friend who builds jets for Boeing, he was able to design a navigation system to help him drive unassisted.
DAN PARKER: So it has a gyro in it, GPS's, all kind of inertia switches and can do calculations or predictions to know where I'm at ahead of myself. I'm able to correct my steering with audible feedback.
KYLIE MAR: With an emergency co-driver in the passenger seat, Dan managed to set a new world record at 152 miles per hour.
DAN PARKER: How fast did I go?
- 152.
DAN PARKER: [LAUGHS]
Hell yeah, everybody!
KYLIE MAR: In fact, he was so excited, he almost forgot he was on TV.
DAN PARKER: Who's this?
JAY LENO: It's Jay. Remember me? Oh, boy, I tell you--
DAN PARKER: Jay?
JAY LENO: Boy, they break a record, and they forget who we are. About 10 minutes ago, ah, man. Ah--
DAN PARKER: Oh, this is Jay Leno.
JAY LENO: Hey, that's right!
DAN PARKER: [LAUGHS]
JAY LENO: Yeah, yeah. That's right. That's right. Nice job. Nice job.
