Ever Ride in a Death Trap? Ride Along With Street Outlaws Chuck!

This season on Street Outlaws, we saw Chuck climb the list and take the #1 spot almost effortlessly. After getting away from small tires that were holding him back from unleashing the full potential of his boosted small block powerplant, he blitzed the Top 10 list and ended the season with the crown after losing it briefly to Big Chief. While there are cameras inside the Death Trap, they’re usually pointed down the street and not toward Chuck, so we can’t see just how busy he is behind the wheel.

In this video, we get a great look at the man himself going through his routine to make a pass down the 660 at a recent appearance. Things get off to a rocky start when there’s not enough water in the burnout box, which leads to a dry hop on the first attempt at doing a burnout. Chuck throws the transmission up into reverse, spins the tires over in the water, then lays down a long smoky burnout. He appears to be a little frustrated when he backs up, as whoever backed him up from the burnout seems to have did a little more zigging and zagging than Chuck wanted.

The burnout process complete, Chuck bumps into the staging beams using the bump button located just behind the shifter. Once staged, Chuck releases the transbrake button on the steering wheel and launches hard on a solid run. A shift and a chute drop later, the run is over and Chuck is coasting to stop after laying down a great pass. We then get to see the burnout and pass from body-mounted GoPro cameras so we can see what the run looked like from the outside.

I did notice a couple things that are worth pointing out, even at the risk of drawing Chuck’s ire: I know it’s called the Death Trap, but that doesn’t mean he needs to take unnecessary risks. Chuck, my friend, you should be wearing fireproof gloves, a HANS device, and always fasten your helmet strap and close your helmet’s face shield when you make a pass. My good friend Lyle Barnett is a living testament to how badly things can be when a fire erupts and you aren’t outfitted with the proper equipment.

I don’t want to come across as preachy, but I certainly don’t want to see something terrible happen to Chuck, especially injuries that could be prevented.