Magnum Illusion’s body blows off — and Mehl returns to race

A July 1978 newspaper report identifies Rick Mehl as the driver when Magnum Illusion’s fiberglass body blew off during a side-by-side exhibition with Bill “Maverick” Golden’s Little Red Wagon in Jackson, Mississippi. A follow-up report places Mehl and the car back on track at Baileyton, Alabama, on July 15.

The body separates in Jackson

The Cullman Times-Democrat reported on July 14, 1978, that the incident had occurred the previous weekend. Mehl and Golden were racing alongside one another at about 130 mph, with Golden ahead in Little Red Wagon, when wind broke the body latches at the front of Magnum Illusion’s 1978 Dodge body.

According to the report, the body rose approximately 50 feet into the air. Mehl brought the remaining chassis, described as powered by a 1,400-horsepower Dodge Hemi, to a safe stop. The newspaper attributed the body damage to spectators tearing off pieces and to handling while it was loaded onto a wrecker.

These are the newspaper’s reported figures and account of the damage. The article names Jackson, Mississippi, but gives neither the track’s name nor an exact incident date. “Last weekend” points to July 8–9, 1978; that date range is an inference, not a date printed for the accident.

Back at Baileyton on July 15

The same July 14 article announced that Baileyton Drag Strip officials had spoken with Golden and Mehl and had been assured Magnum Illusion would appear the next night, July 15. Mehl was scheduled to face Harold Mullican, driving Jack Walker’s Tater Hauler GMC pickup wheelstander, in a three-run match.

The July 21 follow-up confirms that the exhibition took place. It identifies Mehl in Magnum Illusion, describes the Star Wars paint scheme, and reports that Mullican won the first run after Mehl’s car sputtered at takeoff. Mehl reached the finish first in the next two runs, but did not complete the course entirely on the rear wheels. Tater Hauler stayed on its rear wheels for the full eighth-mile in all three runs. No elapsed times were available because a new timing system was being installed.

What this establishes

The two July reports document a body-separation incident with Rick Mehl in Jackson and a completed Magnum Illusion appearance at Baileyton shortly afterward. They do not describe how the body was refitted or establish a repaint or rebuild sequence. The June 30 notice provides earlier context, advertising Mehl in Magnum Illusion against Golden’s Little Red Wagon at Green Valley on July 4; it does not confirm that scheduled appearance was completed.