[olddog]

When I was about 14, a neighbor bought a Vette that had been set up to drag race, with a 12 bolt straight axle under it. The housing was apparently too far out of alignment. He broke about a half dozen rear U-joints. I saw the whole shaft come flipping out several times.

He was on his way to taking it to a shop to get the housing mounted at the propper angle, when me and some other kids talked him into one more burn out. This time the front U-joint broke just has he slammed 2nd gear. The shaft jammed into the pavement and kicked the rear end up into the air about 2-3 feet on one side. About a foot on the other side. The car went up on two side wheels next. He was all over the road. The back U-joint broke off, too and the shaft kicked about 10 feet into the air, taking a large chunk of pavement with it. It pretty much destroyed the car, but the rear end stayed under it. Frame was twisted and body cracked.

Anyone who could have seen this would believe in some system to contain the driveshaft.