I was thinking the same thing. I guess there's a parachute that stops cars in normal circumstances, but if the car blows up, I'm sure the chute-detonating mechanism gets burned up also. Not sure that he would've lived through the initial explosion, however.
After watching this again I cant believe the NHRA would even race at a place without proper safety measures I wouldnt be suprised to see outrage from other drivers because of this wall this close to the end of the strip