I've seen a dragster run with the crank broken. Started missing a bit, no knocking noises, just a miss.
We pulled the engine out of the frame and tore it down, the crank came out in two pieces.
That was a small block Chevy though, not sure how a Poncho motor would react.
Funny thing was, the engine had just been built two races prior to the incident, and the crank had been magnafluxed.......the machine shop ate that one, cause the metal was really dark where the crack was and you could see the shiny metal of the rest of the crank where it completely broke.
But the engine did run, broke crank and all. Thank God the driver decided to shut her off at the starting line.