NHRA racer and Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence walked away uninjured from a horrific accident while going 302 mph (486 km/h) at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Torrence was racing against Richie Crampton when the left rear slick on his dragster failed and the high-speed machine suddenly turned towards the guardrail.
Thankfully, the car remained intact from the foot-box on back, despite the chassis getting torn from the firewall and beyond. Despite the accident, Torrence actually won the round, as reported by Dragzine.
“What I thought happened is exactly what happened – the left rear tire went down and as soon as it blew the car started going left and I tried to steer into it, but then I hit the wall and it was a ride from there,” said the racer. “I did all I could do. Thankfully Richie didn’t run over me.”
Torrents also mentions how there was absolutely no warning this was about to happen, which is usually how things go when you’re racing at such high speeds. Even if you do sense something is wrong, it’s still very hard to react in time.