NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car racer DJ Cox went for the kind of ride every racer fears when he lost control of his flopper at upwards of 200 mph and crashed violently at a Lucas Oil Series regional event in New York state. Cox, from Whiteford, Maryland and a 13-year veteran of the class, escaped serious injury in the crash.

Anybody who’s seen a Top Alcohol Funny Car in person knows they have their own unique sound, a guttural scream as the driver brings the rpm up, dumps the clutch, and rockets down the quarter-mile. These manually-shifted cars are sledgehammers that run right on the edge, taking a driver’s full attention to wrestle one down the track on a five-second pass even when everything goes right.

During last weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Lebanon Valley Dragway, Cox went for the ride of his life in his 3,500 horsepower machine. His Chevrolet-bodied flopper was racing opposite of Dan Pomponio in the second round of eliminations when things got ugly in a hurry. Near half-track Cox’s car darted to the right suddenly and headed towards the wall. Before he could reel the car back in it made contact with the wall, launching over it, and nearly striking the scoreboards as it barrel rolled though the grass alongside the retaining wall, shedding parts and pieces as it violently tumbled to a stop.

Cox sustained minor injuries and reported on Facebook that he was sore, but otherwise okay after the crash. Check out this footage from Wesley’s Racing Photography and Bob Cunningham that show just how violent this crash was!