Jack Beckman is looking to wrap up his first-ever NHRA Funny Car title, and it appears an exploding car is not going to slow him down.
Half-way through this qualifying run on Thursday, a spectacular explosion destroyed his car's Dodge bodywork, engulfing Beckman in a ball of flames while traveling at almost 300 miles per hour.
Fortunately, Beckman was not injured in the explosion (although he did lose an eyebrow from the fire) and he actually went on to win the race with a 4.117-second ETA at 273 mph, qualifying him fifth for this weekend's race at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.
Despite losing most of the car's body and having a visor covered in oil, Beckman was able to deploy the parachutes and bring was left of his Charger funny car safely to a stop.
In the video, you can actually see him shielding the fire from his face as he tries to get the car slowed down, and then once stopped, he hops out of the cockpit waving to the crowd.
After the car comes to a rest, we get a good look at how underneath their funny car body shells, these racers actually resemble the classic rear-seat dragsters from the good ol' days.
