Everything seemed to be going well for Justin Bankston and his brother/team owner when they arrived for Pro Nitrous qualifying at the ADRL race in Hattiesburg, MS. In their first race outing this year, the Terry, MS-based team placed their beautiful 2003 ‘Vette on top of the list after the first round of qualifying with a 4.357-seconds pass over the 1/8-mile course at Hub City Dragway.

Confidence was high as Bankston lined up for his second qualifying attempt, but by the time he reached the 60-foot marker things went terribly out of hand. Following a bout of severe tire shake, the oil filter apparently broke off the engine, spraying oil all over the rear tires and sending Bankston out of control into the left guardrail. The oil also ignited on the car’s headers, creating an orange fireball as the car rolled over on its roof and slid through the traps upside down at more than 102 mph.

Here, in his own words, are the thoughts of Justin Bankston shortly after the fiery accident: 

“After it hit the guardrail [the engine] stopped. What happened is when it hit the guardrail the battery turn-off switch was hit hard and it shut the car off. It hit the wall and it was just kind of foggy from then on. It stayed on its roof ‘til just past the quarter-mile mark. I didn’t think it was ever going to stop sliding. It felt like I slid for a mile.

“I had an accident here last year with the same car in the same lane and that was actually the first time I’d run the left lane here since that accident. So the last two times I’ve run that lane I’ve wrecked. I don’t know what that says about this. It’s just unfortunate, it’s just racin’.

"We’ll definitely get another car going. It may not be this year; it’ll depend on how long it takes the guy to build it. Just a minor setback, part of racing."