The last situation that any racer ever wants to encounter in their careers is the destruction of the race car that they’ve tirelessly poured their time and hard earned money into, many of whom would be hard pressed to ever replace it if such an incident occurred. But even for those who do possess the wherewithal to repair it, getting even so much as a scratch on the paint is a blow to the soul. And to have it happen to a brand new race car is a painful insult to injury.

Unfortunately for Bil Clanton, that small but present fear that any racer has when debuting a new race car became reality over the weekend while competing at the I-22 Motorsports Park in Eldridge, Alabama. While on a solo hit on Saturday in his brand new “Big Money” 1969 Camaro, Clanton got out of the groove and lost control of his machine, turning hard left and onto it’s roof, where it’s believed to have rolled twice, into and over the guardrail. The front clip received the brunt of the damage, with the engine and chassis actually separating during the excursion.

Thankfully, Clanton and company built a solid race car, the safety equipment did its job, and the Southern Pro Modified legend walked away from the harrowing incident with little more than the usual bruising and soreness associated with such a crash. Bil and company are reportedly taking a few days to evaluate their thoughts and the condition of the race car before determining their future racing plans. Suffice it to say though – and virtually everyone reading this would surely agree – that Pro Modified wouldn’t be quite the same without “Big Money.”