There’s just no better way to describe the use of nitrous oxide than to call it a double-edged sword if there ever were one. Sure, it represents the simplest and most affordable method of power adding for entry level racers and a vital tool in large doses for hardcore heads-up racers, but the truth of the matter is that nitrous oxide is great when it works – which is most of the time – but generally gets real ugly real fast when something is amiss.

As a prime example is this footage captured on Sunday afternoon at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario, Canada, where Michigan-based racer Mark Wisneski was competing with the Heads Up Racing Association (HURA) as part of the track’s Spring Blowoutevent.

Wisneski, in his ’98 Monte Carlo, was paired alongside Jerry Ransford in the opening round of eliminations after qualifying with a nice 6.57 when Wisneski’s mount unleashed the fury and destruction of nitrous oxide just off the starting line, shattering the hood scoop into a million pieces of scattered debris and gathering the undivided attention of everyone within a mile radius of the track. We’ve seen them far uglier than this, but this was a heck of an explosion by any measure.

From what we can tell from the video, there was no sizable fire after the explosion as Wisneski rolled to a stop, but no doubt some damage was done and it looked expensive.