The final remains and resting place of the Chevy Luv pick-up truck that went for one wild ride at Texas Raceway this past weekend.

In the sport of drag racing, anything can happen at any time with the given rate of acceleration and speed achieved in a short amount of time and space. Cars can lose traction in the blink of an eye and the driver can be along for the ride just as quick as he pushed the loud pedal.

This very thing happened in this instance at a grudge race in Texas over the weekend.

In the high stakes world of grudge racing, lots of money is on the line with each pair that blasts down the racetrack — whether it be between the racers behind the wheel or side-bets in the grandstands and on the starting line. Money can sometimes make people do things that they do not usually do, like push their vehicles to the absolute limit; and sometimes that limit is a little too far.

Tony “Pretty Tony” Coleman, in the left hand lane in the video shown above, pedaled the truck numerous times in an effort to regain traction and pull ahead of his opponent. But, the last pedal was just one too many as the truck made an abrupt move towards the wall in the left hand lane. After a very hard impact with the left side retaining wall, the truck darted across the track and crashed through the guardrail — actually piercing through the truck — before flipping onto it’s side and bursting into flames.

Photos courtesy of Barry Wade

According to the most recent information available, Coleman has been placed in a medically induced coma, due to the severity of his injuries, which are said to include significant burns. In doing so, doctors are hoping that the rest will allow him to be stabilized.

This is another example of how important wearing your safety equipment really is. When the driver got into the car before the pass, we’re sure that he didn’t have this in mind. Helmet, seat belts, neck restraint systems, fireproof jacket and pants, gloves and even down to driving shoes are so important to wear each and every time down the racetrack. We at Dragzine send our well wishes to Coleman, his family and crew on a complete recovery.