Racers in the Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car ranks tend not to get the due credit they deserve compared to their nitro counterparts in the professional ranks, but to those that know better, there’s no argument that the alcohol-burning machines are every bit the handful — if not more — than nitro cars, thanks to their significantly reduced downforce and manually-shifted transmissions that keep them busy beyond simply pointing the car toward the finish line and stabbing the throttle. If there’s such a thing as multi-tasking in drag racing, these ladies and gentleman fit the bill.

On Sunday, blown alcohol dragster veteran Joey Severance got the ride of his life, and certainly got the attention of everyone watching his semifinal matchup with Jim Whiteley at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex, when his dragster climbed up on two wheels at over 180 mph in a scene that had all the makings of a disastrous outcome.

Severance, who got out of the gate first against the reigning Top Alcohol Dragster national champion, was right alongside the YNOT Racing dragster when he began to drift slightly left of the groove. Just before half track, the car took an abrupt turn directly toward the centerline (and Whiteley), forcing Severance to take evasive action to reel the car back into his lane. That evasive action is where things got interesting though, as his steering input and the momentum from the car heading to the left sent him up on two wheels for an estimated 300 feet, nearly turning onto its side.

Fortunately, the thrilling ride came to an end when Severance, using every bit of the skills he’s gained in his years behind the wheel of a 260 mph race car, was able to bring it back to earth in one piece to the amazement of everyone, including the ESPN broadcasting crew. As an interesting side note, we’ve never seen a foam timing block essentially wrap itself around part of a race car before, as one did in the front canard wing on Severance’s dragster in the melee.

Perhaps the best way to sum this one up is that Severance simply did a bad job of crashing. Because hey, if you’ve gotta’ be bad at something, crashing ought to be high on the list.