Images courtesy: PSCA

During the Pacific Street Car Association’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist Drags held at the Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif. over the weekend, Xtreme Drag Radial competitor Terry Barkley lit the grille for dinner a little sooner than he may have liked, encountering this rather impressive flash fire right at the hit one of his laps.

The fire, captured by one of the talented PSCA photographers, was caused by the fuel cell cap coming loose on his ’70 Nova, with some (or all) of the released fuel igniting into what was a rather impressive fireball, albeit a quick one. Fortunately, Barkley didn’t have an opponent in the other lane, as the fire and perhaps some errant fuel under the tires sent the Nova across the centerline just pass the 60-foot cones into the other lane, where Barkley brought the car to a stop with the fire already all but extinguished.

Barkley, who entered the Fontana event third in the points standings, would bounce back to qualify third in Xtreme Drag Radial with a 7.93 at 175.59 mph