Drag racing is a sport whose people are defined by resilience, by drive, grit, and sheer determination. This hobby, this way of life, is an addicting one, and most of us will stop at nothing, utilizing every available resource we have to finish, to fix, to better our machines to make the next event. While there are examples of this all across the sport, there is perhaps no finer example in current times than the Street Outlaws No Prep Kings series.

Lucrative payouts, valuable television time, sponsor agreements, and commitments to the fans all converge with an exhausting travel schedule to create a pressure-cooker for the show’s competitors to toe the mound at every race. For many of its top stars, this is their means of making a living, and a missed race means no bread on the table back home. And so, examples are abounds of No Prep Kings racers practically moving heaven and earth to make it to the starting line, whether the case is repairs from an accident, completing a new car to amp up their competitiveness, changing engines and other parts, and more.

Colorful and outspoken figure Justin Swanstrom has had more than his share of adversity in his time in the sport and with the series, from accidents to fires to engine mechanical woes. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds is basically engrained in his DNA at this point. Last season, Swanstrom challenged for race victories and even the series title in his Lexus RC 350 known as “Prenup,” with his sights on unseating runaway favorite Ryan Martin for that No. 1 this year. So when he got caught up in one of the most bizarre of accidents at the recent Maple Grove Raceway event with Dave Adkins, missing the next race wasn’t an option.

In footage that’s already made all the rounds, Swanstrom’s Lexus blew out an intake manifold during the “Great Eight” event on the Friday of the Maple Grove event, igniting a fire under the hood. No sooner than Justin could take action to stop and save his burning racecar, Adkins, in the opposing lane, lost control and careened into the passenger-side quarter panel of the Lexus, sending them both into the wall. Rather than waste valuable time hanging their heads, Swanstrom and his father, Corey, quickly loaded up the wreckage and hightailed to Cameron Johnson Race Cars in Florida. They had to be in Epping, New Hampshire in six days, and time was something they did not have.

Incredibly, within four days, “Prenup” was back on the floor at CJRC under its own weight. The front half of the chassis was redone, the quarter panel replaced and other body damage repaired. In quick order, the engine was dropped in, the car wired, suspension components replaced, a new driveshaft installed, new safety equipment installed, and a whole other laundry list of items needed to make it operational again were performed. By the six-day mark, the car was being loaded in the hauler and pointed due north to New England.

In the days since, Swanstrom has begun tallying up the costs of the ultra-swift repair, at the same time swatting aside social media outcries from every direction about the financial advantage afforded to a TV star to make it happen. So Swanstrom took it up himself this week to address his fans, stating up front that this undertaking was absolutely not free. While he’s quick to admit that some sponsors and supporters help support his endeavors in varying ways — hey, those are the spoils of operating at a highly visible level of the sport — he confirmed the total cost to him in those 4-6 days neighbors on $100,000. This included a bill of more than $40,000 to Johnson, who Swanstrom says added charges across the board to his labor for prioritizing and expediting the project in what was practically an around-the-clock job.

It’s an incredible amount of money — more than many average folks would spend on an entire rolling chassis, much less a front end and body repair — but that’s just a glimpse of what it takes to race at such a high level, week in and week out, when a backup car and a whole professional racing crew is not a luxury you have.