If you spend any significant time at the drag strip, especially around heads-up classes or grudge racing, you’ve likely seen a nitrous backfire or two. They’re a fairly common sight and, while certainly spectacular (especially after dark), they are generally harmless, with the typical damaged-parts list consisting of a lexan scoop and, on the occasion of an especially-powerful hiccup, bent carburetor butterflies, and of course the bruises on the ego of the driver and/or tuner.

Sometimes, however, a crew member or track official, eager to help get the car fired back up and off the track will run in to get a better look, and in this case, that crew member got a very VERY close-up look at the secondary backfire — typically caused by leftover fuel in the intake and not by the nitrous itself — that often occurs when the driver attempts to re-fire the car following a nitrous burp. As you can see in this video, this overall-clad crewman gets more than he bargained for when he attempts to assist following a nitrous backfire.

First we see the car, a dark blue Nova, barely leave the beams when the nitrous activates and sends flames out both the intake and exhaust. Acting on the instinct to get the car off the track, the driver immediately attempts to crank the Chevy as track personnel and crew members run in to assist. After a few seconds of cranking, the driver likely pumped the gas and attempted to fire the car again and it backfired yet again, this time even louder and more violently than the initial sneeze as he launched. The crew member jumps back quickly and doesn’t appear to have been injured by the explosion, but it’s safe to assume he will think twice before sticking his head down to peek under the cowl of any more race cars anytime soon.

Thanks to our good friend Sean Melton over at Urban Hillbilly Action Videos for the awesome footage!