A pair of Texas-area racers were involved in a particularly frightening accident at the Texas Raceway earlier this month, which ended up with both race cars fully engulfed in flames.

SHRA Nostalgia racer Greg Mitchell, in the near line behind the wheel of his Altered, was struck by the driver of the first-gen Camaro in the far lane at speed while making a run down the Kennedale strip, after having already ricocheted off the opposite guardrail. The impact sent both cars into the left hand wall, and if you watch closely, you can see the Camaro being lifted up into the air by the Altered driving underneath it and doing a mid-air pirouette. That impact would at least appear to have severed fuel lines on one or both of the cars, igniting what was momentarily a quite large fireball.

Fortunately, both drivers were able to escape and crash and the fire without injury. The bad news is that neither of their cars came away in very good shape. For Mitchell, it was a case of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it all illustrates that no matter how quick or fast you’re going, it’s essential to wear all of your required safety equipment, and perhaps even some that isn’t required, just for good measure. After all, most bracket racers don’t plan on being on fire, but as you can see here, anything can and will happen, and it’s best to be prepared.