Longtime drag racer and Late Model Racecraft employee Rob Valden got the chance of a lifetime when he and shop tuner Josh Ledford got the call to make a trip across the pond to Bahrain for some action at the Bahrain Drag Racing Club’s event at Bahrain International Circuit. He was tapped by Ebrahim Kanoo to spend some quality time behind the wheel of EKanoo Racing‘s IRS Supra, and in testing on Tuesday went for a wild ride.

On this pass, the car tripped the clocks with a 4.629 in the eighth-mile, which is a huge number for an independent-rear-suspension car, and just after the line, the car swapped lanes and Valden found himself pulling the chutes in an effort to get straightened out, to no avail.

“I’m doing good, just sore. Not sure exactly what happened yet. The car was on a hell of a pass and made a hard left after the eighth mile marker. Thank you Ebrahim Kanoo for building a safe car, and the support,” says Valden.

It’s a big change for Valden to be behind the wheel of an IRS car like this one, as he’s used to wheeling Andrew Alepa’s Mustang in Radial Vs. The World competition.

He’s well-suited for the challenge as his driving skills have been honed behind the wheel of many high-horsepower cars over the years. We hate to see the damage to the car, but we’re happy to report that Rob is OK and itching to get back into the seat.

There are two races left in the BDRC’s schedule, and Valden and EKanoo along with support from Ledford and Shane Tecklenburg among others are trying to get this car repaired in time to get it ready for the event.

Kanoo has a huge variety of cars in his stable. From the IRS Supra shown here to an Outlaw 10.5 Supra to the World’s Fastest Lexus to the Musi-powered world’s-quickest Pro Nitrous ’68 Camaro, there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Check out their Youtube channel and their website for more information.