Rodger Brogdon realizes it’s not if a driver will ever crash a car, it’s when.

Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis was Brogdon’s time.

In a close race with Justin Humphreys, Brogdon’s Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP drifted out of the groove, rolled onto its roof and impacted the left retaining wall. The car burst into flames but the safety personnel were able to extinguish it quickly.


Rodger Brogdon realizes it’s not if a driver will ever crash a car, it’s when.

Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis was Brogdon’s time.

In a close race with Justin Humphreys, Brogdon’s Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP drifted out of the groove, rolled onto its roof and impacted the left retaining wall. The car burst into flames but the safety personnel were able to extinguish it quickly.

Exiting the car under his own power with an assist from safety personel, Brogdon was checked and released by NHRA Emergency Services and released.

“The fire part was the scariest of the entire accident,” said Brogdon. “You know the cars are safe and built to withstand crashes. When fire enters the picture, you quickly develop a different mindset. Getting out of the car becomes the most important thing.”

Brogdon actually became stuck in the car when he unbuckled his belts while hanging upside down. The Safety Safari pulled Brogdon out the passenger side door.

“I fell onto the steering wheel and couldn’t get loose,” Brogdon said. “The fire kept burning and it seemed like it burned forever.”

Brogdon said the car was moving around at the top end, a normal occurrence for the Pro Stockers. However, the combination of the lightweight rear section of the car and the reality the NHRA doesn’t spray traction compound past the 1,000 foot mark makes for a tough situation.

This season has been one of the toughest on record for Pro Stockers when it comes to crashing.

“It’s the way we are trying to run them,” Brogdon admitted. “To get the most out of them, you’ll have to run them light on the rear. They don’t spray past 1,000 feet, and I’m not saying that was the cause for this. Even when I was on the Div. 4 sportsman safety committee, we had them spray 100 feet past the finish line. It really wasn’t anyone’s fault, it just happened.”

Chassis builder Jerry Haas will put the car on the jig Monday morning, and if it’s repairable, he’ll run it at the NHRA Southern Nationals in two weeks.

If not, he’ll wrap last season’s Charter Car and run it.