Mountain motor Pro Stock cars were invited to participate in the 3rd annual Dragstock show being held at North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway this weekend. Kenny Benso was expecting to use the event to test in preparation for the IHRA finale, scheduled for this track next month.

Unfortunately for Benso, the weekend ended suddenly when he lost control of his 2006 Cobalt during a test run. The car rolled twice before contacting the right wall. It then crossed the track, bounced off the opposite wall and came to rest in the middle of the track with fire bellowing from the front end.

The rescue teams rolled as quickly as possible but it was the quick actions of Herman Sheppard, the youngest driver in attendance, that prevented Benso from receiving serious injuries. Sheppard was on the return road after his run and Benso’s car came to rest almost directly in front of his position.

Still in his fire suit, Sheppard scaled the retaining wall and was able to assist Benso from the flaming car. At the same time, Sheppard hit the fire bottles to extinguish the fire and then tuned off the fuel pump. The fire rescue team arrived at that time and assisted Benso into the emergency vehicle.

Benso was shaken up but otherwise uninjured.