Tony Pedregon returned to Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Ca., following a hospital visit in time to watch his brother Cruz drive to a runner-up finish. His right hand was bandaged – the after affects of a serious explosion that annihilated his Quaker State-sponsored Funny Car and subjected the two-time and defending world champion to one of the worst fires in drag racing history.

So intense was the fire Pedregon experienced that, on Motel6/ESPN2 video, the lower portion of his firesuit appeared burned away.

"A lot of times when something happens to your car, like when you drop a cylinder, you feel it, and I would have reacted,” Pedregon said. “But it blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face and the scary part was I didn't know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. I knew that my hands were burned and I knew that I got beat up a little. When I got out of the car I thought, ' I can't believe the car finally stopped and I'm going to get out of it.' I got out of it slowly because I wanted to make sure the car was completely stopped.

Tony Pedregon returned to Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Ca., following a hospital visit in time to watch his brother Cruz drive to a runner-up finish. His right hand was bandaged – the after affects of a serious explosion that annihilated his Quaker State-sponsored Funny Car and subjected the two-time and defending world champion to one of the worst fires in drag racing history.

So intense was the fire Pedregon experienced that, on Motel6/ESPN2 video, the lower portion of his firesuit appeared burned away.

"A lot of times when something happens to your car, like when you drop a cylinder, you feel it, and I would have reacted,” Pedregon said. “But it blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face and the scary part was I didn't know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. I knew that my hands were burned and I knew that I got beat up a little. When I got out of the car I thought, ' I can't believe the car finally stopped and I'm going to get out of it.' I got out of it slowly because I wanted to make sure the car was completely stopped.

“I think at this point, the backing and the partnership we've formed with GM is going to help because we have bodies on the way. This is a little bit of a glitch for us, but this is why we have depth. We have good people and I feel fine - I feel great. I'm anxious to get back in the seat at Phoenix, and hey, if this is what it takes to get to the top, these are unfortunate things, but in terms of safety, to have a high-speed wreck like that, blow a motor and go into the wall a couple of times at close to 300 mph, I think it proves a lot about the safety features we've added to these cars."

John Force, Pedregon’s former employer, was in the opposite lane when the hell broke loose. Because Pedregon had fouled, he was enough ahead of Force to provide a front-row seat experience.

Force said the concussion from Pedregon’s explosion sent shrapnel into the side of his car. Video of the accident revealed Pedregon’s carbon-fiber Impala body went airborne and came to a rest alongside of the track.

“I was looking at him and forgot about the parachutes,” Force said. “Then I saw the sand and I remembered the one thing I always tell my children – pull the parachutes.”