Pro Extreme racer Cody Barklage walked away from a fiery crash during the second qualifying session at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags on Friday afternoon.

“I’m alright, just starting to get a little bit of a headache,” said Barklage, the younger of two brothers racing this weekend in the Pro Extreme division. “My neck is a bit sore but that’s to be expected.”

Barklage left the starting line in what could be categorized as a typical Pro Extreme run, when the car inexplicable and without warning shot from the left lane and directly into the right lane concrete barrier. The force of the impact ignited a major alcohol fire which engulfed both the car and the track.

Pro Extreme racer Cody Barklage walked away from a fiery crash during the second qualifying session at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags on Friday afternoon.

“I’m alright, just starting to get a little bit of a headache,” said Barklage, the younger of two brothers racing this weekend in the Pro Extreme division. “My neck is a bit sore but that’s to be expected.”

Barklage left the starting line in what could be categorized as a typical Pro Extreme run, when the car inexplicable and without warning shot from the left lane and directly into the right lane concrete barrier. The force of the impact ignited a major alcohol fire which engulfed both the car and the track.

Barklage knows he’s fortunate to have emerged from the crash with just soreness and no major injuries.

“I was wearing the hybrid system from Safety Solutions,” explained Barklage.

Head and neck restraints are mandatory safety equipment in all ADRL doorslammer categories.

Barklage continued, “I’ve had a wreck without the system on before and you can definitely tell the difference.”

What Barklage can't tell is what caused the accident.

“I really can’t say for sure what happened,” Barklage said. “The car just made an abrupt turn and I had the wheel turned as hard as I could away but you see what happened.”

The invisible methanol fire quickly engulfed the cockpit as Barklage  worked just as quickly to extract himself from the car.

“That scared me because I’ve hit the wall a couple of times, but never been on fire before,” Barklage admitted. “The fire felt like it was on top of me, but I couldn’t see it. That’s when I tried to get out of the car as fast as I could. I honestly don’t even think I took down the window net, I think I just slipped through the side opening.”

With a burned up car and a bruised driver, what’s next for Barklage?

First off, he believes the car might be reparable for the future. But this weekend, he’s certainly done.

“We do have a 1957 Chevy back home, but that was the car that was in the trailer fire,” Barklage explained. “The car is back together and we need to do a few things to make it ready. We’ll have to take it out and do some testing. That will probably be the cheapest route to go right now. I’d say we’ll take our time getting it ready.”