By CHAT News Today

Driver taken to hospital following crash at drag strip on Sunday

Jul 30, 2018 | 5:37 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Proper preparation and safety measures were critical when a car rolled at the Medicine Hat Drag Strip on Sunday.

During a race early in the afternoon, a racer crashed moments after taking off from the starting line.

“We had a gentleman go down the track, and something blew up on his car going through the finish line,” said Dave Toth, president of the Medicine Hat Drag Racing Association. “(It) filled his car with smoke, he couldn’t see where he was going, lost control when the oil got underneath his tires and rolled the car a few times.”

The track’s safety team, EMS and firefighters responded quickly. The driver freed himself from the vehicle quickly, before being taken to hospital as a precaution.

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Toth says it’s a priority for the track to ensure safety measures are in place.

“The National Hot Rod Association, they set the rules, and this is why they make them so strict, so when you crash at 150 miles per hour, you can walk away from the car,” he said. “The car is built to withstand the crash, the impact. They wear the HANS head and neck device, so that the head doesn’t separate from the neck, the five point seat belt harness, the full roll bar cage and the new helmets. It’s pretty safe. You’re built to walk away from a crash.”

The driver has since been released from the hospital. Toth declined to release the driver’s name, but said he is an experienced racer who calls Redcliff home.