After having warmed up in the first round Friday Afternoon with a 6.234 at 224.47 mph that put him temporarily in the No. 3 spot, he and crew chief Al Billes were ready to show what kind of horsepower the record-setting team had. As he launched into his second qualifying lap down the quarter-mile that evening, Commisso appeared to be on a good run until about half-track, where the car seemed to lose power, according to fans.

According to Commisso, the motor didn't lose power; the rear end blew a tire and broke a wheel.

"At half-track, it broke the rim or blew the tire - I don't know what order it happened, and then it shot me across the track and into the wall. I hit that wall, then it spun me around and hit that wall again, and then spun me upside down a couple of times," Commisso recalled.

"The thing I remember most was the way the car stopped - I hit the other wall head-on and that stopped the car.

"The thing is, these cars are built for safety, and it kept me safe. I got out on my own, I was walking around, but then I started to feel some pain, so I went to the hospital," he said.

When Commisso went to a local hospital for a complete review, doctors released him with no serious injuries. "I have bruised ribs and maybe a torn muscle in my shoulder, and my body just hurts, but I'll be fine," he said.

"The bottom line is that something went wrong in the car, and that stuff happens. It was a mechanical error, and that's all.

"I'll be back very soon, you can bet on that. The car isn't really that bad now that Al has had a chance to look it over. As for the rest of the weekend, we still have Melanie Troxel's car in the show, and we will all circle around her and cheer her on. It's great for her, because she can have 100 percent of the team's focus now, and I'm sure she can go rounds on Sunday," Commisso said.

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer