Michael McDowell Qualifying Crash Photos

During qualifying for the Samsung 500 Michael McDowell plowed the #00 “Aaron’s Dream Machine” nose first into the turn one wall at nearly 200 miles per hour. After impact the car flipped into the air, rolling sideways, belching fire and leaving a trail of parts until it finally came to rest about a quarter mile away at the bottom of turn two.

Without a doubt, I can say that it’s the most gruesome and spectacular crash that I have ever seen live.

McDowell pulled himself from the car and walked away with only bumps and scratches.

Luckily, I had my camera aimed that direction and started firing quick enough to catch most of the carnage. Click the image above to see a composite of the scene stitched together from the nine or ten frames I was able to fire off as the car careened down the track.

Or click here to download the original size and scroll around to your heart’s content.

You can also check out the individual photos in a set by clicking here.

Michael McDowell is one supremely fortunate dude.