It’ll be quite a while before NHRA Top Alcohol drag racer James Stevens is able to get back behind the wheel after suffering serious injuries in a brutal crash during the first round of Lucas Oil WinterNationals eliminations, Saturday at In-n-Out Burger Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.

Driving his self-owned Performance Truck and Trailer Dragster, Stevens, of Gothenberg, Nebraska, was in the right lane in a match vs. Garrett Bateman and took off from the start line in normal fashion.

But past half-track, Stevens’ dragster began to get loose, drifted over the center line, knocking down several timing cones, then took an abrupt and violent turn to the right, slamming head-on into the right-side retaining wall before much of his damaged car jumped over the wall and continued sliding in pieces on the outside of the racing surface. Check below to see the video of the mishap.

Stevens managed to exit from his dragster under his own power, went to the infield medical center for initial treatment before being transferred to a nearby trauma center hospital for further evaluation of his injuries. Having to temporarily halt all on-track action, it took the NHRA nearly an hour to clean up the damage and debris that resulted from the crash.

The NHRA issued a statement about 40 minutes later Saturday night that said, “Stevens exited the car and was alert and was examined onsite by NHRA Chief Medical Officer Dr. [Phil] Surface before being transported to a local medical facility.”

Stevens’ injuries were substantial. According to a post on social media by Stevens’ daughter, Jess Hampton, he was scheduled to have surgery Sunday, most likely at the same trauma center he was taken to after the incident (EssentiallySports will update this story when it receives updates from Stevens’ family on his post-surgery condition).

“My dad James is pretty banged up,” Hampton wrote on social media. “Sounds like he’s got a broken forearm, broken left wrist, broke his C-7 [vertebra], bruised lung, rib fractures, and possible broken back (again).”

And here’s the kicker, Hampton added about her father’s luck – or lack thereof – over the years at Pomona. “If you didn’t know, he wrecked at this very same track in 2019,” Hampton said. “He is in a lot of pain, so please pray for healing and comfort. He will have surgery tomorrow.”

At the time of this writing (7:25 pm CT on Monday), there has been no update on Stevens’ condition or how the surgery is progressing. EssentiallySports will update this story.