Racing has gotten much, much safer through the years, and we say that’s a good thing. While speeds have crept ever higher, cars have gotten stronger, tires have become more durable and in the event of a worst-case scenario, safety equipment such as seats, helmets, roll cages and fire suits have all been improved.

Occasionally, things still go wrong, sometimes at high speed. That was the case last Friday, during practice for the upcoming Continental Tire Sports Car Series race at Wisconsin’s Road America circuit.

Coming through Kettle Bottoms and into Canada Corner, Mark Pombo had a braking issue with his Kinetic Racing Kia Forte Koupe. It’s evident in the video that the car begins to scrub off speed, but not nearly at the rate you’d expect it to. Suddenly, Pombo is out of time, real estate and options.

Somehow, the driver manages to thread the needle between two others cars, before sliding sideways into the barrier at a disturbingly high rate of speed. Pombo was airlifted from the crash, and his status remained a mystery throughout much of Friday’s practice session.

We’re happy to report that Pombo is doing as well as can be expected, given the severity of the crash. He suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs, a broken jaw and a concussion in the accident, and we send him our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.