IHRA racer Billy Glidden stable after crash

Drag racer Billy Glidden, winner of the 2016 IHRA Northern Nationals Pro Mod class at U.S. 131 Speedway in Martin, Michigan, was injured in a practice crash Tuesday at Orlando Speed World in Florida.

According to accounts published by Competitionplus.com and Dragzine.com, Glidden's 2010 Ford Mustang (pictured), painted white with red stripes, suffered severe tire shake, which sent the car into the retaining wall on one side, and then the other. The car came to rest upright in the right lane, just short of the quarter-mile mark.

Glidden had to be cut from the car before being transported to an Orlando hospital. At last report, he has at least five broken ribs and a bruised lung; Dragzine is reporting that Glidden will undergo surgery to install a protective plate to prevent the broken ribs from puncturing his lung.

In 2016, Glidden – son of legendary Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden – dropped his "ultimate loner" status, moving from the Mustang that he and wife Shannon owned, to team up with Harry Hruska and his Precision Turbo/Mickey Thompson Pro Modified Chevrolet Camaro. It also meant a move from a nitrous-injected car to a turbocharged car.

That move paid off at the IHRA Northern Nationals, where Glidden not only outran Jason Hamstra in the final round, but set a new speed record of 250.98 mph. It was the first IHRA title for a Glidden since Bob won the IHRA Summer Nationals in 1988, with Billy on his dad's pit crew.

As the 2016 season came to a close, Billy Glidden and Harry Hruska had an amicable split, and Billy and Shannon went back to their Mustang and independent ways.

The Mustang Billy crashed was wearing throwback colors as a salute to Bob Glidden. Billy will certainly miss this weekend's Pro Mod "Winter Warmup" at Orlando, but hopefully he, and the Mustang, will be back in action for the start of the season.