It was a traumatic day for Billy Glidden on Tursday. While making a test run in his 2010 Mustang pro mod at Orlando Speed World, Glidden was involved in a crash that injured him and largely damaged his race car. According to reports on the scene and those issued by the team, the car went into severe tire shake early in the run which he was making in the right lane.

The car abruptly turned right, struck that wall and then crossed the track and struck the wall on the opposite side of the drag strip. Glidden lost consciousness at some point in that sequence of events and came to when emergency personnel were responding to assist him.

He was transported to Orlando Regional Hospital via ambulance and received care there. He was diagnosed with multiple broken ribs and at least one bruised lung and possibly two. This was a very bad impact and it speaks to the unpredictable nature of these high horsepower, fully suspended cars. Billy is banged up but to the best of our knowledge none of the injuries he has sustained are life threatening and he is in stable condition.

This wreck will likely have a majorly negative impact on the racing operation that Billy runs with his wife Shannon. They are tightly budgeted and make every penny work for them. While we do not know if the medical people cut the cage bars to get him out, there’s going to be a very hefty repair bill and timeframe to get the car fixed we imagine. The Gatornationals, NMCA, PDRA, and other season openers are in just a couple of weeks and we’re guessing Billy and Shannon were planning on being somewhere before Gainesville.

Obviously his health is the most important factor. The racing side of things will be figured out when he is well enough to do that.

These are the official statements issued regarding this incident – 

Drag racing champion Billy Glidden has crashed during a test session at the Orlando Speed World Dragway. Glidden was making a test run in his 2010 Mustang when he encountered severe tire shake while in the right lane. The car then turned right and impacted the retaining wall before crossing the track where it struck the left retaining wall.

The car came to a stop in the right lane. Glidden, knocked unconscious during the wreck, regained conscious as medical personal were arriving to extract him from the damaged race car. Gliddem complained of back pain which prompted the medical crew to cut open the car as part of the extraction process.

He was able to move his head, arms and legs during the process. Glidden was transported to Orlando Regional Hospital via ambulance. We will have official updates on Glidden’s condition once they become available.

STATEMENT TWO –

Pro Modified racer Billy Glidden is in stable condition, and resting as comfortably as can be expected following an accident this afternoon while testing his 2010 Mustang at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Orlando, Fla. Glidden who was transported to Orlando Regional Hospital, where doctors have performed multiple x-rays and cat scans.

Prliminary test results have confirmed five broken ribs and bruised lungs at this time.