(By Jason Mazzotta) – Markus Niemelä is a Finnish circle track racer that has accomplished many things in his racing career including a 2008 Formula Atlantic Championship, but while racing at Perris Auto Speedway last November he had to overcome one of the most violent wrecks in his life. In the video the car is flying around the track, heading down the backstretch with the rpm’s screaming and the engine sounding great in the distance. As he accelerates down the front stretch he carries a lot of speed into the first corner and pedals once, at the same time a freak axle failure occurs and sends Niemelä into an incredible wreck.

In only seconds Niemelä went from focusing on nailing down a solid qualifying lap to experiencing the worst wreck in his career. As the right side axle broke, the engine went to the moon, the car dug into the dirt track and sent Niemelä into a number of flips before slamming into the protective fence. After crashing back to the track upside down, the car finally comes to rest right side up. Niemelä was lucky to survive the violent crash with only suffering a concussion and he gave a lot of credit to having all the right safety equipment in the car and on himself.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE A TRULY WILD SPRINT CAR WRECK –