Building a race car isn’t cheap, and while motors and transmissions are expensive, the cost of all those strict safety features add up too. A rollcage is the absolute bare minimum requirement for many tracks when you start running faster than 12.0 seconds. Racing seats and harnesses, engine shut-off systems and in-car fire extinguishers all add to the overall price. Even racing-on-the-cheap events like the 24 Hours of Lemons require a rollcage and fuel cell among other safety features.

If you want a reason for all of these safety regulations, just watch this video of Danny Thompson crashing his land-speed Mustang at 265 mph. SpeedTV has a detailed account of what happened there that day.

Danny Thompson is the son of the late-great Mickey Thompson, and obviously he has his father’s need for speed. Danny has been driving a succession of Mustangs trying to break land-speed records. His most recent yellow ride was aiming for the 300 mph, having previously hit over 258 mph in his E85-powered Mustang. Before that he had piloted a red Mustang, all three cars painted in a similar fashion to Mickey’s series of Mustangs back from the 60’s.

Powered by a 1,200 horsepower 5.4 liter Cobra engine, the yellow car was more powerful than the blue E85 Mustang by 500 horsepower. Yet they only made very minor adjustments to the aerodynamics, which would come back to haunt Danny at the flats. Approaching 265 mph, Danny’s Mustang started to get skittish and then going airborne, flying over 1,000 feet before hitting the ground again.

The Mustang rolled over four times, yet Danny walked away with just a bruised thigh and a tiny hole in his left leg. The safety equipment definitely performed as intended, especially the Head and Neck Support, or HANS Device. The roll cage held up, the seat didn’t budge, and Danny kept his hands on the wheel through the entire crash, ensuring they didn’t flail about and get broken.