Greg Anderson won the Pro Stock class at the 39th Pontiac Excitement Nationals at National Trail Raceway outside of Columbus, Ohio on Sunday. Sounds fairly simple, doesn't it?

Not a chance.

Anderson's sixth win of 2003 was the conclusion to one of the most eventful days in Pro Stock history -- and not for the most uplifting of reasons. In fact, by the time the first round of eliminations had ended, two drivers had crashed hard, several others had narrowly averted disaster, and the NHRA was besieged by the Pro Stock community to do something about what was perceived as a less than ideal racing surface.

The first hint of a problem occurred as soon as the first pair of cars completed their first round matchup. Kurt Johnson defeated Darrell Alderman when Alderman's car got crossed up somewhere near half-track, causing him to shut off. Johnson stated immediately after the run that he also had nearly lost control.

Then, in the next pair, Taylor Lastor, in his first full season in Pro Stock, skated sideways at approximately the same point on the track where Alderman shut off and struck the retaining wall, flipping upside down, and sliding on his roof to a stop. Lastor was unhurt but his father, mother, and grandmother were all in attendance and clearly shaken by the mishap.

"I've been racing since I was 16," said the 28-year-old racer from Austin, Texas. "That's the first racing accident I've ever had. It got loose and I couldn't save it. I feel really bad for my team".

Two pairs later, Jeg Coughlin defeated Warren Johnson but came very close to getting completely sideways as he crossed the finish line. "I've never had anything like that happen to me before," said the reigning POWERade champion. "When I hit fifth gear, it started shaking and getting real loose. That was close."

Then in the next pairing, Jason Line, making his Pro Stock debut as Greg Anderson's No. 2 driver, was side-by-side with Terry Adams until his Pontiac Grand Am got totally out of shape at around 800 feet, flipped, caught fire and tumbled to a halt. Line emerged unharmed but the reaction from many of the Pro Stock drivers watching from the starting line ranged from shock to anger.

As the NHRA Safety Safari cleaned up the debris, Graham Light, NHRA's senior vice president of racing operations, inspected the track, consulted with NHRA chief starter Rick Stewart, and ordered that the race track be re-prepped before racing could proceed. He also suspended the rear spoiler rule which regulates the height of the wickerbill on the trailing edge of the spoiler for the remainder of the race, thus adding downforce.

When action resumed, Anderson defeated V. Gaines. But following his victory, Anderson stated that the track had improved little.

"It's unbelievable", he said. "I've already lost one car today and I may not run in the next round because I don't want to lose another one."

Thankfully, there were no further accidents and Anderson went all the way for the victory, although drivers such as Scott Geoffrion, Allen Johnson and Barry Grant all commented that they had come dangerously close to losing control on their respective matchups.

Lastor's team expects to have their 2003 Chevy Cavalier repaired and ready to go in Madison, Ill., in two weeks, while Line said his team is weighing its options. "It started out as a great weekend", said Line. "It's not how I expected it to end."

Bill Stephens covers the NHRA for ESPN and ESPN.com.