TUCSON, Arizona — Drag racer Kyle Hough spent what should have been his daughter’s kindergarten graduation day recovering in a hospital room at Banner Medical Center, but the third-generation driver says he’s simply grateful to be alive.
Hough, the 2012 IHRA Nitro Jam Fuel Altered champion, was competing in the Fuel Altered Chaos event at Tucson Dragway on Friday when a high-speed crash left him with serious leg injuries.
“I remember the whole day leading up to it,” Hough said from his hospital bed.
The incident occurred mid-track at close to 200 mph. “99% of the time these things go right down the race track,” he said. “But [the car] made a right-hand turn faster than I’ve ever had anything move before."
The car got loose, turned sideways, climbed the wall, and rolled onto its side along the guardrail — cockpit first. Hough remained conscious throughout the violent sequence.
“The whole time I’m thinking, just flip one more time,” he recalled. “I could feel the pain in my legs. I was just thinking if I could flip one more time and be on my wheels, it’d be a much better outcome.”
Paramedics quickly arrived and flipped the car once they determined he had no neck or spine injuries. Hough suffered deep lacerations, severe burns, and significant tissue damage to his legs, but no broken bones. He described one of the wounds as looking “one hundred percent like a shark took a large chunk out of my leg.”
Injuries are unfortunately familiar territory for the Hough racing family. Kyle’s late grandfather was an iconic Funny Car racer in the 1970s, and his father, Rick Hough, lost a hand in a racing accident. Kyle’s girlfriend, Krista Suydam, is also a racer.
Despite the severity of the crash, Hough has already begun walking and is scheduled for a third surgery on Thursday that will include plastic surgery and skin grafts.
“We’ll be back. I might not be 100 percent, but I’m on the road to recovery,” Hough said. “Banner Health has done a tremendous job.”Hough remains thankful his injuries were not worse and expressed appreciation for the rapid response of safety crews.Drag racing, he noted, is defined by its unpredictability.
“It’s the unexpectedness. It’s the thrill, the adrenaline,” he said.Hough intends to return to Tucson Dragway and race again in the future.For now, the focus is on healing — and celebrating the small victories, including being alive to watch his daughter reach new milestones.
