By Chuck Corder

If you’ve ever endured the abject terror of an automobile barrel rolling (and who among us hasn’t), chances are your immediate thoughts and shrieking expletives wouldn’t be printable here.

Jamie Mozingo vividly remembers his state of mind when his 1932 two-door Chevy coupe went end over end several weeks ago.

“Will it ever quit?� Mozingo kept asking himself at Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker.

Eventually, after three full flips, including one that sent Mozingo airborne, his No. 48 teetered on the driver’s side door. Mozingo escaped through a missing roof, relatively unharmed.

The Grove Hill, Ala., native hopes to avoid an encore performance of his tumbling act on Friday when the Southern Vintage Racing Association returns to Five Flags Speedway.

The ’32 and ’34 Ford and Chevy coupes and sedans will be joined by the Allen Turner Pro Late Models and their split-feature format (20-/30-lappers), Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsmen (25) and Butler U-Pull-It Bombers (20).

Practice begins at 5 p.m. Friday, qualifying at 6:30 with the green flag for the opening feature poised to drop at 8. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, students and military; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids 5 and under.

The unintended acrobatic display shocked Mozingo’s nervous system, not surprisingly.

“We were getting ahold of the track a little and finally moving forward,� remembered the 39 year old, who has driven vintage cars for almost 5 years and currently serves as the Association’s vice president. “I know I was at full speed because I had just passed the flag stand. I got the bumper put to me and the car crow-hopped. I knew right then I was going over.

“I just held on. My head bounced back between the head rest and window net as it was hitting.�

Video footage of the wreck was captured, and has been uploaded to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26W20cEsPMQ. (The incident happens just off-camera, past the 11-minute mark.)

Mozingo, who has watched the video repeatedly, recalled the sounds of finally landing and the horrific gasps that permeated through the crowd.

He stopped rolling and sliding less than 20 feet from the track exit, and came to a halt directly in front of the safety crew.

“Tell everybody I’m fine and now get me out,� Mozingo playfully demanded.

The paper mill worker had some scrapes, a few bruises and a lot of soreness. Amazingly, though, Mozingo didn’t miss any work at the Jackson, Ala., plant.

With his car in shambles, Mozingo worried when he’d race again — his top priority, believe it or not.

“I knew I needed to get back in the car as quick as possible,� he said. “I didn’t want that weight on me. Every time we go to the track, we know there’s always the possibility of a bad wreck, getting hurt — whatever — but you do it for the love of the game anyhow.�

It’s a passion Mozingo inherited from his father and father.

With their son working the night shift, 60-year-old Ike Mozingo — with a ton of help from his wife and Jamie’s mother, Judy — took three days off from the diesel mechanic shop he owns and put the humpty-dumpty No. 48 back together again.

“If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have raced the following week,� Jamie Mozingo said. “The frame and back wheels had to be cut off and reshaped. Folks donated parts.�

Sure enough, though, to the utter shock of many it was ready the following Saturday. No driver or gearhead would be shocked to learn Mozingo has raced twice since that fateful day.

Slowly, the mental images of the barrel rolls are toppling over. Mozingo is learning how to put his death-defying brush behind him.

A pair of podium finishes have done wonders to erase the nightmare.

Mozingo’s wife of 6 years, Leah, and his teenage daughters — 18-year-old Bethany and 15-year-old Amber — are simply happy to have their old man in one piece.

Jamie Mozingo will have a story for the rest of his life. He’s just glad he’s the one who gets to tell it.

“It was like a fair ride, and I hate fair rides,� he said. “It seemed like I was rolling forever.�