Local auto dealership owner Ray Skillman crashes during NHRA drag race

LAS VEGAS, NV. (WISH) – Center Grove resident and local auto dealership owner, Ray Skillman is recovering after a crash during an NHRA drag race on Thursday.

According to 24-Hour News 8’s partners, The Daily Journal, Skillman’s son Bill said he was bruised and looked terrible.

The crash happened Thursday during a qualifying session at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which is a portion of the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas.

The car flipped and skidded on its roof before it rolled back over.

“I was in the left lane, and he came across into my lane ahead of me and hit the wall,” Travis Gusso of South Dakota told CompetitionPlus.com over the weekend. “(He) got light in the rear end and basically took flight. More or less, I went under him and to the right, got in the right-hand lane, thought I was in the clear.

Skillman suffered from a broken rib, a fractured L2 vertebra and a laceration on his hand, and bruising.

“Next thing I know, he was beside me again like a pinball, and I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t scrubbing speed, the fact that he was upside down hitting the walls, and wrecking. Come to find out the throttle was wide open on his car. That’s why I kept my speed up,” Travis Gusso told CompetitionPlus.com.

Skillman owns the largest network of car dealerships in Central Indiana. He has nine locations in Greenwood, Indianapolis, Martinsville and New Whiteland.

The cause of Skillman’s car loosing control has not been revealed.

“It’s all speculation right now,” Bill Skillman said. “We don’t have any idea – and we don’t know if we’ll ever know.”

Skillman was released from the hospital on Saturday.