Racer John Haner crashed hard into Air Fence Bike and Alpina Air Modules positioned in turn eight at Texas World Speedway this weekend and came out of the incident happy to be alive. The turn, which is lined with a steel barrier fronted by a tire wall, was the site of a fatal crash involving Ryan Smith in 1999.

“I hit it unbelievable hard, and probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that Air Fence,” said Haner in a phone call to Roadracingworld.com Monday morning.

“I went through turn eight at Texas World and lost the front, crashed and went into the Air Fence. There was about 120 feet of Air Fence at the track, two Alpina inflatable modules, one at each end, and the rest in the middle was the foam-filled Air Fence Bike. I hit the foam pieces and it moved the whole 120 feet of Air Fence down about 10 feet and broke all the ropes that were holding it in position. It was a violent impact. I was able to run away, I was sore, but was able to race later that day. It happened in practice.

“My family is glad it helped me out, and I really appreciate it. I owe you a debt of gratitude for sure for getting the Air Fence thing going. Quite a few people used it this weekend.

“Thanks to everybody who donated.”

(Editorial note to John Haner and all the other racers who benefitted from the Air Fence and Alpina modules positioned at Texas World: You’re welcome, and we’re happy it helped you!)