A former drag boat racer talks about the accident that forced him to retire from the sport he loves.

When the lights turn green at the Augusta Southern Nationals things are going to get loud.

Flying down the Savannah River with more than 4,000 horsepower behind them and reaching speeds around 250 m.p.h., drag boat racers need to have nerves of steel to maintain control of their fragile boats.

Traveling at such high speeds can feel like an elephant sitting on your chest, according to former racer Mark Santoro.

“It's over before you can think about it,” said Santoro. “The light goes green, you go and it's over in seven seconds.”

Santoro was a drag boat racer for nearly 20 years and has a love for the sport that won't die, but he almost did during a race in Augusta.

“I had a real bad crash about 10 years ago,” said Santoro. “I was running right around 230 miles per hour when my motor let go and disintegrated. My capsule skipped across the water like a rock. I broke two legs, one arm, six ribs and had a major concussion. The boat just let go in a matter of a tenth of a second. It was splintered into pieces, scattered across the track. I remember that sensation of tumbling. After that I don't remember anything.”

Santoro was in a coma for two weeks and had to go through months of painful rehabilitation before making a full recovery.

“God was with me that day. He looked out for me and kept me alive,” said Santoro.

The crash ended his racing days. Giving up his life's passion was not an easy thing for him to do.

“I miss it. I miss it every day,” said Santoro. "There's not a day that goes by I don't wake up and say, I wish I could get back into it.”

Nowadays, He just sits on the sidelines, where every boat racing down the Savannah is like a memory of his days on the water.