Talk about near misses – when a sprint car gets knocked off course it unexpectedly flies through the air and avoids smashing into one man on the side lines.

Poised with his flag ready to mark laps as the drivers fly by, the official participant is understandably in the midst of the action, but this incident is a little close for comfort.

At first it seems that two crashed cars are being bumped into the central area and out of harm’s way but then another racer behind is clipped and propelled into the air as if from nowhere.

As the car hurtles towards the balcony overlooking the track the flag man quickly ducks out of the way, avoiding what could have been a fatal blow.

Instead the car smashes into the camera that captures the drama as it unfolds, knocking it sideways, sending the racetrack out of shot.

The show must go on, however, and the flag man, seemingly unshaken by the shocking event, simply repositions the camera and gets back to business.