It wasn't the perfect rebound, but it was a rebound nonetheless.

Sophomore fuel Funny Car pilot Jonnie Lindberg returned to competition last month following a harrowing two-car car crash with John Force in a second round race at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. 

Lindberg is driving a newly front-halfed Jim Head Funny Car from John Force Racing cloaked with a Mustang body. 

The first time out wasn't what Lindberg has hoped for at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

"We were fighting gremlins all weekend," Lindberg explained. "It shook the tires on the last run. I tried to pedal, but something failed in the driveshaft. All we had to run was 5.14 to qualify which it could have done easily after pedaling. We were disappointed, but this is a good car and good team."

The Head Inc. driver was off to a good start for the 2018 season with first-round wins in the opening two events, 

Despite the Gainesville misstep, Lindberg remains in the top ten points and confident he's got a better car than he opened the season. 

"I like the Mustang better because you see so much more like the dog house over the injector is lower, so you see the track better, and that helps you keep it in the groove," Lindberg added.

Getting past the traumatic experience of his first racing accident wasn't overwhelming Lindberg admitted.

"Luckily both John and me walked away from it," Lindberg said.  "It could have been worse, I guess. But that just proves that they’re safe cars, really safe. I’m glad I’m driving for Jim Head because he always, he’s all about safety. He wouldn’t put me in a car that wasn’t safe."

The initial incident wasn't as scary as realizing afterward what happened. 

"The thing that I thought about afterwards was like I saw the wheelie bar barely miss my roll cage and if that would be in the cockpit, that would be really bad," Lindberg recalled. "I would probably not be standing here now. But I don’t know, I had some guardian angels around me, so that was good.

Lindberg has further proof of the divine intervention in the shape of a tire mark across his helmet.

"I didn’t really notice it at first -- like it was close and I saw the tire come close to my head. But then when I cleaned the tow vehicle out and put my helmet back in the trailer, I saw a tire mark on top of my helmet."