By Matthew Lodge For Mailonline

Published: 06:57 EDT, 15 March 2022 | Updated: 07:32 EDT, 15 March 2022

This is the moment an alligator snatched a remote control boat out of a huge puddle at the aptly named Gatornationals drag racing event in Florida. 

Alex Laughlin had been making the most of the heavy rain that forced the drag racing event in Gainesville to be delayed on Friday, March 11.

The Top Fuel driver was having a great time piloting the boat in puddles near to the pit area when a cheeky alligator chomped down on it. 

The 33-year-old was left open-mouthed as the predator looked him 'dead in the eye' before dragging his new toy under the water. 

Race driver Alex Laughlin had been passing the time piloting his remote control boat after the Gatornationals drag racing event in Florida was washed out on March 11

The Top Fuel driver pilots his remote control boat in a large puddle next to the pit area at the race track in Gainesville

Suddenly an alligator grabs the boat in its jaws and swims off with it, before dragging it under the water

On his Facebook page the racing driver posted a video of the incident and said it was 'one of the craziest experiences of my life'.

He said: 'It's a Friday rainout here at the Gatornationals and my trip to Wally-World for the RC boats and rain boots made the day! 

'There's about a 5-6ft GATOR in the water beside our pit area where I was driving my sweet new ride. 

'Well… Mr. Gator decided to cruise over and EAT MY BOAT!!! 

'It snagged it, looked me dead in the eye, and slowly lowered itself like a submarine, then about 10 seconds later the boat porpoised back to the surface! 

'I drove the boat back to the shoreline and it's good to go!!!' 

After piloting it back home, the Texan got a celebratory picture with the surprisingly sturdy machine, which survived the encounter relatively scratch-free.

The 33-year-old was left open mouthed at the situation as the carnivore tried to take his boat down to the depths

Laughlin posted a celebratory photo after he retrieved the boat, which survived the encounter relatively scratch-free.

It turned out this would be the most exciting thing to happen during the opening couple of days at the race, which is part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, as rain stopped qualifying for two-and-a-half days. 

When the racing resumed it wasn't to be for Laughlin, who was beaten in the first elimination round, putting an early end to his weekend.

Alligators are a common sight in Florida, often living in freshwater habitats where they eat fish, birds and other small animals. 

The alligator, similar to this one pictured here, was around six feet long. The animals are a common sight in Florida, where they live around freshwater

While this one is thought to have been six feet long, bigger alligators can reach up to 16 feet and weigh up to 800 pounds. 

However some larger ones have been eating larger prey such as deer, bears and even other alligators. 

They do this by grabbing hold of their prey in their jaws and dragging it under the water, at which point they violently spin in an effort to drown it, something known as a 'death roll'.

While they don't actively hunt humans, there have been reports of attacks on people when they get too close.

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