Upon removal of the cowl it was pretty obvious what the issue was. The cast casing on the front of the starter surrounding the bendix cracked when the engine kicked back.
I know I am not the first one to experience this, but it sure did suck! However, it couldn't of happened at a better time or location. I am going to take this "opportunity" to upgrade my starter. I have never been thrilled with the starting power. Many times it couldn't even spin the propeller around a full rotation. I always assumed it was due to the awesomely high compression my kick-butt engine had. Perhaps it's just always been a normal engine with a sub-par starter.
So here's my list of options:
1) Stick with the same Sky-Tec 149-12LS starter (Warranty Repair?)
2) Switch to the Sky-Tec 149-NL ($429)
3) Switch to the B&C BCS206 Starter($550)
4) Switch to the Hartzel X-Drive Starter ($430)
I think I am leaning to go with either the SkyTec 149-NL or the B&C starter. The Hartzel's design is just too close to my current starter, so I have some concerns over the casting breaking again.