Intake back fire?

[corylang at dccnet.com (Cory Langford)]

Okay,  I figure I have a problem with the Roc now...

It has been running great for the last few months. Not a problem.

Tonight I jump in to take a quick drive.  It turns over a couple times,
catches and just starts to rev when BANG!  The loudest Bang I have heard
comes out from under the hood, it dies and a small trail of black smoke
curls up from the front of the hood by the grill.  It was loud enough that
the wife poked her head out the front door and asked if I blew up the car :(\


When I popped the hood what I found was that the boot on the air meter was
blown right off (it was sitting on the battery), the boot on the TB was
blown off and hanging there, and the pipe between the two was wedged
between the rad fan and the oil filter.

Only thing I can think of is the poor thing back-fired through the intake
and blew the intake connections off.

But WHAT would cause that?  Especially since it has been running better
than ever the last few months?

My thought is maybe the timing belt slipped. Is that possible?  

I need suggestions. It is parked now, as I don't want something like that
to happen when I am at full speed and find some serious damage.

and on the topic of damage, what kind of damage can an intake back-fire cause?

TIA

Cory