Drake's Dad -- If You're Reading This ... I Crashed My Car

The night Drake released his new album, his dad had a very strange accident ... driving his luxury ride over a street sign and crashing into the side of a building.

Dennis Graham tells TMZ he was running errands in downtown Memphis around 8:30 PM Thursday ... when he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake and smashed his Jaguar XK8 into an apartment building wall. No one was hurt.

Graham says the pedal mix up happened when his Timberlands got stuck under the brake, and he was trying to free them.

Dennis says the building manager wasn't there -- so he drove home, and returned to the scene Friday morning where cops were assessing the damage. They gave him a ticket for failure to maintain proper control.

We know what you're thinking -- and Dennis says he wasn't boozing. Total damage ... around $400 ... which he says insurance will cover. Drizzy Sr. adds, "I will never drive in those [shoes] as long as I live."