RICHMOND – An apparent malfunction in the gas head caused a scary fire in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race Friday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in the ToyotaCare 250.
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) tire changer Anthony O’Brien, gas man Josh Wittman and Clifford Turner, a crew member from Eric McClure’s JGL Racing team were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
The fire ignited during the second caution flag of the night on Lap 108 when Brendan Gaughan entered the pit road for a routine stop. As Gaughan was completing his pit stop, the fuel connected with a spark, causing an immediate inferno.
The track’s safety personnel quickly extinguished the fires on both RCR crew members, as well as the fire itself.
O’Brien was replaced by backup tire changer Jeremy West, while Wittman was replaced by Thomas Costello, who is a gas man for Brian Scott’s team.
The extent of their injuries was not immediately known. As part of their ongoing safety initiative, NASCAR requires all crew members to wear fireproof suits and helmets.
A spokesperson for Eric McClure’s NASCAR XFINITY Series team says Turner was evaluated and released from a local hospital. The team also said he wasn’t burned in the incident, but inhaled all of the extinguisher chemical when they sprayed the other involved XFINITY Series crew members.
NBC Sports reported that Wayne Auton, XFINITY Series director, said that NASCAR will take the fueling head back to its R&D Center in Concord, N.C., for further inspection. Auton said he talked with Richard Childress Racing about the fire in Gaughan’s pits and that film of the incident had been reviewed.
NASCAR said that they expect the teams to provide updates on their conditions as they become available.
As of 1:00 a.m. Saturday, no updates have been given on the Richard Childress Racing crew members, but a spokesperson said that any updates would be funneled through their team’s Twitter account @RCRracing.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
