Five Of The Wildest NASCAR Fires From This Decade
By Nick Livers
April 2015: Richmond Pit Road Fire
In one of the scarier fire incidents of recent memory, Brendan Gaughan’s car burst into flames while pitting, intensified by the gas can in use. Two of Gaughan’s crew members and one of Eric McClure’s crew members went to the hospital.
McClure’s crew member, Clifford Turner, was not burned but inhaled fire extinguisher fluid when he was on top of Gaughan’s crew member trying to put out the fire.
The incident was difficult to follow, as flame engulfed an entire pit box, but it started because Gaughan’s fuel man spilled a puddle of gas, which was then sparked, officials presume, by a lug nut from the car.
Turner was treated and released promptly, and in the following days Gaughan’s crew members, Anthony O’Brien and Josh Wittman, were released from the hospital. The fire was caused by a malfunction on the head of the gas can, which prevented the nozzle from sealing fully.
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Property-damaging fires may seem to come around only rarely, but events of the last few years prove otherwise. While we can look back and laugh at some, many cause bodily injury and financial burdens for small teams.