Things got hot on the track this weekend at The Bank of America Roval 400 in Charlotte, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was on fire and not in a good way. The driver of the No. 47 car was forced to escape from his vehicle after it became engulfed in flames and smoke.
NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | SCREENSHOT: Yeetus McFarland/YouTube
On a restart with just 13 laps remaining, smoke began to trail the No. 47 driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As he began to slow, the fire grew bigger. When he finally came to a stop, crew members noticed smoke inside and under the car.
Fortunately, Stenhouse Jr. was able to escape the vehicle as the AMR safety team rushed in to make sure the flames were extinguished.
His team issued the following statement regarding their driver’s status: “Following his car catching on fire, Stenhouse Jr was treated and released from infield care center. Tough day at The ROVAL. We are glad our wheelman is okay!”
“This car just looks like it’s on fire with very little to no damage. … There could be tire rubber in there. You could have had an oil leak. The hot exhaust is in there, there’s a lot of things that it could be,” NBC Sports commentator Steve Letarte stated. “NASCAR put a lot of work into this last year. If this is another fire in the rocker box, it’s going to be high on the priority list on Monday for the officials.”
AJ Allmendinger held off William Byron and Kyle Busch down to the wire in the final lap to win the event.
Despite the wicked burnout, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has had a terrific year on the track. He won the Daytona 500 and has eight other top-10 finishes.
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