NASCAR pit crew members narrowly avoided serious injury during a frightening crash on pit road at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. The incident occurred Saturday night during the second race of The Chase.
Several cars spun and collided after a pileup blocked pit road, sending vehicles hurtling towards crew members who were servicing cars for fuel and tires. The No.19 team pit crew for driver Brent Crews found themselves in a particularly precarious situation.
One tire changer for the No.19 car, Bryan Backus, was struck by the spinning No.88 car of Rajah Caruth. Other crew members were nearly hit by Nick Sanchez's No.87 car, which spun directly towards them. Witnesses described the situation as terrifying, with cars missing the crew members by inches.
"Oh my gosh, they're so lucky," said former driver and The CW Sports analyst Jamie McMurray. "That was so close to being bad. They have their backs turned, they don't even know that's happening."
The race was halted by a red flag to allow officials to clear the debris and damaged cars from the track.
Three drivers, Nick Sanchez, Harrison Burton, and Jeremy Clements, were forced to retire from the race due to damage sustained in the incident.
Kim Coon, a NASCAR pit reporter, called it the "scariest thing I’ve ever seen on pit road" on social media. Pit crew member Bozi Tatarevic expressed concern for the safety of the crew, stating it was "one of the worst case scenarios as a crew member."
Tatarevic highlighted the close call for Bryan Backus, noting that he and other crew members showed good situational awareness by beginning to move as they sensed trouble. He explained that a "68 pound wheel and tire combination hitting Donaghy in the hip" would be painful, though tires liners provided some protection. "Hopefully no lasting injury," he added.
Driver Rajah Caruth suggested the incident began when the No.19 car missed its pit stall entry, causing cars behind to slow down. "I was pretty frustrated. It would be one thing if I did something wrong but that was pretty out of my control," Caruth said, acknowledging the narrowness of pit road.
Another driver, Jeb Burton, reported seeing the wreck unfold ahead of him, but he and his car sustained only minor damage and were able to exit the situation unscathed.