A Stewart-Haas Racing hauler is on its way back to Concord, North Carolina as of Friday morning, after being involved in a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 10 East near Geronimo, Texas.
The incident was first reported on the evening of Thursday, March 7, via an Instagram video from @TheRealFitFamElPaso, which clearly shows an 18-wheeler with the branding of the NASCAR Cup Series team stranded on the side of the road, with first responders actively on the scene.
According to TxDOT’s social media accounts, the accident resulted in the closure of all lanes at Interstate 10 East on Thursday. As a result, traffic had backed up from Geronimo to El Paisano, a stretch of highway that appears to be separated by a single highway exit.
A representative from Stewart-Haas Racing provided TobyChristie.com with additional details on the incident, saying: “On the way back to the shop in North Carolina, a Stewart-Haas transporter pulled off the highway and onto the shoulder. While stopped, a car side-swiped the transporter. The accident has since been cleaned up, the transported has been repaired, and our drivers are back on the road to North Carolina.”
The hauler involved in the incident was not one of the six used on a week-to-week basis to transport Stewart-Haas Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series and/or NASCAR Xfinity Series entries to the racetrack, but rather an additional hauler used primarily during the ‘West Coast Swing’.
Earlier in the afternoon, Stewart-Haas shared a video – which is now deleted – to its social channels detailing the process of the additional hauler, which loads up the team’s four Phoenix primaries, a pair of backup cars, and any additional supplies needed, and travels to Avondale, Arizona.
When reaching Phoenix Raceway, the hauler will then offload the six NASCAR Cup Series vehicles it has onboard and pick up the vehicles that were utilized last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, before packing up and heading back to North Carolina.
At the time of the accident, the hauler was present on the Eastbound lanes of Interstate 10, which indicates that the switch had already been made, and the team’s cars from last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were onboard at the time.
Therefore, Stewart-Haas Racing should have no problems competing in Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series. practice session from Phoenix Raceway, which will take place in the afternoon. The statement from the team indicates any damage was easily fixable, likely not causing any major problems down the road for the four-car operation.
If any further updates regarding damages or injuries are provided, they will be added to this story as an update.
