Well, here’s a different one… After scoring the victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas, Zane Smith saw his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 burst into flames after his post-race burnout celebration.
It was a burnout, alright.
Here is a video of the wild moment following the race, where Smith’s No. 38 machine erupted:
What in the world?!?! Zane Smith burns it down (literally) after winning today’s @NASCAR_Trucks race at COTA… pic.twitter.com/jPuRhnG1TR
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) March 25, 2023
And here is a look at how the scene unfolded from the stands at Circuit of the Americas from Robert Schloemer:
Here ya go bud! pic.twitter.com/5mshCxxAYi
— Robert Schloemer (@SchloemerZ) March 25, 2023
The No. 38 truck, like all NASCAR race vehicles this weekend, is equipped with flaps behind the rear wheels to reduce trailing spray behind the cars in the event of rain. The flaps seemingly caught scorched pieces of tire rubber from the burnout, which led to the fire igniting.
The 23-year-old racer said the only thing he did wrong all race long was catch fire after the race.
“Besides catching on fire in victory lane — that’s a first for me,” Smith joked when asked what he could have done for an even more perfect race. “Man, that’s a bummer right there.”
“Like I said, that was probably the most hectic victory lane celebration I’ve ever had,” Smith quipped.
Smith led a race-high 16 laps and was handed the lead late in the event when Kyle Busch got caught in a bad pit strategy.
