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One of the many heart-stopping moments that happened at the Darlington Raceway on Sunday was the fire accident at Chris Buescher‘s pit. Entering the raceway for his first playoff appearance since his rookie season in 2016, Buescher and his pit crew met with a fiery accident and came out victorious.

RFK Racing shared a video on “X,” featuring interviews with the heroic crew members who helped salvage the night for Buescher. Later, a fan’s reply to RFK’s post garnered an interesting response from Brad Keselowski.

Brad Keselowski reveals interesting detail behind NASCAR suits

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The two members of the #17 crew who were brought up to speak about the incident were Dalton Leonard (Rear tire changer) and Nicholas Patterson (Jackman). While most of the comments section was filled with praise for the brave crew members who continued with the pit stop despite the rear of the #6 Mustang engulfed in flames, one of the replies noted the massive size of the jackman Nicholas. Remembering the moment when the commentators at Le Mans were able to identify American pit crew members from their sizes alone, the witty reply termed Nicholas as the “Jack-ed Man.” Noticing the funny comment, the #6 Ford Mustang driver Brad Keselowski pitched in with an interesting and jovial fact.

Revealing that the driver and crew member suits in NASCAR are made by tailoring teams that typically make runway dresses in Italy, Keselowski wrote, “Every year when we send the measurements, they send them back for unbelievable sizing (too big) and we have to tell them they are the right measurements.”

NASCAR suits are made of a material called Nomex. The same material lines the inside of driver’s helmets and is completely fire-retardant. Unlike other heat retardants, Nomex’s resistance does not subside with time or wash away. It was with the help of these super suits and courageous crew members that Buescher was able to complete his best-ever finish at Darlington. Brad Keselowski too did not fall far behind as he finished at P6.

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The pit fire accident that threatened the night for the #17 crew

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Going into Darlington for his first playoff race of the year, Buescher sat at P8 on the grid. With stage 1 going green all the way, many wondered if the lack of action would continue for all 367 laps. But as it had for drivers like Bubba Wallace, the race got increasingly difficult for Buescher and the #17 crew.

The unfortunate accident occurred when the driver pitted for a change of tires and refueling in the second stage of the race. As Dalton Leonard tried changing Chris’s left rear tires, a spark flew and caught onto the spilled fuel nearby. Flames hit the car’s rear corner and Dalton, but he wasn’t one to back away without completing the job. Tightening the lug nuts, he sent Chris on his way back into the track with the aid of the jackman Nicholas.

As praise pours in for the show of commitment, both crew members refused to take credit for it. Speaking of it, Nicholas said, “You don’t want to be considered a hero because, technically, we made a mistake. But to correct it was really a heads up. I think that’s one of the things about being a professional is that there is a level of expectation of yourself that you have.”

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Fortunately, none of the crew ended up hurt and RFK Racing was able to showcase the insane abilities of their drivers and their crews as well. Just two more races left in the first playoff round, and both Chris and Brad Keselowski sit above the cutoff line to advance. Coming up next for RFK Racing and its crews is the race at Kansas Speedway. Keep tuning in to the EssentiallySports NASCAR page for further updates on the weekend!

Written by

Gowtham Ramalingam

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Gowtham Ramalingam is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. His love for motorsports stems from his fascination with Formula 1. Possessing an obsession for anything with an engine, the roads eventually led him to the raw grounds of NASCAR and he has been an avid fan of the sport ever since.
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Edited by

Nischal Kandpal