How many times have we seen a stock car getting engulfed in flames mid-race? From Xfinity Series driver Ryan Sieg’s car bursting into flames earlier this year at Dover Motor Raceway, to Ryan Blaney quickly exiting his burning No. 12 in 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to avoid a tragedy, there’s no dearth of NASCAR’s bout with fire. However, this time, the mishap struck offtrack as Joe Gibbs Racing was left with a crisis at hand!

Last weekend was a double-edged sword for the team. On one hand, their team’s driver Christopher Bell picked up his third win of the season on Sunday. However, the celebrations were coming on the back of an adversity that had struck earlier in the week. At around 1:19 AM ET on Friday, the New Hampshire Fire Department had to spring into action as the team’s motor home parked in the racetrack’s infield was engulfed in flames.

Fortunately, no injuries or additional damages were reported in the vicinity, by either the team or the Motor Speedway. As per a report by TobyChristie.com, the bus was primarily used for team meetings and gatherings, and not for personal use by any team member or the team owner. A video of firefighters trying to control the flames also made its way on social media platforms. However, as condolences poured in, a banter too ensued, with fans dragging Bell’s recent slip-up into the conversation.

Fans could not help but notice that this accident happened right after Christopher Bell accidentally spilled the beans on Chase Briscoe’s arrival at JGR in a press meeting.

Conspiracy theories take over!

It seems fans were having a field day with all sorts of wild conspiracy theories, trying to find the perpetrator behind the incident. One group of fans hilariously quipped that Ford might be the one to blame, writing, “Someone at Ford was really p***ed at losing Chase Briscoe”. The OEM has evidently not had a great season so far. With just three wins (Brad Keselowski at Darlington, Austin Cindric at WWTR and Ryan Blaney at Iowa) in 19 races, the manufacturer stands at the bottom of the standings. To add insult to injury, Stewart-Haas Racing, a Tier-One team, also announced their closure at the end of the 2024 season, with the team’s driver Chase Briscoe moving to JGR next season. While the comment was a light-hearted take on the incident, the Mustang has some damage control to do, it seems.

Well, the trolling didn’t stop there. Even Chase Elliott was dragged into the incident after his teammate, Kyle Larson, joked about his move from HMS to JGR. “Chase Elliott burned it down to eliminate even the remote possibility that CBell was talking about him,” the comment read.

Some even joked that the fire was a means of damage control, saying, “Burning all the secrets before Cbell does another interview 😆”. Notably, conversations were rife about the upcoming silly season, especially surrounding SHR drivers. With no official confirmation from any parties involved, the community couldn’t do anything but speculate. However, in a moment of premature slip-up, Christopher Bell, albeit regrettably, confirmed Briscoe would be moving to JGR. At the time, social media users dubbed him as the Tom Holland of NASCAR, a figure who’s notoriously known for disclosing Marvel Studios’ secrets before official confirmations.

Watch out, there was someone who genuinely felt betrayed to see JGR pick Briscoe over him. Remember Kyle Busch recently expressing his desire to return to JGR after his dismal showing with RCR this season? Well, that door is no longer open for him, and this is why some fans online questioned Rowdy’s involvement in the incident. “Anyone know where Kyle Busch was at this time?🤣😂”. After Martin Truex Jr finally announced his retirement at the end of the 2024 season, many were hoping that Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch would be replacing his former teammate.

When questioned about the rumors by FOX’s Bob Pockrass, the 39-year-old had said, “I would say there’s anything’s possible always you know. Certainly, if I was welcomed I would go back. If Hendrick welcomed me back I would go back. But right now I’m at RCR with my group of guys and in the deal that I have right now in place and so we’re trying to work and build this program and make RCR great again.” 

On the other hand, some even linked the F1 McLaren team’s recent bus fire incident to this one and went on to predict a pole position for JGR for Sunday’s race. “mclaren fire turned into a pole so it’s looking good for cbell”. McLaren was dealt the same hand as the Joe Gibbs-owned team as a fire incident forced the team to evacuate their hospitality suite ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the situation soon turned its head as Lando Norris soon took pole. Will Christopher Bell be able to do it? Well, we’ll have to wait to see if Bell is as lucky as his F1 counterpart!

Jokes aside, all’s well that ends well. As far as Joe Gibbs Racing is concerned, they will look to get a winning result from this Sunday’s race at Loudon.