Scoring a career-best finish and yet ending up with a fire accident sounds like an oxymoron right? This is exactly what Ryan Reed faced on the Talladega Superspeedway after he returned to his racing career after almost three years. The 31-year-old NASCAR favorite made a comeback with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Love’s RV Stop 225.  Despite starting the race on the 22nd position, Ryan had put on an impressive show completing the race on the 7th position.

Driving the #91 Chevy, his calm of mind and steering skills were a sight to behold for most spectators. Ryan shares a chilly account of how the car interiors filled with smoke in a fraction of a second. The two-time NASCAR champion Ryan Reed had finally started to give fans a ray of hope when his truck caught in a fiery smoke during Love RV Stop 225. As his Chevy took a sharp turn, Ryan found himself in a burst of smoke. He even admitted to making a string of errors which further contributed to this possibly tragic accident. 

“The cockpit filled up with smoke so quickly, and couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t see anything. They’re telling me to pull the firing pin. So he’s trying to evacuate right? …..I was trying to catch my breath,” Ryan said in an interview to Frontstretch. He was on the verge of pushing his teammate Christian Eckes in a draft so that he could chase for the win. However, soon this partnership broke off and gave way to a major fire. He further added “Gosh we could have gone anywhere we wanted today. I made a lot of mistakes….at the end, I hate Bill has torn up race tracks.” 

In a post-race interview, Ryan mentioned he was giving his teammate Eckes some added benefit. His ultimate goal was to witness a “Chevy Silverado, Napa, and a Chevy Silverado” pushing one-two. However, the moment he saw that this alliance was going loose he gave out much-needed space. But this move did not work out either; ultimately, he was part of a smokey burnout. Once the smoke broke out, immediate assistance in the form of fire trucks from BillMcAnally-Hilgemann Racing salvaged the situation.

Despite the accident, Ryan Reed did have a decent run and he ended up scoring his career-best finish (7th). His teammate finished in 6th position which contributed to a rather decent finish off by both the drivers. 

Fans reminisce similar “smoke breakout” with Ricky Stenhouse

This incident on the Talladega Superspeedway has ignited a memory for the fans where Ricky Stenhouse was in a similar situation. During the 96th lap on the North Carolina Charlotte Motor Speedway at Bank of America Roval 400,  Ricky found himself in a whirlwind of smoke. Not only smoke, but the underneath of his car soon caught fire which left spectators on the trackway worried about his safe evacuation. 

Ricky Stenhouse was eliminated after his disappointing performance at the Bristol race. With only 13 laps remaining, Ricky walked out of the fire-struck car with a nonchalant demeanor. This happened even before the emergency crew could make their way to reduce Stenhouse. Even after the incident, Ricky was seen joking about this incident. 

While occasional accidents could be a common side-effect, there have been ample amendments. Do you think that the Talladega Superspeedway can now handle such an incident? Share below.