Thomas Annunziata has bounced back after a fire at Lime Rock Park resulted in a brief hospitalization. He has returned to competition in the ARCA Menards Series.
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Annunziata, a New Jersey native with starts across multiple series, delivered a good showing early at the Connecticut road course in July. He won the ARCA Menards Series race to kick off the weekend, and he led 59 of the 68 laps in a dominant effort. He then qualified fourth for the Truck Series start while driving for Tricon Garage.
Annunziata ran inside of the top five during the road course race, and he worked his way up to second place with just over 20 laps remaining in the race. However, a fire suddenly sparked under the front of his No. 1 Toyota. He had to quickly pull to the side of the track and climb out to safety.
A scary moment for yesterday's ARCA winner. A big fire at Lime Rock for Thomas Annunziata. pic.twitter.com/D4iD9hpXMA
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 11, 2026
Annunziata exited under his own power, but he spent time talking to the medical team. Tricon Garage then confirmed that he had been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. He was later released at approximately 11 p.m. ET that night.
"Want to start by saying I'm OK," he posted on X the following morning. "I really appreciate all the messages and concern after yesterday—just swallowed a little fire, that's all. On the racing side, what a weekend.
"TRICON Garage gave me a race-winning truck. We qualified up front, ran up front all day, and were lining up on the front row with a shot to win before our day came to an early end. Not bad for my second Truck Series start—we'll be back."
This fire did not sideline the racer for very long. He returned to the ARCA Menards Series at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as the schedule continued. He drove the No. 70 as usual, and he finished second behind Kaden Honeycutt. He remained second in the championship standings.
