It was an eventful race for the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The 2023 Daytona 500 champion had a very crazy moment in the closing laps of Sunday's Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Roval.
Stenhouse had several issues during the race, but it all came to a head with 13 laps remaining in the event. Stenhouse found himself in a very scary situation when his Totino's Pizza Rolls Chevy suddenly burst into flames. The fire initially seemed to be small, as it was just under the race car. However, it quickly spread.
The moment it happened, NBC's coverage was all over the scary situation.
The thick black smoke and clear flames became a rough scene to see play out. As the problem unfolded, NBC's Steve Letarte expressed concerned about Stenhouse's safety and well-being. The video shared by NASCAR in NBC's X post clearly showed the startling occurrence.
A scary fire for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
He got out of the car. #NASCAR
? : NBC pic.twitter.com/UCsJAdCplr
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 8, 2023
Stenhouse was able to stop his car and, after a few moments, scramble out of it safely.
Stenhouse may have had pizza rolls shown on his race car, but this is one situation where it looked as if those pizza rolls got too close to the flames, so to speak.
Random fires occurring with Next Gen cars have clearly been a problem. Last season saw a major fire suddenly occur on Kevin Harvick's No. 4, and he was very critical of the situation. This season has seen its fair share of issues.
That includes the regular season finale race at Daytona, where Brad Keselowski famously had to drive in circles to put out a fire in his race car. That quickly became a viral moment from the race.
Stenhouse's fire may have been a viral moment in a NASCAR race, but it clearly needs to be addressed.
