Pace Car Fire Sparks Debate

A pace car fire at the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sparked debate as to the real reason behind the conflagration. It appears to be the case that an electrical kit in the rear burst into flames. The driver and passenger are both alive and well.

When the pace car started spewing out smoke and sparks from its back side, a lot of people got quite worried at the Daytona Series. The car was a blue Chevrolet SS and it was on the track in a NASCAR race. 

Brett Bodine was the driver and he pulled it over the exact moment when the interior began to cause suffocation. He sent a message by wireless to the control tower “We’re on fire!” 

The moment he disembarked from the vehicle, flames started leaping out from the posterior. The emergency crew doused them and soon everything was under control. A substitute car was furnished so the race could be continued. 

The culprit company behind the mishap was sent a query by NASCAR. Chevrolet replied in the affirmative by saying that the trunk region contained a kit for auxiliary purposes. And that Chevrolet was responsible for the accident goes without. 

Chevrolet issued a statement regarding the incident on Sunday morning. The company stated, “The pace car experienced a fire in the trunk area, which contains a purpose-built auxiliary electrical kit to operate the numerous caution lights during the race. The pace car driver and passenger safely exited the vehicle. An assessment is underway.”

An assessment report is underway. The kit was used to light up the car’s caution signals throughout the race. The fact that it malfunctioned was a chance occurrence. Already, malfunctioning ignition switches in racing cars have been the cause of more than six casualties. 

Brett Bodine is a very lucky man to have survived this hazard. The Chevrolet Company has recalled many of its cars due to this flaw that lies in their interior mechanical content. The very incident is bizarre in itself. A pace car catching fire is relatively rare.

Usually it is race cars that undergo such trials of the extreme kind. But when such an incident occurs it reflects badly on the manufacturers of such vehicles. Human life after all is not something that is meant to be thrown on the road.

Source: USAToday , SportingNews