Alex Bowman's tire bursts into flames at New Hampshire
The first major incident during Sunday's 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway did not take place on the track, but on pit road. The incident occurred on Lap 96 of the 301-lap event when Alex Bowman brought his No. 7 Chevrolet to pit road with a flat tire.
While NASCAR threw the second caution of the day for debris, Bowman's right front tire caught fire before the team could change the flat tire. The team was able to extinguish the flames enough to put fresh rubber on the car and send him back on the track.
As Bowman drove off pit road, the tire burst into flames once again, engulfing the entire right front of the car. Bowman parked the car just past the exit of pit road and was able to climb from the car unharmed.
With Bowman out of the car, track workers scrambled to extinguish the flames. One of the workers stumbled exiting the vehicle and fell to the ground, but was able to bounce back up and keep going.
Despite the fire, the team was able to make repairs in the garage area and got Bowman back on track before the end of the race. With damage to the right front, Bowman was able to gain one spot and finish 42nd out of 43 cars.
