During the last NASCAR event at WWT Raceway, Bryan Backus, tire changer for the number 19 car of Joe Gibbs Racing, experienced a terrifying ordeal when a massive accident occurred in the pit area.
The pile-up involved several vehicles and completely blocked the pit road, causing the race to be halted. Backus, who was on the ground changing the right rear tire, was nearly caught between the vehicles when the number 88 of Rajah Caruth spun and collided with him, while Nick Sanchez impacted the JGR car.
After this tense situation, in which no one was injured, a week later, Backus received a gift from driver Sanchez and his crew chief, Jody Measamer. During the pre-race program presentation at Bristol Motor Speedway, they presented him with a piece of the number 87 car, damaged in the previous race accident.
Backus, reflecting on the incident, said: ‘I didn’t know what was happening when it occurred; everything happened extremely fast. Looking at the videos, it seemed worse every time I watched it.’ This gift will serve as a way to remember the dangerous experience lived.
For Backus, returning to work after such an incident is not easy, but he insists that the focus must be on his job. ‘You can’t allow yourself to think about anything else; if you do, you won’t do your job correctly.’
Additionally, NASCAR has announced that they will send representatives to Gateway to assess how safety conditions can be improved on this Illinois pit road.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
