Pit-road chain-reaction crash halts Gateway race with heavy damage
That said, let me tell you about a truly wild moment from Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. A chain-reaction crash entering pit road at Lap 50 brought out a red-flag condition, and the chaos was quite something to behold.
Here's the thing: as lead-lap cars headed for pit road at the Stage 1 break, William Sawalich appeared to check up just past the first few pit stalls at pit entry. Calamity ensued right behind him as the rest of the field simply couldn't brake hard enough in time. Rajah Caruth, a contender in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, got turned perpendicularly after being rear-ended, completely blocking the pit entry and leaving behind a trail of severely damaged machines.
The melee did not stop there, as Chase driver Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Harrison Burton, and Jeremy Clements all suffered heavy damage in the stack-up. Thankfully, all crewmen on pit road managed to avoid injury despite an incredibly close call for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing crew servicing Brent Crews' Toyota in pit stall No. 40. Caruth's left-rear quarter panel clipped the incoming right-rear tire of Crews' car just as Sanchez's No. 87 careened toward the car's right rear. Rear changer Bryan Backus and jackman Matt Wilps were contacted by the crashing No. 87 Chevrolet, but both completed service without injury and opted against a visit to the infield care center once the smoke cleared. Joe Gibbs Racing later confirmed all crew members were unharmed in the incident via a post on X.
Upon his evaluation and release from the infield care center, Sanchez had a clear assessment of the madness. "I've had pit road incidents, spins, and all that," he said, "but I've never had like a dead stop at pit road like that where you couldn't go through."
Other drivers caught up in the wreckage included Dean Thompson, Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Patrick Staropoli, and Anthony Alfredo. Harrison Burton offered a vivid comparison after he was evaluated and released from the infield care center. "It's like a wreck on (Interstate) 77, I guess," he said, comparing it to Charlotte, North Carolina, area traffic. "I couldn't tell what caused it, and all I saw was I guess it was the 51 (Clements) in front of me. Just, I was right on his bumper running my (RPM) lights, and he just ran into the guy in front of him and ran into the guy in front of him, and I got the worst of it."
Ultimately, the cars that managed to complete service without issue were stopped on the backstretch while safety crews cleared the damaged vehicles and fluid before the rest of the field pitted and rejoined. Unfortunately for Sanchez and Burton, they were officially ruled out of the race and did not continue, with Sanchez credited with a 34th-place finish and Burton 35th.
