Brent Crews’s run in the General Tire 150 at Dover Motor Speedway ended unexpectedly. A rampant fire left him unable to compete just a quarter of the way into the race. The rising Arca Menards star has also competed in NASCAR’s Truck Series. 

On lap 44, who recently drove the new electric car at the Chicago Street Race,caught fire after making contact with the wall around a turn. The front right tire immediately ignited, and the car spun nearly sideways, sliding down the track and trailing thick clouds of black smoke.

Caution flags flew as the orange JBL No. 18 Camry came to a stop with the entire right front engulfed in flames against the wall. Crews missed out on the final 106 laps of the race but still finished ahead of Tony Cosentino, Blaine Donahue, and Matt Kemp.

Several tense seconds passed before Crews was able to exit the car and move to safety, even as other cars continued to race past the scene. Motorsports fans were critical online of how long it took for Crews to escape and for the safety crew to respond.

One fan commented, “The safety crew must have been parked a mile away.” Another added, “That was a big hit for him. I’m glad he got out of the car, but it took a while for the safety team to put the fire out.”

A third person tweeted, “It took them forever to extinguish the fire. They need to have a better plan and execution.” Cameras later showed the charred remains of Crews’s car, with extensive damage to the rear frame and tires.

The commentary team remarked that the damage likely meant the car was a total loss. Crews had finished second in qualifying and was considered a top contender to win heading into Friday’s race.

Through 10 races of the 2025 schedule, Crews has earned one win, which came in the second race of the season at Phoenix. He beat Brenden Queen in a one-lap shootout in Turn 3 at Phoenix Raceway, and noted how special it was to defeat the driver he was familiar with during their CARS Tour time.

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“I raced Brenden [Queen] the whole year last year,” Crews said. “We raced him for CARS Tour wins, and then coming here to the ARCA Menards Series at a track like Phoenix to race for the win was really special. A great job to [Pinnacle Racing Group]. They had a winning car today, so I’m grateful for the caution at the end.”

The General Tire 150 was eventually won by Queen, who earned his fourth season win and claimed three poles. Queen now leads the ARCA Menards Series by 26 points over Lawless Alan, while Crews sits 19th out of 115 drivers who have competed at least once this season.

The next race on the ARCA schedule is the LiUNA! 150 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 25.