NASCAR has seen its share of fires over the years, mostly caused by crashes.<\/p>\n
But the sport likely has never seen anything like the fire that occurred in the 2012 Daytona 500, when the trailing arm on Juan Pablo Montoya<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s car broke while he was going over 100 mph. Montoya had been in a wreck earlier in the race, and his team replaced the trailing arm then, but somehow the repair did not hold.<\/p>\n Now, a broken trailing arm is not all that unusual, but it was the end result that made international news. Montoya had just left pit road and was coming out of Turn 2, following a track dryer on the backstretch under caution, when the trailing arm snapped, leaving him with no control over the steering, and his car suddenly revved over 100 mph, slamming full-speed into the rear of a track dryer, igniting a massive fireball.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Montoya and the driver of the track dryer were uninjured, both able to quickly escape from the inferno.<\/p>\n With both lives safe, it was suddenly upon then-NASCAR Vice President of Competition, Robin Pemberton<\/a><\/strong>, to save the racing surface at Daytona International Speedway.<\/p>\n Because the track dryer was powered by jet fuel, the flammability was immense, and it burned not only the outside retaining wall, but also threatened to burn through the asphalt on the track.<\/p>\n The fire and safety crews that responded to the inferno basically let the jet dryer and Montoya\u2019s race car both burn to the ground, but instead focused on the track to keep it cool and prevent it from burning. It did not help that the track surface had been repaved during the off-season.<\/p>\n The crew followed Pemberton\u2019s orders to minimize the damage to the racetrack before turning its attention to the jet dryer and race car that were ablaze, which drew criticism on FOX Sports by analyst and former Cup champion Darrell Waltrip<\/a><\/strong>, who thought the crew should put out the flames first.<\/p>\n \u201cDarrell criticized us on national TV for not putting out the fire, that they\u2019re not shooting (water and flame retardant) at the fire,\u201d Pemberton said<\/a> <\/strong>on this week\u2019s edition of the Dale Jr. Download podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr. \u201cI didn\u2019t give a sh*t if the truck burned to the ground. We were trying to save the racetrack so we can run the race.\u201d<\/p>\n Pemberton Gets Police Escort To Other Side Of Track To View The Damage<\/p>\n Then-NASCAR president Mike Helton ordered Pemberton to become the point person on the track, receiving a police escort \u2013 with lights and sirens blaring \u2013 from the press box all the way around the track to the scene of the mishap.<\/p>\n Pemberton still recalls the scene he came upon when the squad car stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cIt smelled like a 747 crash back there with all the fuel all over,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it had rained (just beforehand, which was why the jet dryer was out, trying to dry the soggy surface). The thing that saved it is that it was all lying on top of the water back there.\u201d<\/p>\n As serious an incident as the crash and resulting fire was, it also prompted some humor between Pemberton and his brother, Ryan, who was crew chief for Dave Blaney<\/a><\/strong> (father of current Cup driver Ryan Blaney).<\/p>\n Dave was leading the race at the time, and rain had resumed on the backstretch where the accident had occurred. \u201cMy cell phone rings and it\u2019s (my brother) Ryan,\u201d Pemberton recalled. \u201cThey\u2019re leading the race, and he says, \u2018How you guys doing back there?\u2019 I said, \u2018It\u2019s okay.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018You know it\u2019s raining?\u2019 I said, \u2018I\u2019m standing 200 yards from your car. I know it\u2019s raining.\u2019 (To which Ryan retorted) \u2018Oh, oh, oh, I just thought you needed to know.\u2019 I said, \u2018I know. I know. I got it. I got it.\u2019 We did that kind of funning around.\u201d<\/p>\n The rain eventually stopped, the track was dried, and Matt Kenseth \u2013 not Blaney (who finished 15th) \u2013 won, with Dale Jr. finishing second.<\/p>\n