NASCAR Driver's Father Rushed Onto Track To Pull Him From Burning Car
Ryan Mayer
One of the inherent risks that race-car drivers take when getting behind the wheel is the possibility of a crash that can be life-threatening. In a NASCAR Late Model 100 series event at South Boston track this past weekend, driver Mike Jones learned that first hand when his No. 39 car got spun into the wall and caught on fire. Luckily for Jones, his dad Dean was there to save the day.
That's Dean in the shorts hopping the wall at about the :20 mark of the video. He serves as the crew chief for his son's team which allowed him to be in position to get to his son quickly and pull him from the burning wreck. After saving his son, Jones can then be seen on the video reaching back into the car to turn on the fire suppression system before being pulled away.
Despite his heroics, Jones may now be facing punishment from NASCAR and according to RacingNews.co an official took his NASCAR license for being on the track with shorts on. Jones didn't seem to care much after the race telling RacingNews.co "No one except sweet baby Jesus would have kept me from freeing my son from a burning race car."