Dirt late model driver Will Roland saw his upcoming race season put on an abrupt hold as his truck/tractor went up in flames. The incident occurred on his way back home from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series’ Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
“We were driving along the highway near Gainesville [Florida] when we saw sparks and flames coming from the engine compartment,” Roland, 19, of Jasper, Georgia, said. “The relief valves on the propane tanks let go and then the propane started burning.”
Roland; his father, Mark; and one crew member were on board when they pulled off the highway. He said the team purchased the 2009 Freightliner used, but they regularly maintained it. The Rolands have owned it for six years. It had only 150,000 miles on it, which is considered low mileage for a truck of its type.
“The fire department showed up just in time,” said Roland. “The fire was about to reach the trailer when they put it out. The truck and camper section burned to the ground. The fire scorched the outside of the trailer’s sheet metal, but it did not get inside. Our two cars and all of our racing equipment were saved.”
Roland had to leave the tractor and the trailer, with his race cars and parts, back in Florida. Insurance adjusters needed the tractor-trailer to investigate the cause of the fire.
“We were planning to go to 411 Motor Speedway [in Seymour, Tennessee,] for The Sweetheart this weekend,” Roland said, with attendance at that event now in serious doubt. “This was to be our big year. We had a schedule of 50 events. Everything is on hold now.”
For those looking to help, Will Roland seeks a truck to replace the one lost in the fire. If you can be of assistance, Roland urges you to call him at 678-764-3805.
“The insurance investigation may put us out for a short while,” said Roland, “but, I’m hoping we can get a truck to haul our trailer so we can keep on racing.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
