The action went from hot to literally scalding hot for Brock Pinkerous (555). This crash occurred during the Rush Dirt Late Model Series feature at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, West Virginia.
Kyle Thomas’ car (57) got sideways and then Pinkerous hit it. The impact spun Thomas’ car around and into Pinkerous’. The crash sheared off the radiator and carburetor from Pinkerous’ car. Steam and hot fluid then headed toward Pinkerous’ cockpit.
“Overall, it was scary,” Pinkerous, 13, of Ellenville, New York, said. “It happened in a split second and I thought I was about to get burned. I felt warm water seeping through my fire suit. I was fortunate to have a double-layer suit.”
Pinkerous emerged from the wrecked race car without injury. He sat in a full-containment seat from The Joie of Seating paired with a Simpson harness. Pinkerous wore Accelo Racewear fire suit, Schuberth helmet, and Simpson gloves, shoes, and Hybrid head-and-neck restraint.
The car, a Rocket XR1, however, suffered extensive damage.
“We keep our race cars fresh,” Pinkerous’ father, Paul, said. “We’re going to get a brand-new Rocket this week.”
Pinkerous declined to place blame for the crash.
“The crash is not his fault or my fault,” said Pinkerous. “He spun out. I don’t know why. That happens in racing. It was a racing accident.”
So far, Brock Pinkerous has two wins in the Rush Dirt Late Model Series. Crew chief Russ King will work at rebuilding the damaged car, and Pinkerous will return to action next week.
“My sister, Haley, has her high school graduation party this weekend, so we won’t be racing,” Pinkerous said. “We will have time to work on the car. Next week is a big week — Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio; Eriez [Speedway] in Erie, Pennsylvania; and finally, Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway — it’s going to be fun.”
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.
