Most racers, such as Ryan Williams, fear fire. Fortunately, the sophomore modified driver escaped unscathed when it occurred during his heat race at Clarksville Speedway.
“I rolled out of turn four onto the frontstretch when I saw flames coming from under the hood,” Williams, of Clifty, Kentucky, said. “I felt the heat on my feet.”
He then played out the scenario he had rehearsed in his head many times before.
“I knocked my car out of gear and hit the kill switch,” said Williams. “Unlatched my belts and bailed out with my [Bell] helmet and HANS device still attached. I was out of my car in 20 seconds.”
Williams wore a Velocita fire suit paired with Alpinestars gloves and Sparco racing shoes. The fire did not damage his personal safety gear. He did not have an onboard fire suppression system, but Williams said the track crew quickly put out the fire.
His car needed some relatively minor repairs. Williams said he’ll have to replace various wires, the air filter and its cover, fuel line, and assorted connectors.
“We determined that fuel line came loose,” Williams said of the fire’s cause. “Fuel spilled on either the spark plug wires or header to be ignited.”
Fortunately, his chassis, a 2014 Nullynski, was spared from serious damage. Williams started racing modifieds last year with a 2004 chassis. He thought about building a new one with his grandfather Randle Sweeney. When he came across the Nullynski, he discovered that his grandfather once competed in it.
Ryan Williams intends to make repairs to his car in time to race the next event at Paducah International Raceway. In the meantime, he remains thankful that he prepared for fire.
“Burning up in a race car is my biggest fear,” said Williams. “Fire is something I never experienced before and that I hope I never experience again.”
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.
