WATCH: “Thoughtless, careless, irresponsible”- John Hunter Nemechek’s car burst into flames during burnout celebration

Truck Series defending champion Zane Smith had a similar burnout two weeks ago.

WATCH: “Thoughtless, careless, irresponsible”- John Hunter Nemechek’s car burst into flames during burnout celebration

John Hunter Nemechek's No:20 JGR Toyota on fire

Joe Gibbs Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek has scored his first win at Martinsville in his Xfinity track debut. He secured a 1.5s lead over his teammate Sammy Smith to win his second race of the 2023 season. Nemechek was promoted to the second-tier NASCAR series as Ty Gibb’s replacement, and he has already proven to the team why he was the right choice. He secured a top-10 finish in 7 of the eight races of the season.

Nemechek led 198 of the 250 laps on his way to the win. He won both the laps of the race and, alongside Sammy Smith and Cole Custer, was the front runner the whole day. Nemechek, who took back the lead with just 32 laps left, never looked back. Smith secured the P2 outclassing the SHR driver in the final lap.

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“I can’t say enough about this whole team. If you would have asked me yesterday if we would have won, I thought we were a 10th-place car in practice. Just grateful the guys made the right adjustments. Let’s celebrate,” an elated Nemechek said after the win.

Nemechek celebrated his win wholeheartedly and went crazy with the burnout. Unfortunately, the car caught on fire as the tires couldn’t handle the heat. Ironically enough, his car was sponsored by a fire extinguisher company, Pye Barker Fire &Safety. He might have celebrated a bit too hard as he also won the $100K dash for cash for winning the event alongside securing the championship lead of Austin Hill.

JRM’s Josh Berry, Brandon Jones, and Justin Allgaier secured the next three finishes. Kaulig Racing teammates Daniel Hemric and Derek Kraus secured P7 and P8. AM Racing’s Brett Moffitt and Kaulig’s Chandler Smith secured the remaining position in the Top 10.

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Here is how fans reacted to John Hunter Nemechek’s car catching on fire

John Hunter Nemechek 2
John Hunter Nemechek celibarting the Martinsville win with his crew

Fans had a mixed reaction to the 25-year-old car catching on fire. Some quickly pointed out that it was one of the best turns ever. At the same time, another session of fans doesn’t seem too pleased with the dangerous move that seems unsafe. They called out NASCAR and demanded regulations to put an end to this.

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