“Baptism by fire”- NASCAR Twitter reacts to Ty Gibbs Car catching on fire during LA Clash qualifying

Saturday marks the first time Ty Gibbs drove the No:54 Car in a NASCAR sanction Cup event.


“Baptism by fire”- NASCAR Twitter reacts to Ty Gibbs Car catching on fire during LA Clash qualifying

Ty Gibbs's No:54 car on fire

Ty Gibbs had a scary start to his full-time NASCAR Cup series debut. The No:54 Toyota Camry caught on fire during the 8-minute practice session. With just three minutes left in the session, a fire broke out in the cock pit. Fortunately, Gibbs was able to get out of the vehicle with no injuries. The 2022 Xfinity series champion will start Sunday’s Heat race (Heat 4) at P9.

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The fire is reportedly caused by the exhaust getting loose, and the limited updates to the Next0-Gen car parts rule out any issues due to the new parts. Cars catching on fire was one of the major safety concerns of the 2022 season with the 7th Gen car. Veteran, Kevin Harvick’s playoff campaign was derailed by such fire incidents last season. The re-occurrence surprised the NASCAR community as they expected the organization to address the issues in 2023.

Gibbs had a smooth start to his new season and was 6th overall fastest before the incident. All the Camry’s fast at the 0.25 miles temporary track, and Gibbs might have missed out on a front-row start as he didn’t get the chance to run in qualifiers due to the number of adjustments that were made to the No:54 car after the fire.

Ty Gibbs, after the incident, revealed that he said it wasn’t that hot in the cockpit — just dark after the fire broke out, and he didn’t use the fire extinguisher that is in the cockpit. He just got out of the car as soon as he could. JGR replaced the windshield and door foam, with a bit of help from SHR, in their no:54 car to get it ready for the final day.

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How NASCAR Twitter reacted to the incident

Ty Gibbs's car on fire
Ty Gibbs’s No:54 car on fire

Fans were quick to call out NASCAR for its incompetency as the fire incident continued. They were also concerned about the youngster’s safety. There were also trolls aimed at the youngster and Toyota.

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