It’ll take more than an exploding engine, burns, and smoke inhalation to keep 73-year-old Norm Benning off the racetrack, after he revealed his intention to partcfipate in the next NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Benning, who made his NASCAR debut in the Cup Series back in 1989, was at the wheel of his No. 6 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway in the Love’s RV Stop 225 when his truck suddenly began to bellow flames from it’s undercarriage.
Smoke quickly filled the cabin as Benning pulled down the banking and rushed to get out of the truck, throwing open his net and appearing to fall out of his window as the AMR Safety Team rushed over to help him. “Get it stopped, right there. Ambulance is right there. Get out,” Benning was told over his team radio.
Thankfully, after being driven to the care center in an ambulance, Benning appears to have made it out of the incident relatively unscathed, as he revealed late on Friday.
“I was holding my breath and I couldn’t hold my breath anymore and I took in some smoke, my whole right side feels like it’s sunburnt. But I’m fine,” he told Frontstretch, adding, “I’ll be in Martinsville next week.”
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Benning also added that he would be receiving some treatment for the smoke inhalation on Saturday.
Exactly what caused the incident Benning didn’t seem to know, commenting, “I’ve never been in an explosion like that. That whole bottom end of that engine must have just came apart and filled up with fire and smoke.”
Asked why he’s planning to get right back behind the wheel despite this incident and his injuries, Benning proved that racing drivers really are different, noting that he was more frustrated about losing the $75,000 engine than anything else. “I’m just disappointed I lost an engine. That’s all,” he said.
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Benning later added, “I just love it. I love crawling in that window. And what can I say? I’m physically able to do it and I was running really good and here we are. So I hope somebody comes along can help us get replace this engine.”
His entry into the Slim Jim 200 at Martinsville was confirmed on Monday, with Benning’s unsponsored No. 6 listed among the 35 entrants for the race. There, Benning will be hoping to one up his previous season best finish at the opener in Daytona, where he crossed the line in 16th.
Elsewhere, the focus will be on the ongoing battle to reach the Championship Four, with Tricon Garage’s Corey Heim the only driver to have secured his berth via his win on Charlotte’s Roval. Martinsville will serve as the Round of 8 finale, with Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt all currently above the cutoff line, while Ty Majeski, Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric, and Grant Enfinger are all fighting for survival.