Driver escapes race car right as it bursts into flames

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:56 p.m. ET

Samuel Reiman

Ben Waddell was lucky to walk away from a scary incident Saturday at VIR after his Miata turned into a fireball shortly after his fuel tank burst.

Waddell is a regular in the Skip Barber Formula Series. While he was racing a different kind of automobile this weekend, he still knew what to do when things started to go wrong.

When his fuel tank burst, Waddell immediately began to bring his Miata to a stop and unbuckle his safety equipment, knowing that there was a serious threat of fire. Waddell added in the comments to his Twitter video that there was no fire extinguisher plumbed into the car.

Fortunately, thanks to Waddell’s quick reactions, he was able to climb out of the car right at the instant that it burst into flames.

While fire is one of the scariest and most dangerous things that can happen to a racing driver, Waddell was able to walk away with nothing more than a few blisters.

Scary moment today as my car caught on fire after a fuel leak. Lucky to walk away and most importantly I am okay, with only a few blisters. pic.twitter.com/Q8MunMyuK2
— Ben Waddell (@BenWaddell) October 23, 2016

Here is the after math along with the @GoPro from the fire yesterday! Very thankful to walking away with hardly any injuries! pic.twitter.com/llThIUHK6X
— Ben Waddell (@BenWaddell) October 23, 2016