Last weekend, Ben Waddell was involved in a scary incident at Virginia International Raceway when his Mazda Miata caught fire shortly after his fuel tank exploded.
Waddell was able to escape with nothing more than a few blisters thanks to his quick reactions. As soon as he realized that fuel was being sprayed around the cockpit, he pulled his car to a halt and began unbuckling, just managing to jump out of his car before it caught on fire.
As Waddell recaps below, however, there was much more to it than that. Waddell notes that after taking “a breath of fuel vapor, my body responded by closing off my windpipe” and that he actually hit the wall while trying to bring his car to a stop. Even when he was out of the car the ordeal wasn’t over, as both of his ankles were on fire. Fortunately, Waddell was able to put the flames out, limiting the extent of his injuries.
Waddell goes on to thank his fans and teammates for their support. His full statement can be seen in his tweet below:
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
Please read, thank you all again! @USWAGGEAR @InvisibleGlass @GoPro @SparcoOfficial @oakley @WhyArai pic.twitter.com/VdoEqBpiKB
— Ben Waddell (@BenWaddell) October 26, 2016
