NASCAR weekend begins with fiery wreck at Dover

In the absence of any Truck Series racing this week, Dover played host to the ARCA Menards Series on Friday before the weekend's NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series action.

Brenden Queen continued his dominance with a fourth win of the year, extending his lead over Lawless Alan in the drivers' championship, but it was a wreck early in the race that caught the eye.

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17-year-old part-timer Brent Crews was one of the favorites to win at the Monster Mile, but appeared to suffer a right-front tire blowout in Turn 4 and was carried into the wall at high speed.

Crews was just a passenger on a high-speed trip to the wall once the tire blew, before the right-hand side of his car went up in flames after impact.

A big hit and scary moment for Brent Crews at Dover. pic.twitter.com/hog6386wSD

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 18, 2025

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Crews safe after scary wreck

The race was put under caution immediately, with a short red flag period actually required to deal with the situation, and 17-year-old Crews was able to hop out of his left-side window to safety.

Crews is a prodigious talent in the sport, having taken his first ARCA Menards Series win at the age of just 15 and even grabbing a top-10 finish in his second NASCAR Truck Series start earlier this year.

The teenager spoke after leaving the infield care center, saying: "Yeah, I just wanna thank the Good Lord above for keeping me safe. That was super scary."

He added: “We’re tested about every year once or twice if we’re race car drivers, and that was a moment where that freaked me out.”

Crews took to social media after Friday's wreck to remind fans that he was fined $1,000 for racing without a fire-safe balaclava (or 'head sock') and helmet skirt earlier this year; both pieces of safety equipment that would have served him well when his car turned into a fireball in Delaware.

NASCAR action continues at Dover this weekend with Xfinity Series qualifying and race on Saturday, while the main event Cup Series race will be held on Sunday after qualifying on Saturday.

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