NASCAR star admits 'screaming and praying' during terrifying fiery moment at Portland

NASCAR Xfinity Series racer Matt DiBenedetto has opened up on a terrifying moment in Saturday's race at Portland which saw him stuck in a car which was partially on fire.

The incident occurred just before the end of Stage 1 at the road course, with DiBenedetto pulling off the track with what appeared at first to be a mechanical issue.

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When he eventually got out of the car, he half-fell out of the window and was visibly breathing hard, and then baffled fans and commentators by taking off one of his racing boots and holding his foot, still sat in the grass next to his prone car.

When he returned to the pits he revealed on the CW broadcast that he'd stopped for a fire in the footwell of his car, and had gotten trapped with his feet in the fire due to a tangled shoelace.

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DiBenedetto: All I saw were flames

The 34-year-old went deeper on the incident in a video he posted to social media before flying home from Portland, saying: "We'll chalk that up today as one of the scariest things that's ever happened to me in a race car in my entire career.

"Running and all of a sudden there's smoke inside the car and my feet were super hot, and I looked down and I didn't see my feet, all I saw were flames.

"Pulled off the track in a hurry and in a panic, and then stripping all my stuff off, and when I went up to get out of the car my shoelace somehow got wrapped around the brake pedal. So when I tried to get out, I was stuck and my feet were stuck roasting directly in some flames.

"After about three attempts trying to get out I shoved my feet back in there praying they'd get unlodged, after about three attempts...well, then I started screaming and praying, calling out to God real loudly and in a panic.

"And thank God man, seriously, on my fourth or fifth try I shoved my feet all the way back in there and it got unhinged, and I was able to dive out of the car. Either way, glad I got feet, I'm alright, thanks to everyone that's checked in on me. I'm good, we're all good, nothing other than thankful over here. I was definitely on a timer, and that timer was running out."

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