Even though Newman did win, the “something huge” he talked about nearly happened on Lap 215 when Bobby Labonte’s Chevrolet caught fire when it backed into the wall and had its fuel cell erupt during a seven-car crash. Labonte allowed his car to roll down the banking to the apron and immediately began scrambling out of the cockpit. He squeezed out just as track safety crews arrived. “I’m fine,” he said after the scary incident. “I smell like a barbecue pit, but I’m OK.” The Black Flag: How many more times do we need to see drivers scrambling out of burning race cars to get things moving? Hey, NASCAR, hire a traveling safety team already and end the madness of racing back to the yellow flag so the safety vehicles can get rolling when a wreck happens. And, while you’re at it, get those escape hatches in the cars’ roofs, too.( ThatsRacin.com )(7-14-2003) AND The most frightening moment came when Bobby Labonte’s #18 car burst into flames when he backed into the wall after getting tagged by #10-Johnny Benson, caught up in a tussle with #41-Casey Mears on the 215th of 267 laps. “I thought I had it made,” Labonte said of his dramatic crash. “And then we had this problem with the fuel cell blowing up, and it made for a bad scene. It looked worse than it was. I smell like a barbeque pit, but I’m fine.” NASCAR confiscated his car for further examination.( Winston Salem Journal )(7-14-2003)
