We want to, first and foremost, say THANK YOU to Doe Run Raceway and especially Tommy Harris for keeping the safety of the drivers, crews, fans, and his staff a huge priority. This was obvious when we had an incident with a lithium battery that shorted out and caught fire following Nyles’ feature race Friday night at Doe Run Raceway. Doe Run Raceway definitely had the proper equipment, training, and awareness to identify the situation without us alerting them that there was even an issue. Tommy knew! Nyles noticed that something was wrong when he smelled the battery fire as it first started to smoke. He told Dad to get him out of the car – QUICK! as he was still unbuckling himself. Donnie got him out and to fresh air before he went back to the car to see what he could do to stop it. By that time or shortly after, Tommy and crew were there with the extinguishers specifically needed to “contain” a lithium fire and the knowledge of exactly what to do. We were so thankful. Tommy “cooled” the battery down by using the lithium specific and (we found out later) very, very expensive extinguishers. While Tommy was cooling the fire, Donnie was able to cut the strap and cables holding the battery in while another crewman from Doe Run used gloves to remove the battery from the car and get it away from everyone. Everyone, as well as the car, is fine!
Thank you to all the racers, crews, and officials that looked after Nyles after he got out of the car and then stopped back by later to check on him (Smith crew, Sensel crew, Edgar crew, Cone crew, Serrat crew, Tim Roberts, and so, so many! – amazing). It was definitely a scary moment that could have been so much worse. Thank GOD!
Also, thank you to Chris Hinkle , Hinkle Performance for taking the time to educate Nyles and Donnie on lithium batteries. Chris explained how to care for lithium batteries, how to inspect them for damage, how to mount them, warning signs of a bad battery, how a fire could start, what a fire would look, smell, and act like, plus how serious this could be and has been for others. With that education, we knew instantly what was happening.
Again, very, very thankful!
Nyles Tudor Racing