Denny Hamlin reacts to scary car fires at Bristol: 'Cindric was willing to die in there'

Multiple cars caught on fire during Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway due to excessive tire rubber buildup. The two most serious cases involved Josh Berry and Austin Cindric.

It didn’t take long for Berry’s No. 21 Ford to start smoking; it happened on Lap 76, and the fire ended his postseason. Cindric nearly made it the entire race without an issue before his car caught on fire on Lap 454. Cindric spent a lot of time on pit road as his team struggled to put the fire out. Denny Hamlin said it was as if “Cindric was willing to die in there.”

“Cindric was willing to die in there,” Hamlin said on Monday’s Actions Detrimental podcast. “It was interesting, I couldn’t believe they didn’t pop the window out. I don’t know if there’s a rule against that or not. … There was so much smoke in Cindric’s car while he was on pit lane, I was thinking just pop the window out.”

Cindric had a lot of reason to stay put, even as his cockpit was filled with smoke. He was bleeding valuable points as he sat on pit road, and he nearly fell below the cutline entirely. Fortunately for Cindric, his team was able to get him back on the racetrack.

“They were lucky to get that fire out, for sure,” Hamlin said. “… I don’t know whether he had fire on the inside, I mean, there was tons of smoke. But the smoke is the most uncomfortable part, for sure. … Did I read there was like four or five fires? Next Gen, man. That thing catches on fire all the time.”

Austin Cindric reflects on scary fire at Bristol

Cindric finished 30th, four laps down. In the end, it was enough to get him through to the Round of 12. What he went through to get there is something he never wants to experience again.

“Yeah, it’s not ideal,” Cindric said after the race. “I had the fire there, and definitely had a lot of smoke, but huge credit to all my guys behind the wall, over the wall, to be prepared for a situation like that and to only lose five laps. We had a great car tonight, and definitely with the long run speed and being able to keep tires on the car, I’m not sure I would have been able to tell you that was going to be the game to start the day, but just proud of the effort and well-earned Sunday off for the 2 car.

“Looking forward to hitting the Round of 12 hard. I want to keep advancing through. This team is capable of a lot.”