A bizarre scene unfolded during the NASCAR O'Reilly race at the San Diego street race as a fan crossed the fence and jumped on the road to meet Haas driver Sheldon Creed, and had a brief chat with him during a red flag. Police and federal agents quickly nabbed the man and took him into custody as the United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 continued, leaving fans baffled.

Wearing flip-flops, a black t-shirt, and shorts, the man jumped two fences to reach the track. Once he was there, he quickly took a look at the No. 00 car and approached him to have a brief talk.

Reacting to the incident, Creed laughed it off on the radio, as he said:

"I think he's wasted. I didn't even understand what he was saying. Please let the officials know we have no part in this guy."

The fan then ended his conversation with a fist bump and went on to slap the hood of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse of the Haas Factory Team before scaling back the two fences to return to the fan area.

He nearly lost a flip-flop while attempting to cross the fence. As the fan reached the fan area, he tried to escape, but the federal agents were prompt with their actions and quickly nabbed him.

Notably, the race this week took place at a Navy base, which makes the fan an illegal trespasser. The fan is likely to face federal charges for his actions on Saturday.

NASCAR fans react to bizarre San Diego incident

After clips of the spider-fan went viral on social media, fans couldn't help but laugh at the situation. One user artistically summed up the situation, writing:

"The confidence, the athleticism, the stupidity."

Another fan shared an image of the fan's arrest and him getting cuffed, and wrote:

"That didnt end well for flip.flop guy."

One fan, sharing a similar picture from another angle, took a dig at Sheldon Creed, writing:

"Apparently it’s illegal to be a Sheldon Creed fan."

Another took a sarcastic jab at the fan's fence-climbing experience, writing:

"Fence climbing like that in flip flops nonetheless. That is not the first time."

Another joked about the repercussions that the fence climber would have.

"In the words of the legend Kevin Harlan, "I hope it was worth it, my friend, because you've got a night in the Clink coming up," they wrote.

Another fan recalled a similar incident from the 2007 Watkins Glen race, when a fan went up to Matt Kenseth's car during a red flag to ask for an autograph.

"Omg we got a fan climbing the fence and walking up to Sheldon Creed's car during the red flag. Shades of Matt Kenseth at Watkins Glen," they wrote.

Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing claimed the victory in the O'Reilly race, his first road course victory in NASCAR. He overtook Taylor Gray on the final lap to do so.

Sheldon Creed occupied the final spot on the podium, while Carson Kvapil and Sammy Smith wrapped up the top five.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yash Kotak