NASCAR has provided its fans with entertaining races and memorable moments, but not without reminding us of the dangers that come with the sport. Many veteran drivers still carry distressing memories of their accidents, and one such driver is Johnny Benson Jr.

On lap 2 of the 2009 Supermodified race at Berlin Raceway, Benson Jr got into a crash with Larry Lehnert. The then-reigning NASCAR Truck champion's #21 car caught fire. Benson Jr suffered three broken ribs, a broken right wrist, and a scapula. He also broke his collarbone, besides sustaining minor burns.

The NASCAR veteran recently made an appearance on the "Dale Jr Download" podcast hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Benson Jr recalled the accident, saying:

"I shouldn't have lived through that, for one. I did have a computer in the car. NASCAR came and looked at the car after this wreck. He had said that he's never seen it spike straight up. Well, the computer only went to 100 G's, but it was straight up. He goes, 'It's always at an angle', (but) he said this thing was straight up.”

"I was in the ICU for four days," Benson added. "I don't think it was one of those touch-and-go things. My lungs, my kidneys, and all that were in a pretty bad shape. Same with the, I guess, knocking my head - I was bleeding out of my ear and all that fun stuff.”

The NASCAR veteran also spoke about how the accident still has an impact on his memory now and then. He highlighted that he cannot remember things at times due to the impact of the concussion.

Dale Earnhardt Jr chipped in on the conversation with his history of concussions owing to NASCAR crashes, and how he became a "2.0" version of himself, not in a good way, after the big wrecks during his career.

How a tragic accident transformed NASCAR’s safety regulations

The 2001 Daytona 500 accident, which led to Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death on track, began a safety revolution in NASCAR. Over the last 25 years, major improvements have been made to make the sport significantly safer.

NASCAR introduced energy‑absorbing SAFER Barriers at every oval track, and the now‑mandatory Head and Neck Support, also known as the HANS device. Every racecar also contains a black box that relays information about the crash to the NASCAR officials. 

Due to such improved safety regulations, the sport has successfully prevented fatal accidents. No driver has died in a wreck since Earnhardt's unfortunate passing. However, the nature of high-speed racing on ovals has still produced horrifying crashes like that of Ryan Newman in 2020.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak