DGM Racing driver Mason Maggio survived a scary engine fire during the recently concluded NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Bristol. While driving the #91 DGM Chevrolet Camaro SS, Maggio's engine blew, leading to a massive blaze that filled the pit area with smoke, triggering a red flag and halting the race.

On Lap 194 of 300, Maggio's car caught fire, as smoke began to billow from underneath the car. Immediately after the incident, Maggio brought his Chevrolet to the pit road, as fire erupted and engulfed the car in a matter of seconds.

"For all the family at home, for mom, I’m good," 21-year-old Maggio said after coming out of the car. He was then taken to the infield care center situated at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The race was red-flagged immediately due to the incident.

With this, Mason Maggio faced his third DNF in just the fifth start in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race this season. In the end, he had to go home with the #37th place finish to his name. JR Motorsports' Connor Zilisch won the race, as he battled against Kyle Larson to secure the victory by 0.703 seconds. Brent Crews, Justin Allgaier, and Carson Kvapil wrapped up the top five.

NASCAR Cup Star Battled Fellow Cup Champion to Secure NOAPS Win

Connor Zilisch, the star driver from Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, battled it out against the defending Cup Series champion to secure his 12th O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race win on Saturday. Speaking about his win, here's what the JRM star said:

"That was awesome. It's been a tough past few weeks for me in the Cup Series. Feels good to come back down here into the O'Reilly Series and remember that I could still do it. It's tough. You finish in the back every week, and you forget who you are. This feels good."

Following this, he shed light on the team's strategy. Zilisch started the race from 15th place and improved to seventh in Stage 1. In Stage 2, Zilisch improved further to fourth place and went on to win the race on Stage 3.

"We played strategy. Rodney made a great call to keep us out. The tires weren't wearing much all night, and we were able to get the track position we needed to go out and win the race. Really cool to be able to race against Kyle and learn from him. He's so talented and such a fast race car driver. It's good to be back with JRM and back in Victory Lane," said Zilisch.

Kyle Larson, on the other hand, started his race from third place, and swept the Stage 1 and Stage 2 victories, only to finish the race as runner-up.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Godwin Issac Mathew