Near the end of the race at The Roval in Charlotte, Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s car caught on fire – a fire that filled the cockpit with smoke and saw flames licking toward that cockpit.  To learn what had happened, NASCAR took the car back to their R&D Center.  The result was an addition to the rule book in hopes of solving the issue.

While Stenhouse was able to exit the car with no injury; the matter is  a serious one that could lead to some big safety issues.

The fire was the result of part of the tailpipe being missing.  Earlier in the race, Stenhouse was involved in an accident and when the crew made repairs, they left out the tip of the tailpipe; resulting in an issue the caused the fire.

In recent years, NASCAR has severely altered how crews may repair cars after on track incidents; no longer allowing full repairs, only taping damaged areas back together.

After the fire to Stenhouse’s car, crews will now be allowed to make full repairs to the tailpipe, ensuring all parts are secured to the car.