IndyCar driver's car catches on fire twice, doesn't stop him from racing

IndyCar Series driver Felix Rosenqvist had a fiery day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, but not in a good way.

The rookie driver and first-time pole sitter found his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda literally on fire during back-to-back pit stops in the IndyCar Grand Prix, the road course race at the iconic track. And the only thing he could do was drive away.

The first fire came just past the halfway point of the 85-lap event, and it appeared to mostly be around his right rear tire. But it was a relatively small fire and easily put out by Rosenqvist speeding away, which is, as the NBC broadcast explained, exactly what drivers are supposed to do in the situation.

His crew members were not fazed by the flames in their pit box either.

A few minutes later with about 25 laps remaining, Rosenqvist’s car caught fire in the same place while pitting, but this one appeared much larger with flames flowing around more of the car than just the tire.

As cars were pitting to switch to rain tires because of the weather, the 27-year-old driver got doused with more water as his team tried to put out some of the fire before he took off again.

While catching on fire at work is not typical of most jobs, race car drivers and their crews know it comes with the territory sometimes. They’re also dressed in fireproof gear for incidents just like this.

And a little fire didn’t stop Rosenqvist from having a decent finish. He came in eighth behind race winner Simon Pagenaud, the 2016 IndyCar champion whose last win was in 2017.

The IndyCar Grand Prix is the first of two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month. The 103rd Indianapolis 500 is Sunday, May 26.