On Saturday under the bright lights of Bristol Motor Speedway, short-track chaos took a terrifying turn when part-time NASCAR driver Mason Maggio found himself at the center of a dramatic fireball incident that quickly grabbed attention across the racing world. After the race, Maggio reflected on the incident that saw his car catch fire.

During the third stage of Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Maggio was running outside the top 30 when sudden engine failure triggered flames.

According to him, the issue began with a sudden and unexpected drop in oil pressure. Within moments, the mechanical failure turned into a frightening visual, as smoke quickly turned into flames. The car erupted into a fireball, forcing an immediate end to his race and bringing out safety crews. He came out of the car safely without any injury.

Speaking to The CW Sports, Mason Maggio reflected on the scary fireball moment at Bristol and how he’s feeling.

“Yeah, I’m all good. I knew there was going to be a lot of sparks under the lights here at Bristol. I just didn’t expect my car to ignite it. So, just a shame. I mean, we were doing okay. I mean, we were hoping for a better day, but it was weird. I just saw the oil pressure just start to drop out of nowhere on that last restart and then boom, all I see was smoke and I mean, we just lost the motor at that point. I didn’t expect to go up in flames like that, but for all the family and mom and all that at home, I’m good.” Maggio said.

Mason Maggio expressed disappointment with the NASCAR Bristol night race result

Mason Maggio, who is competing part-time in NASCAR O’Reilly Series with DGM Racing, expressed disappointment over how the race turned out despite having a competitive car. He believes the #91 car had solid speed and potential, but racing circumstances like not catching the right breaks or opportunities on track kept them from achieving a better result.

In the aforementioned interview, Maggio said:

“Definitely a bummer. Wish we would have had a much better day with our DGM Racing Chevy. Appreciate SI Yachts coming on board at the last minute. We put this deal together on Friday, but uh just a shame. I felt like our car had good speed. We just needed to get a couple breaks and we would have been right where we needed to be, but so it goes and hopefully we’ll rebound in Kansas.”

Meanwhile, NASCAR Cup regular Connor Zilisch won the Suburban Propane 300 after beating dominant Kyle Larson at Bristol.