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A scary scene unfolded Saturday during a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race as driver Zane Smith lost control of his vehicle on pit road. Smith’s truck fishtailed as he went in to refuel, with the truck bed ramming into a crew member.
Somehow, the pit crew member avoided major injury, leaping to miss a direct hit. He then proceeded to continue putting tires on his racer’s truck.
Zane Smith sends a crew member flying during a spin on pit road. He jumps right back up and walks it off.
These guys are just built different. Wow. pic.twitter.com/ysIiv8bZAj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 30, 2023
“He got a little bit too hot!” said a member of the broadcast team. “What about that crew member? That was violent!”
“Look at him,” said another booth broadcaster. “Kept on going about his work, that is incredible… That’s athleticism.”
That crew member is Charles Plank, who was agile enough to get somewhat out of the way while lugging a pair of tires around the pit box. He later talked to FOX Sports about the incident, and appears to be just fine.
“I thought I could clear it,” he said about jumping over the truck bed. “It looks like I almost cleared it, jumping over. I’m glad I made it on the deck lid instead of getting underneath it.”
A blessing because getting caught up under the truck would’ve almost certainly resulted in severe injury, or worse.
Driver Zane Smith had been battling for a series playoff spot after winning a championship last season. He might fall on the wrong side of the bubble following this scary incident.
At the time of this writing, he sits in 33rd place, more than 40 laps behind the lead car.