Crew member gifted car fender from dangerous close call in Gateway pit road crash
Bryan Backus, who works as the rear tire changer for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team, narrowly avoided serious injury last weekend at WWT Raceway (Gateway). A pit road stack-up at Gateway led to a pileup that blocked the entirety of pit road and led to a red flag. Bryan Backus was one of three Joe Gibbs Racing crew members working on the right-side of Crews' ...…
Bryan Backus, rear tire changer for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team, narrowly escaped serious harm during a pit road pileup at WWT Raceway. A crash during pit road stopped all activity, prompting a red flag. Three Joe Gibbs Racing crew members, including Backus, were working on the right side of Crews' car when a spin caused vehicles to crash into them.
Matt Wilps and Nick Sanchez collided with the JGR car, and Backus was in a dangerous position, kneeling down to change a tire. He was nearly trapped between the two crashed cars. Despite the incident, no one was injured. One week later, Sanchez and his crew chief, Jody Measamer, surprised Backus with a car panel from his damaged No. 87 car as a gift.
Backus recounted the incident, expressing his gratitude for the gesture. He mentioned that the incident happened so quickly that he didn't see it coming, and NASCAR plans to visit Gateway to assess and improve pit road safety.
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