You've got to look out for more than just cars on pit road.
Mike Lingerfelt, the front-tire changer for Carl Edwards' car, took a fliying lugnut to the mouth on Saturday night at Richmond. And as you can expect, it doesn't look too pretty.
Not real happy about taking a lugnut to the face or the shredding tires tonight! pic.twitter.com/vWZ20LuMEi
? Mike Lingerfelt (@MikeLingerfelt) April 27, 2014 The split lip seems bad enough, but the circle imprint is what makes the photo.
The lugnuts from tires that have been recently removed from a car can find themselves underneath the new tires of a car on pit road. When a driver accelerates out of his pit box, the spinning tires shoot the lugnuts out from underneath them, pelting anyone and anything in their path. And sometimes even starting fires if the friction is severe enough to cause a spark and hit spilled fuel on the concrete.
The shredding tires reference in Lingerfelt's tweet is about the tire degradation in Saturday night's race. Tires were wearing quickly around the 0.75-mile track and many teams had right front tires that wore down to the cords or simply came apart.
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Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca
