Racing season might be winding down in the northern hemisphere, but there’s always an opportunity for a huge spectacle. The finale of the 2025 NASCAR Mexico series, the Puebla 110, happened last weekend, and it had more action than anyone bargained for. It was genuinely a championship battle right to the line, with a final-lap field wreck and subsequent evasive action leading Alex de Alba to clinch his first title, but the moment everyone’s talking about involved the safety car.
In motorsports, crashes are sometimes just part of doing business. Racing drivers finding themselves far beyond the ragged edge? It happens. Indeed, Santiago Tovar in the number 22 HO Speed Racing car found himself in the tire barrier at Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, properly wedged. Not ideal, but it could be worse. Besides, a Subaru Forester safety vehicle was on its way to aid in recovery, although it appears that the driver of said Forester made a miscalculation.
While it’s all well and good for a safety car to arrive swiftly, grass doesn’t offer the same friction coefficient as asphalt. Indeed, the driver of the safety car here came in way hot, stomped on the wide pedal, and probably realized the difference in traction right then and there. The Forester wasn’t going to stop from that speed on that surface before hitting something, and it sure made an impact.
“Safety vehicle” collides with crashed car at NASCAR race (no injuries)
byu/derek4reals1 inWellthatsucks
Like just about any modern car, the Forester involved here has anti-lock brakes, which means it theoretically could’ve been steered towards the springy tire wall to potentially minimize damage. Instead, the driver steered left, directly towards the number 22. This resulted in the safety car actually hitting the crashed race car, and thanks to everyone having cameras in their pockets, the whole incident has gone viral on social media.
Mercifully, nobody was injured in the crash between the safety car and Tovar’s stock car, meaning it’s okay to have a chuckle about the situation. While a safety car colliding with a race car is highly unusual, it’s not without precedent.
At the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix, Taki Inoue managed to spin his Footwork car, requiring a tow back to the pits in order to get the stalled engine restarted. Everything was going as well as expected until Piscine. See, Jean Ragnotti was out giving a journalist a demonstration lap in the Renault Clio safety car, and failed to slow for the towed Footwork. Yep, Inoue was still in the single-seater when it received a massive shunt from the safety car, and the circumstances weren’t great. Not only was Inoue unbelted, the tow strap was attached to the roll hoop. The impact flipped the Footwork car, ripped the roll hoop from the chassis, and the subsequent ground contact took a bit out of Inoue’s helmet. Not great, but Inoue’s still here after escaping the crash with a minor concussion, and recalled the incident in the most Taki Inoue way possible to Top Gear back in 2015.
“My helmet was totally squashed. Then I see the doctor. Usual procedure – they try to see my d*ck first, touching my balls.”
A long swig of beer.
“It’s true! I learn that in UK. When balls move, brain is fine. When big crash, scissors, take off the overalls, see the balls, hit the balls, then when balls move, this guy’s fine. If balls don’t move, then there’s a problem with brain damage, I think.”
Compared to the Monaco incident, the safety car crash at the 2025 Puebla 110 is pretty minor, and far more hilarious than it was damaging. Sure, there’s some bent metal and cracked plastic, but everyone walked away. You know what they say: Less haste, more speed.
Top graphic image: TikTok/otonielmontoya95
Reminds me how I accidently won 100 pounds.
In 1992, I was in Germany and the F1 Circus came to Hockenheim. I went along with no planning. Couldn’t get a place to stay within 100 km of the race, but did score some tickets for the weekend of racing for more money than I wanted to spend. Ended up on Sachs corner about 3 rows back. I watched several lower class races in addition to the main event.
First the setup. What I could see was Agip (Turn 12) in the distance where cars would appear (F1 cars looked like they had come out of teleporter) and attempt to pass each other after a long straight. In the area between Agip and Sachs, there was a wider section off run off and behind a barricade was a Porsche 928 safety car.
Now for the race I won money on.
I think it was Formula Opel cars. I happened to be surrounded by Brits that were quite, well British with songs about Mansell and Union Jacks everywhere. They were well “lubricated” because Mansell was doing well. There were several warm up laps on the Formula Opel race and there was someone in the back that was sideways as bad as any drifter. He(?) almost looped the car on the slow parade lap.
One of the lubricated Brits screamed “One Hundred Pounds says he won’t make Two Laps!” I said either “I’d doubt (or bet) he’ll make the first lap.”
Well, first lap happens. Buzz of cars in the distance behind the trailers hidding the pits, some cheers and a long wait while the Brits are passing around beers and and arguing about football. Finally, this giant gaggle of cars appears and for 30 seconds it’s insane racing with the field going what seemed to be 15 wide through all the corners.
Then another long wait. Then off at Agip, we see a car going slowly… and backwards. It somehow doesn’t wreck or get stuck and starts weaving its way towards Sachs like it’s a Mansel Fan that has about 3 liters of Cider on a hot day and needs to pee. Finally, it loses it completely, goes into the grass, and for some damn reason, keeps the pedal down and goes backwards up the grass and hits the Safety Car that should have been safe behind a barricade.
Mr Loud mouth handed me 100 pounds and insisted that I take it, even though I told him over and over again that I wasn’t making a bet, just making a joke.
Does this mean Bon Scott was a neurosurgeon?
How would they have handled this diagnosis if it involved Danica Patrick?
They probably would have Ovaryacted.
Also, blown pupils are a great indicator of TBIs. Coincidentally, late 80s/early 90s GM products have a high presense of TBIs.
Ovaryacted <rimshot>
Kind like the HIndlick maneuver?
Oh boy! I can’t wait to start teaching people this approach in First Aid training! Wait, why is HR calling me?
I think we can all agree the most spectacular incident with track safety equipment was Juan Pablo Montoya slamming into a jet dryer at Daytona.
Good that it was Taki Inoue, not Daniel Inouye, that had the accident. Otherwise the examining doctor would have been crushed by the sheer weight of said balls.
I have many medical profession friends that I have a new question for.
One of the first things when you learn to ride motorcycles, and it applies to cars as well – you go where you look. In a pressure situation, stare at the tree, a curb, crashed racecar, etc. that’s where you’ll go – your hand-eye coordination will do it regardless of what you consciously want.
My favorite race mishap from the past few years has to be when, during an IndyCar race, I think in St. Petersburg, the pace car ran out of gas. Not being sure what to do, it even turned down pit lane, only be to waved off as there was no fuel or delivery there it could use.
“My helmet was totally squashed. Then I see the doctor. Usual procedure – they try to see my d*ck first, touching my balls.”
TIL they held an F1 race in the Vatican.
Inoue: Doctor, I’m hear for my follow-up brain scan.
Doctor: Nice to see you Mr. Inoue.
Inoue: Let’s get this over with then…
Doctor: Um, you can put your balls away. This is just a brain scan.
That quote at the end, wow… I guess I’m done learning my one new fact for the day.
My takeaway from that last bit: Guys DO think with their genitals!
Today we all learn that balls are a good indicator for TBIs