Getty The No. 98 hauler of Stewart-Haas Racing crashed in Arizona.
A single-vehicle incident occurred on October 12 in Arizona. The No. 98 Xfinity Series hauler of Stewart-Haas Racing crashed as it traveled to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Sprint Car driver Spencer Hill first broke the news with a video on Twitter. The hauler leaned over a guardrail on the side of the road while emergency crews stood nearby. Stewart-Haas Racing then provided more information with a statement released on Twitter.
Holy cow. Not good. The 98 Xfinity hauler was involved in a bad wreck in Flagstaff, AZ on Wednesday afternoon.
Hopefully everyone involved is okay.
“Earlier today, the No. 98 NASCAR Xfinity Series hauler of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 40 a few miles west of Flagstaff, Arizona. The truck had two occupants and neither was seriously injured, although one was taken to a local hospital for further treatment and observation. No other details regarding their respective conditions are available at this time.”
According to NASCAR’s Roster Portal, Steve Wood and Gary Lowder were the two hauler drivers for the No. 98 team during the trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
SHR Put Plans in Place To Get the No. 98 to Las Vegas
GettyRiley Herbst races at the Charlotte Roval.
The health of the two drivers was the most pressing concern after the single-vehicle incident in Arizona. Once SHR confirmed that they had avoided serious injuries, a portion of the focus turned to the stock car. There were multiple people on Twitter asking if the team could still make it to LVMS for the race.
According to the statement, the No. 98 Ford Mustang of Riley Herbst and the other hauler contents were relatively undamaged during the crash. The team was able to put plans in place to get them to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the race weekend.
“SHR can confirm that speed was not a factor in the crash,” the team continued. “While the rig was damaged, the hauler and its contents appeared relatively unscathed. Plans are already underway for a new rig to hook up to the hauler and deliver it to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in time for Xfinity Series hauler parking at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Friday.”
Herbst Will Compete at His Hometown Track
GettyRiley Herbst (front) will make his seventh start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
With plans in place to get the No. 98 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Herbst remains on track to make his 106th career Xfinity Series start. He will do so at his hometown track.
Herbst, who was eliminated from the Xfinity Series playoffs at the Charlotte Roval, has six starts at the Nevada track with two top-10 finishes. He posted back-to-back ninth-place finishes in 2019 and 2020 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The Las Vegas native’s past three starts at the track have not progressed smoothly. He crashed during both 2021 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The second race, in particular, played a role in his playoff elimination.
Herbst qualified third overall for the spring 2022 race, and he appeared to be en route to a career-best finish at the track. He was running eighth during the final stage when Ryan Truex got loose in the No. 18 and kicked off a wreck that sent Austin Hill hard into the wall. Truex then spun down directly into Herbst’s path as the driver of the No. 98 had nowhere to go.
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NASCAR Racing Hauler Crashes En Route to Las Vegas