7 jaw-dropping NASCAR moments that aired live but slipped under the radar

A hoard of incidents have happened over the years in the NASCAR field that have caught the eye of the fans. Ross Chastain's infamous wall ride is one example, but this incident has seemingly been etched in the history of the sport as one of the iconic moments.

Similarly, other moments have also had vast stories behind them but have flown under the radar in the NASCAR sphere, so let's look at some such incidents that have happened on the field in the sport's history.

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7 jaw-dropping NASCAR moments that slipped under the radar

#7 Tropicana Orange taking a lap of the Chicagoland Speedway

Tropicana was the primary sponsor of the 2004 race at the Chicagoland Speedway. While the beverage company had its name posted almost everywhere around the track, it was seemingly not enough as a Tropicana inflatable ventured onto the track during the qualifying for the Busch (Xfinity) series race.

This led to a hilarious incident as the inflatable rolled on the track, seemingly trying to complete a lap around the 1.5-mile track. But it soon got deflated as it ended its journey in the spectator area near the trackside.

#6 Gas can on fire in pitlane!

NASCAR has stringent rules for safety within the series. However, sometimes mishaps happen, as Ty Gibbs faced an interesting situation during the 2023 Yellawood 500.

The No. 54 car had its gas can attached to it, which fell on the pit road halfway down the lane. It was soon engulfed in flames as viewers were left to contemplate how a fire erupted in the pit lane of all places.

This fire was soon put out as extinguishers reached the location and helped the race to continue normally.

#5 Fan sitting on top of the catch fence

During the 2014 Federated Auto Parts 400, Brad Keselowski dominated the race. He led a staggering 383 of the 400 laps scheduled around the track. While his race pace was impressive, one bizarre incident brought the track under yellow flags, as a man was spotted sitting on top of the catch fence.

At turn four, on lap 330, a drunk fan had climbed over the catch fence, which prompted officials to throw out a caution. The man was understood to be drunk and was soon arrested for his behavior and halting the racing action on the track.

#4 Towing another truck, literally

During the Truck series Bristol Dirt race in 2022, one bizarre incident took place on the track. Austin Wayne Self and Matt DiBenedetto's trucks got stuck together.

This left the NASCAR realm amused by the comical nature of the incident, as the way that the two trucks had made contact led them to be interlocked with each other. Leading them to stop on track and causing a red flag, and requiring the intervention of the safety workers to get the two trucks off each other.

#3 Haunted caution lights

Caution lights play a crucial role in indicating to drivers that the racing needs to be halted, and they should pay attention to dangerous items out on the track. While this helps the drivers in remaining attentive, a peculiar incident took place at the Las Vegas race in 2010.

The caution lights around the track turned on with no intervention by the officials. This left the drivers scrambling with their engineers and spotters to determine whether there was an actual caution. But the same incident took place about 50 laps later, leaving the fans and teams bewildered.

As soon as the issue was brought to the attention of the officials, they ordered an actual investigation to take care of the issue, which was understood to be due to an electrical malfunction.

#2 Bubba Wallace's head-to-head with a can

Fans throwing stuff on the track has become a rarity in NASCAR lately. But at the Brickyard 400 this year, Bubba Wallace had come close to running over a can on track.

On his way to take the white flag, a fan hurled a can on the track, and with the 23XI Racing driver in a pursuit to break the draft for Kyle Larson, he veered on the track, leaving him mere inches away from the can, which could have derailed his playoff chances if it had struck the car at a sensitive area.

#1 Blackout in Daytona

The Daytona 500 is the flagship event on the NASCAR calendar. However, this race once suffered a blackout on the backstretch during the 2011 Cup Series race.

The lights illuminating the backstreet went off, leading to drivers seemingly driving blind on the track, leading NASCAR officials to throw out a caution before the issue was fixed.