Matt DiBenedetto's stranded car caused the first caution during the Xfinity Series race at the Portland International Raceway. The 34-year-old had to retire as a fire erupted inside his car, which led to his dramatic fall onto the grass while trying to make his way out of the No. 99 car. The California-born driver revealed, after being released from the medical center, that his fireproof heat shields were melting and being engulfed in flames.DiBenedetto had qualified 24th for the race around the sub-two-mile track. While he moved up to 22nd by lap 24, he didn't know that his day in the office would soon come to a premature end on lap 25, as he had to pull over in an urgency.The 34-year-old's car suffered an internal fire near the footwell. DiBenedetto found himself struggling to get out of the car. He revealed after being released by the infield care center, how his lace strangled his feet to the pedals with the fireproof materials melting away, as he said:"There was a big fire at my feet. All of a sudden, I was feeling we were getting really hot, I looked down on there; engulfed in flames, and so I pulled off, tried to get out really quick and in a hurry because they were fully on fire. And when I was getting out one of my laces of my shoes got wrapped around the pedals. So I went to get out and I was actually stuck. Feet were directly in the flames."I'm super thankful for these heat shields and all the safety gear that we have in these cars. but they were burning and melting."Meanwhile, Matt DiBenedetto has been a full-time racer in all three national series, which aided his portfolio before joining Viking Motorsports.Matt DiBenedetto affirms his faith in Viking MotorsportsViking Motorsports' Matt DiBenedetto - Source: ImagnMatt DiBenedetto raced full-time in the Cup Series for seven years and even made it to the playoffs in 2020. However, after the 2021 season, Wood Brothers Racing decided to part ways with the Californian.While this dejected the former Cup Series racer, his passion for racing stock cars was still there. He first moved to the Truck Series and then moved to VM as a full-time driver last year, in his pursuit to climb up the NASCAR ladder once again.Sharing how the Portland-based team was moving on the right trajectory, he said, via Viking Motorsports:"We’re all meshing as a team, everything is starting to come together. We’re all synced up and unified, our communication is really good. I would expect the rest of the season to be a lot more speed and consistency than the first part of the year."DiBenedetto has scored a solitary top-five finish in 2025 so far, and he would be hoping to claim another such result by the end of the season to help himself move up the championship ladder from his current 22nd spot.